The Sunday Seven 05.06.18

Hello, friends! On Sundays, I’ve been sharing a list of 7 things that have caught my eye online over the past week. Here’s this Sunday’s seven in wine, food, style, design and travel:

What it’s like to fly private for not-so-private prices. The new JetSuiteX, a subsidiary of private jet charter company JetSuite (and tied to JetBlue Airways) — is a semi-private air company with current routes connecting LA, the Bay Area, and Las Vegas. It’s not a membership service and prices are comparable with those of commercial flights, so basically you’re getting the perks of private air travel (like the time savings!!) with the prices of commercial flights. Please come to the East Coast, JetSuiteX!

 

The Condé Nast Hot List of the Best New Hotels In the World is out. To make this list, thousands of hotels around the world are scouted and ruthlessly culled down, and this year 102 properties made the final cut. Many good US options are on the list for easy-to-get-to locations. A few overall choices that caught my eye: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, Kokomo Private Island Resort in Fiji, and Casa Flora in Venice, which functions like a standalone apartment.

 

Judith Lieber recently died at her home in the Hamptons at age 97. She was a handbag designer whose beautiful and whimsical creations were prized as collectors’ pieces and frequently displayed as art in some of the best museums. This article about her life is so interesting, covering how she got her start in a guild in Budapest sweeping the floors. She knew all the stages of handbag manufacture, but there was no place to use this knowledge because Jews there were being sent to concentration camps at the time. She and other family members escaped, she relocated to New York after she got married, and she started her own business which was hugely successful until her death. She died just several hours after her husband, which is so sweet.

 

Craving a beach vacation but don’t know where to go? With summer travel on the brain, this best beaches in the world list may be worth looking into. At the top of this list is Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos. After seeing Grace Bay beach in person on our recent trip, I wasn’t surprised to hear this – it is truly stunning! This list from Trip Advisor is compiled from millions of traveler votes and covers locations across the globe. While Turks and Caicos took first place, the other top spots are spread across the globe in destinations like Brazil, Cuba, and Florida.

 

In the world of wine, a rating of 95-100 from “the big four” is what everyone wants. Winemakers, wine buyers and retailers are all chasing these big numbers, since a very high score from a wine critic can be the difference between a wine that sells reasonably well and one that flies off the shelves. But what do those points really mean? The WSJ wine columnist investigated the points system and is sharing what you should know, as well as tasted some high-rated wines to determine which ones really make the grade.

 

With the increasing spotlight on conservation around the world, more vineyards are committed to sustainability and becoming biodynamic now than ever before. Biodynamic farming follows the principles of the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who believed that the position of the moon and stars within specific constellations and times of year influenced the growth of the vines, roots, flowers, and fruit. This is a list of the most beautiful biodynamic vineyards around the world, ranging from Sonoma to Marlborough and everywhere in between. (Thanks to my FIL for sending me this find)

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the day!
xx — BB