Vancouver’s Winter Mystique
Snow ghosts may be on display around Vancouver in winter, but the city will be anything but a ghost town come February, when people from around the globe head there for the 21st Olympic Winter Games (February 12 to 28, 2010). If you’re ready to celebrate in this glorious, exciting city, here’s where we recommend you go. -- KEN McALPINE
Yes, all of Vancouver’s top hotels are already sold out for the Games, but you can still get a room and ticket package through CoSport, the Games’ official hospitality provider (cosport.com). Want to stay three nights at the Marriot Pinnacle Downtown, complete with breakfast; a choice of tickets to curling, snowboarding, figure skating, or ice hockey; and a ticket to a medal ceremony? It’s yours through CoSport for $3,863 (though inventory is changing as you read this). Or, rent a house, condo, or apartment. Plenty of locals flee the scene, leaving a place for you. Search for your home away from home, offered by Breakaway Vacations and EMR Vacation Rentals, at 2010destinationplanner.com.
Vancouver is famous for its great dining establishments, and for bona fide West Coast cuisine, try these top eateries: At West Restaurant (westrestaurant.com), the finest local ingredients and innovative dishes have earned it recognition in Vancouver and around the world. Enjoy local oysters and salmon and a raw bar with deservedly celebrated sashimi at Blue Water Café (bluewatercafe.com). And Tojo’s Restaurant (tojos.com) has reputedly the finest sushi outside of Japan.
Edible British Columbia (ediblebritishcolumbia.com) is offering culinary tours of Granville Island during the Games. The tours will give you a fun -- and tasty -- inside look at West Coast cuisine. They’ll also host your after-hours dinner at the famously fresh Granville Island Public Market.
After the crowds leave, enjoy the Paralympic Winter Games (March 12 to 21). Stay at the charming The Listel Hotel (thelistelhotel.com), don’t fight for a table at MARKET by Jean-Georges at the Shangri-La Hotel (shangri-la.com) or DB Bistro Moderne (dbbistro.ca), and check out the best in local music at The Railway Club (therailwayclub.com).
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Home Is Where The Hearth Is
No longer just a gathering place at the center of a room, the traditional fireplace is being transformed into a functional, often eye-popping work of art. Some are even priced as if they belong in a gallery. For example, New York designer Samuel Botero (botero.com) envisioned a swath of fabric gingerly draped around a hearth for the family room of a Manhattan town house before hiring master craftsman Gregory Miller to sculpt his vision out of Carrara marble (pictured above). Botero says a similar design will set you back about $60,000. Napoleon (napoleonfireplaces.com), the Canadian fireplace maker, adds a touch of sparkle to its newest designs. The limited-edition Swarovski fireplace (pictured center), $13,000, actually comes embedded with precision-cut Swarovski crystals. No less dramatic is Zeta’s free-standing EcoSmart fire (ecosmartfire.com). The $10,900 elliptical-shaped hearth (pictured right), made from a combination of leather, timber, and stainless steel, is a testament to 21st-century modern design. -- William Kissel
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Ready To Party
Colin Cowie (colincowie.com) is known for orchestrating some of the world’s most elegant and elaborate parties and has penned more than eight books on the subject. We asked the celebrated lifestyle expert for some tips on how to throw the perfect party this holiday season. -- W.K.
WHAT’S THE SECRET TO THROWING A GREAT PARTY AT HOME?
An unflappable entertainer is one who has basically done as much preparation in advance as possible; the bar is set up and the food is laid out before the guests arrive so the host can concentrate on being a relaxed, charming host.
SHOULD I SERVE DINNER, OR ARE COCKTAILS ENOUGH?
The key is to look at how much space you have to work with. During the holidays, an open-house cocktail party is a great way to go because guests may have other parties to attend that same night. In these tough economic times it also costs less money because you don’t have to entertain for six or eight hours. This allows you to see a larger group of people in a smaller amount of time.
WHAT SHOULD I SERVE?
You certainly don’t have to chop, dice, and peel it all yourself. If you’re not handy in the kitchen, you can go to your favorite restaurant and have things prepared, or hire a caterer. I like the idea of various stations around the room where you pair different foods with a different beverage. For instance, you could do a salmon station with frozen vodka, or a cheese buffet with a nice port. I also love the idea of a cocktail du jour. Red and white wine and champagne is so proverbial, why not serve a good well-loaded cocktail to jump-start the night? It doesn’t have to be a vodka drink. For me, tequila is the new vodka.
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WINTER ESSENTIALS
Here’s what you need to welcome winter in style.
A Cashmere Quality Check
Cashmere comes in all price points now. But before you are tempted to save instead of splurge on this fine fabric, know that all cashmere is not created equal. Although it may be hard to tell the difference between the department-store and discount variety without a textile degree, any fine knitter will tell you it’s all a matter of microns. The finest cashmere is made from goat fiber measuring a mere 13 to 16 microns, about five times finer than human hair. Moreover, for the finest baby cashmere knitwear, “It takes the fiber from 19 animals to make just one medium-weight sweater,” says Pier Luigi Loro Piana, chairman of Loro Piana, the world’s largest cashmere supplier (sweaters shown at right).
Other top cashmere makers such as Avon Celli, Gran Sasso, and Brunello Cucinelli, among others, spend months testing for fineness, color (the whiter, the better), and length (the longer, the stronger) to ensure the raw materials meet their rigid standards. Although they might not say so on the label, inferior cashmere knits are often mixed with wool, mohair, and other fibers to keep the price low. When shopping for cashmere, experts say it’s best to look for a consistent, tight weave and a butter-soft feel to the touch. But not too soft. The best cashmere knits soften with age; those that start out with a slippery surface can indicate over-processing of the fiber that may result in easy pilling. -- W.K.
Bespoke Skis
For ski racers, designing one’s own skis is a necessity. For leisure skiers, it’s a luxury that can now be realized, thanks to Wagner Custom. The custom-design team, who work in a totally solar- and wind-powered shop in beautiful Telluride, Colorado, will create the best skis for you, right down to the length, flare angles, flex profile, sidecut radius, and waist width. You’ll get 30 days to evaluate the skis, lest they need additional tweaking. $1,695 a pair, wagnerskis.com -- Lori Stacy
Brighten Your Winter Days
We could all use a little extra glow in the winter, especially as the days get shorter and the weather colder. Philips Dynamic Lighting brings virtual sunshine indoors by creating a stimulating ambience that matches the natural rhythm of your daily activities. Meaning as you start to drag in the afternoon, you can up the lighting intensity to make you feel more alert. philips.com/because -- L.S.
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In The Spirit
Put a little glow in your giving this season with high-end wine, champagne, and spirits gift sets. -- Nicole Alper
Bottled in one-of-a-kind hand-blown Baccarat crystal vessels, DOS LUNAS GRAND RESERVE TEQUILA comes housed in an ebonized hardwood box donning a sterling-silver lock. Only 1,000 decanters were created, and each is numbered by hand. $2,500, doslunas.com
A perfect blend of Art Nouveau beauty and world-class bubbles, THE HOUSE OF PERRIER-JOUËT’S FLEUR DE CHAMPAGNE BRUT 2000 GIFT SET features a presentation case in gleaming eggshell white. A highlight: the gold and copper inlay work of the embossed anemone, the House emblem created in 1902 by Emile Gallé. $160, perrier-jouet.com
For a touch of Northern California fine wine, FAR NIENTE offers the ultimate six-pack: THE COLLECTION CONNOISSEUR’S CASE holds a six-bottle vertical of limited Far Niente Cave Collection cabernet sauvignon, Napa Valley, and Oakville wines, from the prestigious 2003, 2004, and 2005 vintages, and is housed in a custom-made cherry wood “briefcase” that includes a signed and numbered limited-edition giclée of Arvid’s painting “The Collection.” $1,600, farniente.com
For those who have a well-stocked bar, an ideal gift option is the elegant Czech-made MOSER LIQUEUR SET, which features 12 glasses from a variety of Moser patterns, from Lady Hamilton to Mozart, Cromwell to Napoleon, in a luxury case. $1,710, moserusa.com
For the port lover in your life, the SANDEMAN GIFT SET includes four exclusive bottles: the 10, 20, 30, and 40 Year Old Tawny ports, each housed in an elegant wooden gift box. $349, sandeman.eu
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GIFTS TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT
Giving is always a pleasure, but add a touch of philanthropy to the gifts and both you and the recipient can enjoy the glad tidings. -- N.A.
If you want to be a model global citizen, even while shopping, look to WORLDOFGOOD.COM BY EBAY, where more than 15,000 eco-conscious and socially conscious goods -- from handcrafted handbags to unique jewelry (above) -- are a click of the mouse away. Choose to shop by category or by value (social, not monetary). worldofgood.com
Nest is a nonprofit organization that empowers women by offering interest-free loans and a marketplace for their goods. When you shop at its BUILDANEST.COM, your purchase of a handmade sequin clutch or organic cotton pillows (left) helps establish small businesses in poor communities around the world. buildanest.com
Wrapped in reusable boxes embellished with sustainably crafted Nepali Lokta-plant paper, AVEDA’S HOLIDAY GIFT SETS do more than make you look beautiful -- the partnership has helped dramatically increase the average household income in the Nepali communities of Malika and Dolakha. Plus, the once-threatened forests of this region are now protected as Forest Stewardship Council certified. aveda.com
Need a gift for an animal lover? Log on to THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE’S GIFT OF LIFE and make a donation on someone’s behalf that goes to providing urgent care to seals, bear cubs, dogs, and cats. Donations from $15, ifaw.org/gifts
Beautiful and eco-friendly, the ALTRU HOME FRAGRANCE COLLECTION includes soy candles, aromatic incense, and interior fragrance oils, all in exotically stylish packaging. Best of all, 20 percent of all proceeds is donated to In A Perfect World -- a group that works with community-based organizations to empower children to become socially conscious and responsible leaders. $48 per candle, altrubygamillah.com
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