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DOWNTOWN’S Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2022

 
Let us endeavor to make 2022 the year of Love, for there has been no greater time when love is so very needed.
 
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom. 
If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”
-William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

 

 
 
 
 
We love Valentine’s Day, especially when we celebrate at Ladurée. This year, book take your sweetheart for a special breakfast for two, consisting of two rose lattes, two pains au chocolat, two boxes of three custom macarons, and a NEW heart-shaped rose croissant. This is the perfect Valentine’s Day gift to share with that special someone.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fly XO to Aspen and experience world-class skiing while staying at five-star resorts. Use the XO mobile app to book an entire charter or select individual seats on a private jet at a fraction of the cost.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Get you and your sweetheart back on the right track to fitness with a membership at Asphalt Green. Say ‘I love you’ with fitness for 2022. Their memberships offer top-notch fitness centers and pools. Book one of their instructional classes or programs for both children and adults. Throughout the year, winter, spring, summer, and fall, no excuse. Asphalt Green includes everything from infant swim, diving classes, youth basketball leagues, and private Pilates Reformer classes.
 
 
 
 
 
LIPS Embellished Throw by Jonathan Adler. Sexy, seductive, saucy—a kiss of glam in bold red and glittering gold to chic up your comfy spot. Hand-embroidered by artisans, their unbelievably soft and luxurious throws are just the accents your abode deserves.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Amy Lewis  Give the gift she will love you all year, natural lip filler. Big is out, going back to the natural look Expertly done by Dr. Amy Lewis. 
 
 
Tokyo Totepack. This premium leather upgrade to our Tokyo Totepack adapts to your day, with two carry modes and surprisingly sorted storage.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flex Pro Denim Jacket GOOD MAN BRAND A classic-style denim jacket made from comfortable stretch denim is a surefire staple for your casual wardrobe.
 
 
 
 

 

Our CEO’s favorite everyday brand is PhilanthroBee’s®️ skincare. Bee Body Bar saved her from itchy skin. As a daily swimmer, chlorine eventually got to her angrily inflamed skin. Until she tired, PhilanthroBee’s®️ skincare. The last thing you want is to layer chemically treated thick creams on top of your skin. That’s why the BeeCause Body Bar works with your body heat to melt into your skin, using the power of natural bee products to soothe, replenish moisture, promote skin health, and protect against damage.

Another favorite of hers is the Bee-Ch Facial Clarifying Mask. Every week (sometimes more), she enjoys the BEE-ch facial mask cleanser. It gently draws out toxins and debris that accumulate in our pores throughout the week. Living in New York City, taking care of your skin is extremely important. 

 

 

Maybe a little self-love this year try Ascention, a blend of red currants and strawberries, laced with delicious vanilla and musk. Infused with an authentic, fair-trade Rose Quartz crystal. Ascent to Love with the perfect gift for those in need of some self-love this Valentine’s Day.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Full of Mediterranean character, Corvo is produced with the use of modern technology, to preserve the integrity and naturalness of the ingredients, always ready to offer a simply perfect tasting experience. Corvo Grillo Sicilia DOC and, Corvo Nero d’Avola Sicilia DOC. Both restyled clean, with a harmonious design delivering the freshness and fruity aromas of Sicily to the table. Be sure to give the first wines bottled in Sicily in 1824, and now one of the most appreciated wines.
 
 
 
 
One of our favorite places downtown to relax and take in the views, The Greens invites you to cozy up with your loved ones in your own private and cozy winter cabin. Enjoy a menu of regional delicacies and hand-crafted cocktails, along with a complimentary bottle of Rosé and a Valentine-themed dessert included with your reservation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Scapegrace Black is the world’s first naturally black, color-changing gin by The New Zealand-based Scapegrace Distillery. Scapegrace Black begins, like all quality gins, with intense juniper and the addition of premium, exotic botanicals. The master distiller used a combination of local sweet potato, aronia berries, pineapple, and saffron, as well as Butterfly pea flower, which they sourced from Southeast Asia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Give her the gift from Christian Lacroix For Swiminista, a sarong in Josephine print, then whisk her away on an impromptu holiday to her favorite sunny locale. 

 
 
ICON Roland Sands Signature 2254 Chronograph. 43mm 316L Stainless Steel Case and Fixed Bezel with IP Antique Gold Plating, Stainless Steel Push Crown, and Screw-In Caseback. K1 Flat Hardened Mineral Crystal. Japan Quartz (Miyota 6S21) 2 Eye Chronograph with Date Movement.
 
Larroudé Vail Boot is a brand to add to your wardrobe. Marrying the comfort of Montana with the functionality of a lace-up boot to give us the Vail. Ready for the mountains, the faux shearling interior is super soft-to-the-touch while the all-weather exterior is all about function.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Larroudè and Her Highness – Valentine’s Day, customers will be gifted with a “highly orgasmic” pleasure oil as a gift with purchase (while supplies last). We are excited to have our clients treat themselves to the perfect pair (shoes + pleasure oil) this Valentine’s Day! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For the side sleeper, this Scrumptious Side Sleeper Pillow is unique, with a curve that supports your neck and shoulders whether you are on your side or your back. Their design is meticulously from the degree of its curvature to the height and firmness of the fill inside it.  The perfect give for your side sleeper.

 

Take your sweetheart on one of New York’s historical treasures, with a memorable horse-drawn carriage tour of Central Park. The tour includes a bottle of sparkling wine, a bucket of roses, and photographs.

 
 
 
 
 
Wish your love off to Las Catalinas is a new beach town on the Guanacaste coast of Costa Rica. Its purpose is to create a way of life that is healthy, sustainable, fulfilling, and fun. Las Catalinas consists of houses, shops, restaurants, small hotels and inns, plazas, parks, and recreational facilities. Las Catalinas in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Check out the new outdoor beachfront gym there, CORE by Chakfitness, and sign up for a week of personal training and unlimited gym and class access — including a personalized take-home program designed by owner Chakiris Menafacio.
 

 

Categories
Dining NYC

Pizza and Wine Make the Best of Both Worlds

Pizza and Wine: A Natural Duo

What goes better together than pizza and wine? While in New York, pizza has become a class get-together comfort food, its origins in southern Italy originally had it that pizza would be an artfully-crafted dish intended for the individual. Move aside, dollar pizza: at Kesté Fulton, pizza’s reclaiming its original glory.

With a wide-ranging flavor palette bringing together dough, tomato, mozzarella, and a variety of toppings, pizza’s ultimate companion can be none other than wine, which accents every meal with notes of fruit and spice. Cavit Wines upholds the important role of wine with a spectrum of options to choose from, the most popular being Cavit’s Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Prosecco, and Rosé. Of all these, Pinot Grigio is a classic favorite, while Prosecco is recommended to go with anything.

Diving into the Makings of Cavit Wine

Cavit Wines are grown in northern Italy in a region known as Trentino, where the temperate climate enhances the fruity flavors. 4,500 farming families make up Cavit’s cooperative, ensuring a sense of community is harvested with every bottle. Operations at Cavit bring together sustainable farming practices with advanced research taking place with the Institute of San Michele all’Adige, one of Europe’s leading winemaking schools. Top it all off with the most technologically-advanced winery in all of Europe, and Cavit Wines has consistently been ranked highest among brands internationally. In the U.S. alone, Cavit offers the #1 Pinot Grigio, making it a perfect choice for get-togethers.

Pairing Cavit Wine with Class Pizza

Bringing it all back to the companionship wine and pizza share, a number of pizza topping are recommended withe each wine to bring out each other’s flavors. Pair the Pinot Grigio with any cheesy pizza to balance out the heavy richness of stacked cheeses, while the Pinot Noir paired well with both meat and mushroom pizzas. Cavit’s Moscato wine brings a touch of sweetness to pizzas layered with spicy toppings like jalapeños, and Prosecco, as mentioned, goes well with anything.

To browse Cavit’s wine collection and purchase a selection for your next event, visit their website. To learn more about the ins-and-outs of pizza making, visit the Pizza Academy Foundation. And to simply pick up a pizza on your next night out, visit Kesté Fulton at 77 Fulton Street.

Categories
Culture Dining Featured NYC

Fall Festa with Eataly Downtown

Fall is in the air and let’s get ready for all the festivities at Eataly Downtown, begin!

As the temperature begins to drop and the leaves change color, we’re welcoming the autumnal season with a Harvest Food & Wine Festa! Join Eataly on Friday, October 22nd from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Eataly Downtown as they celebrate the bountiful fall season all’Italiana.

Showcasing more than 20+ wines from various regions of Italy, their Festa will be centered in the heart of their stunning marketplace where you can eat, drink, dance, and learn directly from Eataly’s producers and experts. Enjoy live music while you sip along and indulge in a selection of authentic Italian bites. From fresh pasta and savory paninis to housemade cannoli, this Festa is the perfect way to celebrate the end of the season – get your tickets now!

Fall Festa with Eataly Downtown

Note: this is an in-person event, and tickets will be limited allowing more space for social distancing. Proof of vaccination is required to attend this event.

 

It’s simple – 

1. GET YOUR TICKETS

These events sell out quickly, so be sure to buy your tickets online in order to secure your spot. All-access bracelets are $75.

2. PICK UP YOUR ALL-ACCESS BRACELET

On the day of the event, you will receive an all-access bracelet at check-in, which will allow you to explore the various stations located throughout our marketplace. Early check-in will open on their second-floor landing at 5 p.m.

3. TASTE AWAY

There is no limit – taste as many dishes, wines, and cocktails as you’d like. If you like a particular dish or drink, go back for more!

4. LEARN WITH EATALY’S EXPERTS

Curious to know more about a dish or wine you’re tasting? Just ask their many experts during the event. We believe the key to learning about food is tasting it, and there is no better place than one of our favorite Italian locations, Eataly Downtown.

 

 

Fall Festa with Eataly Downtown

 

This event takes place at Eataly NYC Downtown, located just steps away from the Oculus at 4 World Trade Center, 101 Liberty Street, Floor 3, New York, NY 10007. Questions? Contact us at 212.897.2895 or dt-privatedining@eataly.com.

Categories
Bars Featured Lifestyle Living Music

2020 Gift Guide Downtown’s Editor’s Favorite Wines

The Season for Giving is Upon us

This year will be a bit different but still, the desire to give has not wained.

While jewelry, sweaters, or books may be the classic present, receiving a superb bottle of red or a refreshing sparkling can be just the gift for wine enthusiasts. To help you we’ve rounded up some of our editor’s favorites to include in our holiday gift guide to make any wine connoisseur smile!

Meerlust Rubicon 2015

The Rubicon Stellenbosch, South Africa Vintage: 2015 is showing all of the hallmarks of a great, classic vintage of Rubicon. Incredibly dense purple-ebony core with very slight gradation at the rim. The nose is brooding, dark bramble fruit, cassis, plum, incense, and licorice, it is still very tightly coiled, slowly offering cigar box, crushed stone, and subtle oak spice. On the palate, the wine is concentrated yet restrained with dark fruit flavors of pastille, mulberry, and dark chocolate, all held in an intricate lattice of polished sleek grape tannin. Still very young yet approachable, this Rubicon promises a long future of maturation and enjoyment.

 

2020 Wine Gift Guide

 

Table Design by Joel Robare

 

 

2015 Enate Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Hugely expressive and intense on the nose flaunting red fruit aromas swathed in balsam
and spice. Pleasant hints of phenols and minerals from the Cabernet mingle beautifully with
toasted, creamy, and cocoa nuances from the new oak. Fat, dense, and meaty on the palate with mature and unctuous tannins, which signal excellent capacity for further aging in the bottle. A lingering and mouth-filling finish rounds off the tasting experience.

 

 

Torraccia del Piantavigna Gattinara 2015

Mattia Donna/Beppe Caviola Garnet red in color with a golden rim that develops with aging, the wine has a fine and pleasant nose, with a hint of violets. On the palate, it is dry and harmonious, with a lightly tannic aftertaste.

 

Tenuta di Arceno 2017 Gran Selezione Chianti Classico “Strada al Sasso”

Considered a legendary vintage with its small yields, 2017 produced an intense, concentrated wine with vibrant acidity. The 2017 Strada al Sasso has powerful fruit and incredible depth. On the nose, the wine demonstrates a playful balance of fruit and herbal tones with aromas of ripe cherry, violets, cedar, and herbs jumping out of the glass. The palate follows with flavors of blueberry, vanilla bean, and sweet mint. Soft tannins lead into the finish with tones white pepper tones, black licorice, and the unmistakable Tenuta di Arceno signature of orange peel. A perfect pairing to classic Italian delicacies like wild boar pappardelle, Asiago, Manchego, roasted chicken, and tortellini with Bolognese.

 

 

 

Dry Creek Valley | Sonoma County Inaugural Vintage The texture of the wine, its infinite range of aromas and flavors is all tangled up with soil and climate and history and culture, a spectacular mash-up of people and place, wit and wisdom and everyday life. The Sbragia family has been farming and making wine in DCV for over 100 years. Adam’s great-grandfather came from Tuscany in 1904 and worked in local wineries. In 2006, after 32 years as a wine-master at Beringer Vineyards, Adam’s father, Ed Sbragia, opened the doors to Sbragia Family Vineyards at the northern end of Dry Creek Valley.

 

Le Difese – Intense black fruit aromas and flavors as well as the vanilla and spice of oak in a full-bodied wine with supple tannins. Casual beef dishes such as steaks on the grill or hamburgers. Kobrand Wine & Spirits  Fruit for Le Difese is selected from Tenuta San Guido estate’s younger vines. Fermentation for both varieties takes place on the skins in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The wine is matured in French and American oak barrels.

 

2020 Sparkling

 

Coppery-orange color. Expressive aromas of strawberry and very ripe wild strawberries. A full-bodied, structured, vinous palate that stays fresh. Length and character define this champagne. https://www.veuveclicquot.com/en-us

 

 

Sterling Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine is a glistening pale straw color in the glass with ribbons of fine bubbles. The aromas of green apple, lemon citrus, pear, and lemon cream are distinctive. We opened the bottle for a gathering recently and was pleasantly surprised, our guests requested its information.

 

Categories
Dining Lifestyle NYC

Gift Wine This Season

A perfect gift

Wine is a perfect gift whatever the occasion. Personal, respectful, celebratory – it’s always a great choice whether to be shared together then and there or stored away for another day. 

A thank you gift 

Maybe someone has done you a favor. What better way to thank them than to present a thoughtfully chosen bottle? A classic Bordeaux would tell the recipient they deserve only the best: try a Margaux wine – considered the most elegant of the region, you cannot go wrong. The medium-bodied 2006 Château Rauzan-Ségla with its sandalwood scent and berry notes mixed with sage and cedar is a nice choice, as would be a Chateau Giscours. 

A birthday gift 

A great gift for a birthday is a wine from the year someone was born. This can get expensive – especially the older the recipient is! But it can be done if you look carefully. 

For “milestone” birthdays a special bottle of champagne like a Taittinger Cuvée Prestige Brut works a treat. A serious quality sparkling wine will also be meaningful, such as a Mirabelle Brut Rosé from Napa’s Schramsberg Vineyards. 

The gift that gives back 

Arriving as a guest to a meal with a bottle is standard practice and carries with it the hope that whatever you bring will end up in your glass, too. 

A thoughtfully picked red or white will be equally appreciated, but a star bottle could be a Bergström Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir or head back to Margaux for a Chateau Siran, a fruit- and balsamic-infused wine that is made up of the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot grapes. 

Wine experts Millesima name its 2015 vintage “scrumptious” and the best of the producer’s recent output.

Gift for a teacher or colleague 

 

When giving a gift to someone who is not a close friend, when you do not know their tastes, wine is a great option. It’s not too personal and it’s always welcome! It can be offered to others, if it’s not the recipient’s preference, after all. But it’s important to pick out a wine that looks like it has been thought about, even if the cost is not high. 

A Provence rosé like a Chateau Sainte Marguerite would be a popular crowd-pleaser, for example.

Festive gifts for the holidays 

Wine by the case or a gift set is an outstanding present for a holiday occasion when the family is gathered. It will last into the year to come and the giver will always be remembered. 

Millesima’s three-bottle Italy Classic Wine is a lovely curation from three of the top wine regions in the country: Mocali from Tuscany, Latium Morini from Veneto, and Fratelli Revello from Piedmont. Going down the gift set route gives the recipient a chance to discover something new and maybe find new favorites. 

About Millesima 

Wine merchants Millesima are based in Bordeaux with a New York boutique. The family company has curated a wide range of red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines. All of those described in this article can be found on its website.

Categories
Bars Dining Featured

A Non-Guilty Pleasure

This article was published in an earlier edition of Downtown Magazine

A Non-Guilty Pleasure

MIKA BULMASH STARTED Wine for the World because there were no companies focused on how winemaking is transforming emerging regions through social and environmental impact. She was working at the United States Agency for International Development and saw an increasing awareness of fair trade and ethically sourced coffee, tea, and chocolate but not wine, so she headed to South Africa to see how they were making wine in the post-apartheid environment. She could see the need to focus on underrepresented winemakers and wine regions that meet strict criteria in the areas of sustainability, social impact, quality, and practice.

Though Bulmash has a background in molecular and cellular biology and international development, her love for wine was never just a hobby. As soon as she discovered how fascinating the winemaking process is, she began a course of self-study and wine tastings that eventually led her to a WSET Level 3 certification. Instead of starting her own vineyard, Bulmash decided to find other winemakers who practiced the ethical and sustainable methods she was seeking. 

A Non-Guilty Pleasure

Wine for the World curates and tells stories through delicious wines, like those of Ntsiki Biyela, who owns Aslina Wines in South Africa. She is the first black woman winemaker in that country and was given a chance through Suo, another brand Wine for the World works with. Many of the wineries Bulmash works with have been named Global Ethical Company of the Year including Ktima Brintziki, Greece’s first green and carbon-neutral winery; Cave Geisse, a trailblazing boutique winery in Southern Brazil leading the way for the country; and Bosman Family Vineyards in South Africa, all of which champion socially responsible and environmentally sustainable practices. Wine for the World is now starting to explore under-the-radar regions in the US as well. 

 

When asked why philanthropy was so important to her endeavor, Bulmush says, “Personally, it’s what motivates me and my team. It’s also what keeps us going strong in an incredibly crowded and complex industry. There’s no shortage of wine in the US, but having the opportunity to meet fantastic producers doing great things, to tell their stories, to see the excitement in our customers’ eyes, to have them become evangelists for the same reasons that motivate us, and then to see how that impacts our producers and their communities—that’s what makes it so exciting and worthwhile. We love to break boundaries, and combining wine and impact is one boundary we are thrilled to break.” DT wine4theworld.com

A Non-Guilty Pleasure