Archive for April, 2008
Luxury on a Gold-Plated Shoestring
I call Eve Sieminski the Polish Contessa. She loves fine jewelry, expensive hairstylists and fine wine. I don’t know where Eve shops for jewelry or what deal (if any) she strikes with her hairstylist, but we follow her wine recommendations religiously.
You see, the Polish Contessa, has no problem pouring a classless wine down the drain, nor does she hesitate to share her latest finds. One recent jewel was the TBD Zinfandel that is available at Trader Joe’s for (shhhh!) $4.99 a bottle. We tried one bottle and immediately bought a case. It really is that good. But the recommendation comes from Eve, who says:
“This tastes like a $30 bottle of fine Zinfandel that I wouldn’t hesitate to serve at a State Dinner–or to my snootiest clients. It might be good, however, to decant the wine first. The TBD label and name just don’t do justice to what is inside the bottle.”
If you are looking for commentary about hints of raspberry, chocolate finishes or oakey notes, Eve suggests you visit a symphony or read reviews for $80 bottles of wine in Wine Spectator or the like. And while Eve can afford Opus One or perhaps a Chateau Clement Pichon, she takes great pleasure in finding great wines at fabulous prices–and enjoys sharing her conquests.
If you want reviews and inside bargain scoops on fine wines from a true wine lover (instead of a critic), I advise you to stay tuned. Eve has promised to gift our luxey readers with more of her outstanding finds in wine and food. And if you, dear reader, have a recommendation for great wines under $20, Eve promises she (and we?) will try them out and share the results.
Eve’s Bonus Wine Tip: If you don’t have time to property chill your red wine to European room temperature (yes, red wine blossoms with slight chilling), put it in your freezer for 15 minutes (set timer), remove and enjoy.
This will be an irregular column, but we promise to share great wine finds, food discoveries and bonus wine and food tips with our luxury readers as soon as they become available.
What better way to truly enjoy your luxury home with appreciative friends and other oenophiles.
In the meantime, please feel free to share your own!
You may also wish to read:
read comments (8)Nouveau Luxury Home Buyers: Instapreneurs
Who are these young and ultra-affluent buyers of homes in Rancho Santa Fe, Palm Beach, La Jolla, Aspen and Manhattan?
Robert Frank, in his best-seller Richistan, calls them instapreneurs (didn’t he coin the term?).
These are the new titans in technologies, who have benefited from a rise in financial speculation and governments that support free trade and wealth.
Instapreneurs are not plodders when it comes to accumulating wealth. They don’t develop companies to last for family generation; rather, they may launch several companies over their career life spans. And the goal for each venture is a lucrative “exit strategy” that will create the fattest windfall possible.
What are these luxury buyers seeking when searching for their trophy home?
1. They are specific in their demands as to age of property, views, room volume, luxury closets, privacy, and entertaining areas.
2. Instapreneurs often wish to be near prestigious country clubs, where they can golf, play tennis and entertain business elite.
3. In San Diego, many of these nouveau uber-wealthy demand ocean frontage, ocean noise–and silent streets. Or the highest penthouse in downtown San Diego. The want what is rare, what is singular.
4. Instapreneurs often have children, and are concerned about the quality of nearby and private schools. How the home works for the kids can be of keen importance. Instaprenerual parents want safety, space and room for kiddie galas.
5. These luxury home buyers often have special room requests, such as a library, multiple offices, servant quarters, guest houses, snoring rooms, home gyms, massage rooms, a conservatory or even a panic room.
6. These busy people often demand to be not far from a major airport because of frequent travel demands and the desire to minimize time spent away from families.
We enjoy working with these interesting folk, not just because we enjoy finding perfect property fits, but also because of the stories we get to hear. Some have been scientists, some movers and shakers in technology, and some who just had the courage to pour everything they had into an idea whose time had come.
They all inspire and the world is a better place because of these producers.
Is Hacking a Restraint of Trade–or a Vicious Crime?
Deepest apologies to those of you who were unable to access Luxury Home Digest this past week.
It seems we were the victim of a malevolent hacking attack last Sunday night, whereby all of our content was deleted–on not only Luxury Home Digest, but San Diego Previews as well. Thanks to the tireless work of blogging gurus at the Real Estate Tomato, we have been able to restore most of our material.
And thanks to those who brought this site and our San Diego real estate blogsite down, I am now musing about the consequences for such actions.
Is attacking a website and deleting its content a crime? And if more than one attacker, a conspiracy?
Could such activity constitute a “restraint of trade” as defined by the Federal Trade Commission? Google definitions, as usual, provide some clues:
1. Descriptive of unreasonable acts or contracts which prevent a person from carrying on, or engaging in, their profession.
www.aapa.org/manual/judicial/glossary.html
2. Combinations, contracts, or other oral or written arrangements designed to establish a monopoly position, impede competition, fix prices, or prevent entry by potential rivals. …
www.itcdonline.com/introduction/glossary2_q-z.html
3. Monopolies, combinations, and contracts that impede free competition.
www.crfonline.org/orc/glossary/r.html
4. Any act that tends to prevent free competition in business
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
5. Restraint of trade is a restriction on a person’s freedom to conduct business in a specified or unspecified location for a specified or unspecified length of time. Such restrictions are normally enacted by contracts. …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restraint of trade
Yes, our San Diego real estate business was impeded, and we were prevented from carrying on in our profession in a normal manner. Clients were unable to search for San Diego properties on our sites and we were blocked from our online business for several days. Searchers for luxury home news were certainly forced to go elsewhere when we were offline.
And if restraint of trade is “any act that tends to prevent free competition in business,” or places “a restriction on a person’s freedom to conduct business in a specified or unspecified location for a specified or unspecified length of time,” then restraint of trade is what I will politely and publicly call last Sunday night’s massacre.
Under my breath, though, other expletives words and descriptions are uttered.…
Most Expensive Mansion in the World: Redux
Last year, I wrote a short article about the worlds most expensive mansion in Mumbai, India being built by uber-wealthy Mukesh Ambani.
In addition to arguably being the most expensive private home in the world (how about $1 Billion to build?), it will also be the tallest measuring in at 42 stories. Residence Antilla, though, will only have 27 stories, due to Ambanis desire for taller ceilings.
Mukesh Ambani is reported to be the 14th richest man in the world, with estimated personal wealth of around $21 billion. He is also one of the more visible men of wealth in India.
When completed, the high-rise mansion will also be one of the most visible (and discussed) mansions in all of Mumbai, if not India and the rest of the world.
Designed to house Ambanis fortunate family of six and a doting staff of 600, this enormous mansion will also have six floors dedicated to pampered storage and parking for a collection of at least 168 automobiles. Included in this magnificent residence will also be a full-service spa, fully-equipped gym, a home theater that should turn Hollywood moguls green, and multiple floors set aside for visiting dignitaries and guests.
The family will have to make do with the top four stories set aside for their viewing and living pleasure.
Completion date was initially set for Fall, 2008, so well keep an eye on its progress.
In the meantime, I am hoping for an invitation to the Ambani housewarming gala.
