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The Da Vinci vacation
by Petru Popescu and Iris Friedman
by Petru Popescu and Iris Friedman
We'd never been to Tuscany. It felt a little daunting, Tuscany is so wonderful but so full of must-sees. How were we going to fit it all in? Just think: taking pictures by Michelangelo's David; hiking on the hills where Da Vinci tried out one of his flying machines; touring a winery from the 1400s; shopping at the high-fashion Italian outlets (Italy has this thing about cramming Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Fendi and Versace stores right by the freeways connecting the main cities); remembering Dante; dealing in euros (it turned out to be easy, everything is more expensive than in dollars); driving a European rental car; and drinking Chianti at every dinner. Too much. THE RESORT Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate .... Abandon hope, ye all who visit here .... That's the opening line of Dante's "Divina Commedia." All because Joe had bought into something spectacular: a luxury residence club. These vacation resorts for the world's most successful citizens tell you right off that they feature premium-quality accommodations, amenities and special services. The brainchild of two entrepreneurs from Denver, Exclusive Resorts pioneered and leads the luxury residence club industry. Rather than forcing its members to invest in real estate, the club's smartest innovation is to model Exclusive Resorts as if it were a country club. But instead of gaining access to a single location, members stay up to 60 days a year in their choice of more than 200 elegant, multimillion-dollar homes in more than 28 locations around the world. From Deer Valley, Utah, to the Chianti district in Tuscany, from treetop villas in Costa Rica to urban adventures in London, Paris or New York, Exclusive Resorts offers a wide array of vacation experiences. The Exclusive Resorts experience provides more than spacious, luxuriously appointed homes - the club provides an on-site concierge to cater to your every whim even before your scheduled arrival date. Weeks before leaving, we started getting exciting e-mails telling us in detail about the Tuscany region, an area between Florence and Siena. These informative communications helped us better plan our vacation by giving us ideas on how to intermingle cultural activities with just being lazy by the pool. We also got the inside scoop on where to find upscale outlets from Prada, Gucci and Armani, learned about la Toscana-style cooking lessons, how to exchange money, where to shop for curios or get the best gelato, and even where to find the best wild boar. We were also given updates on the weather - which was sunny and beautiful all the time - and provided with tips on planning our next Exclusive Resorts holiday. In brief, an Exclusive Resorts concierge literally looked after our every need while we were in Tuscany, making sure everyone in our group - even our typically angst-ridden teenager - found activities to enjoy. A typical "active" day included a drive to Florence, with an ample detour by the Prada Factory, returning to the residence in the afternoon for a swim in the pool, then a cooking class at home - Exclusive Resorts has chefs on hand to teach you how to prepare "crostini," pasta with pesto sauces made from scratch, peposo al Chianti, meat stewed in Chianti wine and tiramisu for dessert. At the end of the class, we had cooked our own dinner and would eat it on the patio outside the villa, in the glow of a breathtaking sunset. As we ate, we reflected on the many genius Renaissance painters who came from Tuscany, and that Tuscan food is one of the most visual in the world. If there isn't a connection there, the coincidence is striking. The chefs were Lisa Banchieri and Maurizio Moretti, and if you become a club member, believe us, a class with either of them is an initiation. Because of our detailed scheduling, we were never confused - we even drove everywhere in a rental car and we're proud to say that we tamed the Italian roads. However, the roads were pleasantly empty since August is vacation time for the Tuscans. They go away en masse to beaches in Sicily or Sardinia. Italy is well air-conditioned, the roads are well systemized, trains run on time, and security at airports and in cities felt reassuringly alert. That's something to know about the Exclusive Resorts luxury residence club experience. Those who organize them for you know that affluent, successful members are busy and have discriminating taste. So they have it down as to how to make it worth your time. And yet, if you feel like doing nothing but lazing about, if you want to come back saying, "All I remember is the blue sky," that's already in the program.
"...abbattendovi a uno vino che fosse secondo vostra natura, no vi bisognarebbo altro medico..." - translates to "and if you found a wine that went well with your personality, you'd never need a doctor." This is from a letter written in 1404 by Lapo Mazzei, a winemaker whose estate is less than half an hour from Greve, and it's still in the Mazzei family today. This brief passage illuminates the Renaissance way of thinking: valuing natural products as both food and medication, practicing balanced living, appreciating pleasure as a vital, fertile force instead of a danger and a sin. Those were the important philosophical dimensions of the Renaissance. Owner of a vineyard, merchant, traveler, law instructor, with his own notary's practice, Mazzei is also credited with the first historic mention of the brand, in a note of payment dated 1398 for "barili 6 di vino di Chianti" - six barrels of Chianti wine. A direct descendant of Lapo, Francesco Mazzei runs the vineyard of Fonterutoli today. Curious to speak to a real Tuscan winemaker, we had placed a request with our resourceful concierge. We got to meet with the boss himself, a 6-foot, pleasant, virile-looking owner who drove us around the property and told us how wines were different when Michaelangelo and Da Vinci drank them. There was practically no refrigeration during the Renaissance, Mazzei explained, and there were no chemical preservatives added to wines. Wines could acidify or spoil quickly. They needed to be drunk or thrown away. Yet winemaking back then, while as artistic and passionately pursued as it is today, was also backbreaking work. Planting the vines, covering them in winter lest they freeze, and harvesting and crushing them were done for centuries without any machines. Just vats, human hands and human feet, smiled Mazzei. So wine, though popular and accessible, was respected, like everything that doesn't come easy. And if it was to be drunk without hangovers, then it had to be done with meals, and in company. The lore of accessorizing the food with the right wine originated then. Altogether, wine was not a luxury, despite occasionally high prices, but a staple of life. So we brought a few bottles of wine back to America, and we sent one to Uncle Joe. Joe e-mailed back that he liked the wine, and he's going to vacation in Greve in Chianti soon. Rosie doesn't know what she's missing. She bought a plane. But maybe she'll add Exclusive Resorts to her shopping list later on. She still has a few million to play with. As for us, we're playing the lotto. Ciao! IF YOU GO Exclusive Resorts can be reached at info@exclusiveresortsclub.com or by phone at (800) 474-6990. For the wines of Fonterutoli, e-mail fonterutoli@fonterutoli.it, or visit www.fonterutoli.com. Petru Popescu and Iris Friedman are freelance writers. |
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