pockets holiday 2009 issue

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Gift G

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enegildo Zegna TES

LA R

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Skiing B

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Escape tothe Maldives

Electric Glide:Tesla’s Roadster

The Joy ofMade-to-Measure

Buffalo Trace’sSazerac Rye

Skiing Largeat Revelstoke

WHAT MEN WANT:THE POCKETSGIFT GUIDE

POCKETSH O L I D A Y 2 0 0 9

The Look of Luxury

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888.880.3462 | zegna.com

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19

{ contents }

57

departments

Invitation to Style35 years of style—and counting 6

The Pockets GuideThe best of buttons … modern Mexican cuisine

… the perfect shirt for you … and more! 9

The Pockets ProfileA must-read book by a Dallas

philanthropist 14

Finishing TouchSuper sales associate Laura McElyea’s expert advice for Pockets customers 48

features20

30

Gift Guide 2009The best of the season, hand-selected by our team of experts ~-~ 16 ~-~

The Pockets Interview: Made to MeasureErmenegildo Zegna, CEO of the company that bears his name, explains the virtues of “MTM.” ~-~ 20 ~-~

Electric GlideIf your experience of electric vehicles is limited to golf carts, the acceleration of the Tesla Roadster just might blow your mind. ~-~ 22 ~-~

Mixed SetsSmart combinations of patterns make for a confi dent, modern look. ~-~ 26 ~-~

Escape to the MaldivesTropical glamour and barefoot elegance—these are the two visions of beachside paradise offered by Reethi Rah and Cocoa Island. ~-~ 30 ~-~

columns

The Sporting LifeRevelstoke and Kicking Horse, two of the newer alpine resorts in British Columbia, represent North America’s frontier of lift-served skiing. 37MaltA classic American spirit, straight rye is all the rage. Thomas H. Handy Sazerac is a stellar new example. 40GrapeRich and inky, Clos Trigue-dina, Prince Probus and the New Black Wine are gorgeous Malbecs from Cahors. 44

44

26

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{ invitation to style }

6 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

3 5 Y E A R S O F S T Y L E — A N D C O U N T I N G

In 1974, I felt the strong pull of

the entrepreneurial urge. I’d been

working for the Clyde Campbell

clothing chain for about five years

and had moved to Dallas to man-

age one of the local stores.

As luck would have it, I heard

about a local barbershop whose

next-door neighbor, a menswear

store, had recently closed. I went

to check it out. The store, about

500 square feet, shared the same

entryway as the barbershop. I made a

deal with the owners of the barbershop to sublease the place to my wife and

me. We cleared out the space—our only tools were a kitchen knife, a saw and

a hammer-—installing everything ourselves except the carpet and mirrors.

I worked the store by myself for about a year and a half, selling patch-

work jeans and nylon shirts. My wife was then pregnant with our second

child. One day she called me to tell me she was in labor, and I had to close

the store and rush to the hospital. Those were interesting and fun days

and I am glad to be on the other side now.

This year we celebrate the 35th anniversary of our store. The slick

1970s shirts are gone, but we carry a hand-selected collection of predomi-

nantly Italian clothing and international sportswear and we feel our final

destination is here at Highland Park Village. We are grateful for the support

of so many wonderful friends, customers and vendors. Our fantastic staff

makes it all work and without them, there would be nothing to talk about.

From the beginning, our establishment has been a labor of love. We

have always wanted our customers to dress better than they have to, and

we make every effort to carry that out with attention to each client’s inter-

ests and needs. We come to work with a daily passion to improve every

area of our buying, selling and marketing. And we genuinely enjoy working

with you, our loyal customers.

We hope to please you, too, with this issue of POCKETS magazine,

featuring articles about the quietest, coolest new automobile, most exotic

luxury destinations, and best gifts—all in the style to which we know you

are accustomed.

At this holiday time, please accept our thanks for being part of the

history of Pockets Menswear—and part of our future. You have our best

wishes for a healthy and peaceful season with your loved ones. We look

forward to seeing you in our store soon.

DAVID SMITH

S n e a k P E E K S

In the money

see page 16

Dressed to thrill

see page 12

48 HIGHLAND PARK VILLAGE, DALLAS, TX 75205214.368.1167 www.pocketsmenswear.com

S t o r e H o u r s MONDAY to SATURDAY: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Editorial Director DAVID SMITH

Editor & Publisher MARK DOWDEN

Creative Director AMY A . DOWDEN

Art Director STEPHEN M. V ITARBO

Contributing Editors JENNIFER CENICOLA,

JUL IA C . IRELAND, T IMOTHY KELLEY, IAN

KEOWN, MARIA L ISSANDRELLO,

FRANCESCA MOIS IN , EVERETT POTTER

Contributing Photographers FULTON DAVENPORT, DANIEL SPRINGSTON

Art Associate LAURA CARAMAGNA

Art Assistant PATRICE HORVATH Corporate Editorial Director

RITA GUARNA

National Advertising Manager SHAE MARCUS

Advertising Account Executive

STEPHANIE STAIANO

Advertising Sales Assistant

SABA KAHN

Production Manager CHRIST INE HAMEL

Advertising Services Manager

THOMAS RAGUSA

Senior Art Director, Agency Services KIJOO K IM Marketing Manager SEAN GALLAGHER

Marketing Coordinator ELIZABETH MEE

Accounting AGNES ALVES,

MAGDALENA SZARGUT

Published by

Chairman CARROLL V. DOWDEN

President MARK DOWDEN

Executive Vice President JOEL EHRLICH

Vice Presidents AMY A . DOWDEN,

N IGEL EDELSHAIN, R ITA GUARNA,

SHANNON STEITZ , SUZANNE TRON

Regional Sales Director DOUGLAS C . BARKER

Circulation Director LAUREN MENA

P O C K E T S Magazine is published twice a year by Wainscot Media, 110 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ 07645, in association with Pockets. Copyright © 2009 by Wainscot Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Edi tor ia l Contr ibut ions : Write to Editor, Pockets, 110 Summit Avenue, Mont-vale, NJ 07645; telephone 201.782.5730; email [email protected]. The magazine is not responsible for the return or loss of unsolicited submissions.

Subscr ip t ion Serv ices :

To change an address or request a subscription, write to Subscriptions, POCKETS, Circulation Department, PO Box 1788, Land O Lakes, FL 34639; telephone 813.996.6579;email [email protected].

Adver t is ing Inqui r ies : Contact Shae Marcus at 856.797.2227 or [email protected].

POCKETS

The way we wore: scenes from a 1978

Pockets Menswear mailer

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{ the pockets guide }

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 8 /

Achieving closure: the low-down on buttonsA perfectly good suit or sportcoat can be spoiled by

the use of plastic buttons. The garments we sell at

Pockets have natural buttons made of horn or corozo.

They look right and they resist breakage.

Everyone knows where horn buttons come from,

but what about corozo? It’s the white nut of a 20-foot

palm tree, Phitelephas macrocarpas, that grows in

the forests of northwest South America. Also known

as “vegetable ivory” because of its resemblance to

ivory, corozo was first used by Italian tailors to make

buttons in the late 19th century. Corozo has the virtue

of being heat-resistant as well as breakage-resistant,

and it can be dyed any color.

For shirts, of course, the material of choice

is mother of pearl. This, too, is an all-natural sub-

stance—the iridescent lining of the shells of pearl

oysters, abalone and certain other mollusks. Most so-

called mother-of-pearl buttons are made of plastic and

therefore prone to breakage. The Truzzi shirt pictured

here, on the other had, has real Australian mother-of-

pearl buttons, cut extra-thick for durability and hand-

sewn to the shirt in Italy.

Pick a Pocket SquareThis small accessory is back

in fashion. It also packs a

lot of style, expressing your

personal taste and chang-

ing the whole look of an

outfit. A variety is available

at Pockets in your choice

of silk, cotton or linen, from

$50 to $85.

The LURE of LEATHERAmong Pockets

Menswear’s

most popular outer-

wear brands is the

Italian maker known

as Gimo’s. Renzo Girardin

founded Gimo’s in 1968

as an atelier specializing in

leather garments of the high-

est quality. Based north of Ven-

ice in San Martino di Lupari,

Gimo’s has remained faithful

to traditional Italian methods of

producing leather goods. But

from the very start, the label

also has been propelled by

fashion. Each season, Gimo’s

designers produce dynamic

new collections. A Gimo’s

leather jacket is sophisticated,

sexy and contemporary—

like the man who wears it.

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 9

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THE PERFECT SHIRT for youLittle details are important to you—no use denying it—so you’ll

be glad to know that Pockets Menswear offers custom shirts for

men. A custom shirt is all about the details. Consider the matter

of fi t. Ready-made shirts are sized by collar (to the half inch) and

sleeve length. Our custom shirts are sized by chest, waist, hips,

yoke, tail length, waist length, right sleeve length, left sleeve

length, right cuff size, left cuff size, exact collar size, back collar

height and front collar height.

These individualized measurements are meticulously trans-

lated for us by Hamilton Custom Shirtmakers, a family-owned busi-

ness since 1883. Each collar, cuff and shirt body is cut individually

from a pattern made for the client; the pieces are then assembled

by Hamilton’s experienced single-needle sewing staff.

You’ll instantly appreciate the difference in appearance and

comfort when you try on your fi rst custom shirt. Has your shirt

ever risen from your trouser waistband, coming untucked or bal-

looning around your waist? If you’re not wearing custom, then you

don’t even need to respond, because we know the answer is yes!

And we can guarantee that will never happen again.

Besides a superior fi t, you’ll enjoy shirts that are bespoke

in every way. You’ll choose color, pattern and fabric from literally

hundreds of options. You’ll choose collar style, size and height;

cuff style, size and button options; pocket style (one, two or no

pockets) and shape; monogram style, color and placement. And

your shirt will be made with utterly fastidious attention to quality,

which means it will last, which makes it a good value.

Give Pockets custom a try and you’ll never look back.

Dallas denizens

love their chi-

michangas and

their queso. Chef

Gabriel DeLeon

knows this. But

so convinced was

he that area foodies

would be receptive to a

more authentic, sophisticated

Mexican cuisine that created Mazaryrk Modern

Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Lounge, recently

opened in Addison Circle. “Modern Mexican cuisine

is more global—we consider the whole world our pantry,”

DeLeon says. “I use all kinds of ingredients, like lemongrass,

pestos, chanterelle mushrooms and beurre blanc.” So far,

so good: Mazaryk’s signature duck carnitas and sea bass

tacos have gained quite a following, and the Tequila

Lounge’s Mil Besos Margarita recently won a Best

of Dallas Award. And no wonder: it’s made of

fresh lime juice, agave nectar, Grand Marnier,

and your choice of the lounge’s 45 100

percent blue agave tequilas (that’s

the best kind, naturally). Visit

www.modmexkitchen.com or

call 972-701-8500.

LA COCINA like you’ve never seen

Compliments to our customers’ good tasteYou know shopping at Pockets

Menswear is a special experi-

ence. Isn’t it nice to know that

national arbiters feel the same

way? MR, a national publica-

tion covering the men’s retail

industry, recently bestowed

its Uptown/Downtown Award

on Pockets, citing our creativ-

ity and retail excellence. And

Esquire, the go-to magazine

for well-dressed men for 75

years, placed Pockets on its

2009 Gold Standard list. The

recognition honors stores that

“continuously raise the bar

of what it means to be the

best in the business.” Actu-

ally, Pockets has been on this list—one of only three in stores in Texas so

named—as long as the list has been around. Stop by soon for an award-

winning shopping experience!

1 0 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9


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In an era of brand diversifi cation, it’s refreshing that Hiltl,

maker of some of the world’s best trousers since 1955,

has steadfastly resisted the urge to make anything but

trousers. “We never wanted to be the biggest, just

the very best,” said founder Fritz Hiltl, and the

company has stayed true to his vision.

Being the best means dedication to craftsmanship,

using the best materials and achieving a perfect fi t.

The goal is to ensure that every pair of Hiltls is of

made-to-measure quality, and in pursuit of that goal, “we are

quality freaks,” says managing director Franz Josef Wolf.

Here are a few of the ways his tailors pursue perfection:

by using custom-made, nickel-free metal zippers that stand

up to abusive dry-cleaning; by affi xing only genuine horn

buttons with heavy-duty stitching; by reinforcing pocket

inlets with crescent-shaped welting; by using extra-long

viscose frontal lining to ensure full coverage of the knees

and prevent bulging; by creating extremely narrow-stitched

seams that won’t “press through” during ironing—an advan-

tage with today’s lightweight, high-performance fabrics.

In short, German engineering stands for something in

the world of trousers, no less than in the world of automo-

biles. Pants made by Hiltl look right, feel right and last a long

time, which is why Pockets is pleased to carry them.

German engineering for your trousers


THE A-to-Z LISTPockets Menswear features more than 40 designer brands under one roof. See if you don’t fi nd your favorites among the list below. Then stop by the store for a shopping experience you’ll love.

AG Jeans

Arnold Zimberg

Canali

Carrot & Gibbs

Clint Orms Engravers

CP Company

Dolcepunta

Ermenegildo Zegna

Eyebobs

Gimo’s

Gran Sasso

Gravati

Hiltl

Incotex

Inhabit

Jake Agave

John Varvatos

La Matta

Lorenzini

Luciano Barbera

Martin Dingman

Masons

Massimo Bizzocchi

Michael Toschi

Moore & Giles

Mulholland

Nicky

Niformas

Pantherella

Robert Talbott

Saltaire

Scrooples

St. Croix

7 For All Mankind

Tasca

To Boot

Transit

Trussini

W. Kleinberg

Zanella

Scrooples

Zegna

Quite simply, this Colorado company makes

the fi nest bowties you can buy. Crafted from

specially selected and imported 100 percent silk

fabrics, each tie is individually cut, sewn and

pressed by hand. While other designers secure

metal clasps on the backs of their pieces, Carrot

& Gibbs’ feature only mother-of-pearl buttons

that can be used for adjustment and attach-

ment. Colors and patterns run the gamut from

elegant paisleys to whimsical polka dots.

carrot & gibbs

Canali


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{ the pockets profi le }

1 4 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

I recently visited with Dallas philanthropist Shan-

non Skokos regarding her new book, Ask God’s

Creatures: And They Will Teach You. More than

three years in the making, it was inspired by what

she calls “a life-changing excursion” through

South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

“I truly feel privileged to have been able to

witness the strength and beauty of the wildlife

and the surrounding ecosystems,” she says. The

book is beautifully bound, and the photos of ani-

mals—taken by Shannon herself—are amazing. But

the soul of the book is found in Shannon’s insights

into animals, mankind and the Bible. She pairs her

photos with scriptural “lessons,” divided into three

sections: Strength, Respect and Wisdom.

When I asked Shannon whether every animal

she saw in South Africa inspired her in some way,

she said, “There is something to be learned from

every person you meet. The same is true for the

animals. Job 12:7 teaches us to ‘Ask the animals

and they will teach you; or the birds of the air, and

they will tell you.’”

In addition to her work as author and photo-

grapher, Shannon, a former Miss Arkansas and

motivational speaker, is an attorney. With her

husband, she founded the Ted and Shannon Skokos

Foundation, which awards grants to public charities

that make a positive impact on society by, among

other things, advancing education, the arts, science

More than a COFFEE TABLE BOOK

By David Smith, owner, Pockets Menswear

Skokos, top, subtitled

her book “A Photo-

graphic Depiction of

Lessons Learned on a

South African Safari.”

Above, a leopard

reposes in a tree;

right, hippos cool off.

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and religion. She sits on the boards of the Baylor

Health Care System Foundation, AT&T Performing

Arts Center, Dallas Theater Center, Dallas Opera,

Brinker International Forum, Texas Women for the

Arts Cultural Trust, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

and North Texas Super Bowl XLV SLANT 45.

Reading her book, you will be struck by

Shannon’s strong belief that God created

everything. Those of us who agree will enjoy

sharing her perspective on God’s presence in

His creation.

You can order this limited-edition book

through www.askgodscreatures.com. All profits

will go to charity.

Skokos photographed

these natives of South

Africa’s Kruger National

Park. Clockwise from

top: lilac-breasted roller,

elephant, impala

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1 6 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

{ gift guide } Cuff him in one of

our stylish pairs,

available in a

variety of materials

and designs, from

$155 to $450.

Gift guide 2009

The best of the season, hand-selected by a team of experts (that’s us!)

He’s in the money with

these practical and good-

looking alligator-and-rhodium

money clips, which can be

engraved. See a range of styles

from $135 to $325 at our store.

He’ll be comfortable from

the inside out in these

Royal Highnies boxers of

the finest pure white pima

cotton; $75 a pair.

A gift is never

“just a tie” when

it’s an eye-catch-

ing, 100 percent

silk design from

Ermenegildo

Zegna; $170.

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Solid-wood hangers from Kirby

Allison’s The Hanger Project

prevent collapsed shoulders

and creases in fine suits;

three for $75.

Expandable chocolate

Benedict weekend bag in

nubuck bison is a comfort-

able carry-on for flights.

By Moore & Giles; $635

Dare to be

different with

reading glasses

from Eyebobs;

from $65.

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 1 7

Well worn:

antique-wash

jeans from

Agave; $195


{ gift guide }

1 8 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

Give credit

where due—to

these eye-catch-

ing Italian card

case wallets

from Lava; $195.He’ll look snappy in these matte-finish

alligator shoes, $1,195; belt, $595; and

buckle, $395, from Martin Dingman.

A cashmere scarf:

accessory—or

necessity? We vote

for the latter. From

$195 to $565

Stylish looks from Shirt by Shirt, Mason’s and

Arnold Zimberg. Priced from $125

Modern takes on classic itemsSTAFF FAVORITES


H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 1 9

To Boot driver in

espresso brown; $315

Gravati’s finest peccary

dress shoe in brown

and black; $750 Gravati hand-sewn

comfort walker;

$595

Heart and sole He deserves beautifully crafted shoes that feel terrifi c, too

To Boot double-buckle

classic in burnished an-

tique brown; $450

Brown calf loafer by

Ermenegildo Zegna; $495

Michael Toschi oil-

tanned weekend fash-

ion shoe in black and

tan; $495

Hush Puppies brown

suede boot; $145


{ the pockets interview }

2 0 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

a lotus fl ower leaf, repelling all liquid. Stains accidentally caused

by, for example, red wine, coffee or tomato sauce can easily be

removed just using water. The Micronsphere has been created

for the man who values his time and maintains his sophistication

and impeccable style by wearing a suit so reliable that nothing in

his travels will tarnish his look.

What is the secret to the consistency of fi t

in Zegna’s Made to Measure program?

We have over 30 years of experience in MTM, so we have had

time to perfect the process. We also have a very strong training

program in our MTM factories, where an extremely capable

team delivers a perfect fi t for our customers.

Ermenegildo Zegna fabrics for Made to Measure seem

to have many blends, such as wool and silk. Is the use of

these fi bers a response to global warming?

Blended fabrics and natural fi bers have been always been an

important component of our MTM offerings, and adding silk to our

fabrications creates a lightness and beautiful hand. The world is

becoming much more of a global marketplace. As avid travelers,

our customers need a wardrobe that travels easily and adapts to

multiple climates, ensuring that they are always looking their best.

A better blue: The

material in this blazer

from Zegna’s Cool Effect

collection is engineered

to refl ect, not absorb,

the sun’s heat.

With the vast selection of Ermenegildo Zegna styles available, why

are your customers responding so well to Made to Measure?

We do have a great selection of ready-to-wear products, but we have more

and more customers who want to personalize their wardrobes. They love

the fact that they can select from hundreds of fabrics and models to

create the ideal wardrobe for their lifestyle.

What are the most successful fabrics in Made

to Measure?

Our customers are usually drawn fi rst to our most innovative

fabrics. For example, Micronsphere is stain- and wrinkle-

resistant and Cool Effect offers protection against the heat

produced from natural sunlight by refl ecting 80 percent of

the sun’s rays. Additionally, the Trofeo Silk fabric combines our

hallmark 16-micron wool fi ber with fi ne silk to create a fabric

both timeless and seasonless. The weight, body, hand and

performance make this fabric combination ideal.

Does Micronsphere really work—and how?

Absolutely. The Micronsphere’s stain- and wrinkle-resistance comes

from using nanotechnologies to enable the fabric to imitate the surface of

Ermenegildo Zegna, CEO of the company that bears his name, explains the virtues of ‘MTM’MADE

TO MEASURE

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D A L L A S

PALOMARK i m p t o n H o t e l s & R e s t a u r a n t s M o d e r n H o t e l . M o d e r n A r t .

Art isn’t alwn a frame. Sometim

ff

’s in a

Art isn’t always in a frame.

Sometimes, it’s in a bowl.

At Hotel Palomar, art comes in many shapes and

sizes, including a complimentary goldfish to keep

you company overnight on your Dallas vacation.

And with a 32" flat screen TV and L’Occitane

bath products in every room, you’ll see what else

makes our boutique hotel so chic. Take a look for

yourself at hotelpalomar-dallas.com.

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22 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

ElectricGlide

What do you get when you take the body of a LOTUS ELISE and give it a green heart? The TESLA ROADSTER— a PLUG-IN THRILL RIDE that says the future really can BE ELECTRIC!

IT’S NOT JUST GASOLINE and nasty exhaust emissions the

new Tesla Roadster spares the world. As the first high-

performance EV (electric vehicle), it also cuts down on noise

pollution. That’s because the roar characteristic of sports

cars with an internal combustion engine has been tamed

to a barely audible purr by the Silicon Valley upstart. For

some enthusiasts, the quiet can be disconcerting—a turnoff

even—but for the eco-conscious lover of exotic cars, thinking

of this debut model from Tesla Motors as the silent, stealthy

type can be an automotive aphrodisiac. C O N T I N U E D . . .

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Unlike other high-performance cars,

the electric Tesla Roadster is perfectly

at ease cruising low and slow (and

silently) down the boulevard. But press

the accelerator, and you’re rewarded

with an instant surge of power.

| BY MARIA LISSANDRELLO


MAR IA L I SSANDRELLO writes frequently about automobiles and food.

She is also the librettist for opera composer Christof Bergman.

2 4 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

If your experience of electric vehicles

is limited to golf carts, the Tesla

Roadster just might blow your mind.

The car will take you smoothly from

0 to 60 mph—or 60 to 120, for that

matter—in less than 4 seconds.

Modeled after the Lotus Elise, the carbon-fiber car weighs

in at 2,700 pounds, 36 percent of it claimed by the battery, or rather

batteries—6,831 of them to be precise. That may be 781 pounds

more than the Elise, but don’t worry—the extra weight doesn’t slow

it down. Quite the contrary. Electric vehicles produce maximum

torque at 0 rpm, so a press of the Tesla Roadster’s accelerator

launches you like a torpedo, pinning your back to the seat. No surprise

the small, sleek car does 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds. And the relentless

torque means a single-speed transmission is all that’s needed to

get you where you’re going at a rate that outpaces the Lotus. For

sure, with its slot-car handling and Yokohama tires that grip the

road like Velcro, the Tesla Roadster is a blast to drive.

On the flip side, when you take your foot off the accelerator,

the regenerative braking system (which recycles the energy usually

lost through braking) kicks in at once, causing the car to slow before

you’ve even tapped the Brembo brakes. It’s a function that takes

some getting used to and may have you stopping short of stop signs

and red lights.

Of course, before you can put the pedal to the metal, you have

to get into the car—a feat for any driver who’s not lean and lithe.

Like the Lotus, the Tesla sits ultra-low to the ground. Once you man-

age to sling your legs over the door sill and lower yourself into the

narrow bucket seat, you’ll notice it’s none too roomy. The Spartan

cockpit (which is, of course, what the automotive purist wants in a

sports car) pretty much rules out the revolutionary electric vehicle


as an option for those seeking long-haul comfort.

Then again, the longest distance the Tesla Roadster will take you

on a single charge is 244 miles. What then? It’ll take about three-

and-a-half hours to charge up—at a cost of just $4 to $7, depending

on your local electricity rates. And never having to spend a drop on

gas or oil isn’t the only savings: The car is virtually maintenance-free.

Just think—no oil changes, no mufflers, no timing belts. About the

only thing that can wear out over time is the battery, which means no

worries about mechanical breakdowns.

And here’s another perk: You’ll enjoy a $7,500 Federal tax

credit, not to mention incredible savings on gas. All told, choos-

ing the Tesla could bring savings of $25,000 over an equivalent gas

guzzler—and get you noticed as a sports car enthusiast with a soft

spot for planet Earth.

THE TESLA ROADSTER AT A GLANCE

BASE PRICE: $109,000

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS:

| MICROPROCESSOR-CONTROLLED LITHIUM-ION BATTERY PACK WITH OVER

100,000-MILE LIFECYCLE | 248 HP @ 7,800 RPM | 200 LB/FT @ 0–6000 RPM | SINGLE-SPEED GEARBOX | 4-WHEEL BREMBO VENTILATED DISC BRAKES WITH ABS | HAND-CRAFTED CARBON FIBER BODY

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS:

| 0–60 MPH IN 3.9 SECONDS | 244 MILES EPA COMBINED CITY/HIGHWAY | TOP SPEED: 125 MPH | CHARGING: AS LITTLE AS 3.5 HOURS FOR A COMPLETE CYCLE

STANDARD INTERIOR FEATURES:

| HEATED SPORT SEATS WITH INFLATABLE LUMBAR SUPPORT

| TOUCH-SCREEN VEHICLE INFORMATION DISPLAY

| ELECTRIC AIR CONDITIONING AND HEATER

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 2 5

Test-driving the TeslaWHEN THE GOOD FOLKS AT VULCAN MOTOR CLUB let me play with their

Tesla Roadster for a day, I learned that the most fun thing about this

vehicle, hands down, is the stunning acceleration. Turn the key in the

“ignition,” or whatever you call it in an electric car, and a “beep” tells

you the motor is on. There’s no engine sound, no vibration. Tap the

accelerator ever so gently, and the car eases into motion like a golf

cart. You could glide quietly down a parade route at 1 mph. But press

down on the pedal, and now you’re Han Solo making the jump to hyper-

space. What’s more, the smooth, silent, instantaneous surge of power

is available at any speed. Going from 60 to 120 is the same as going

from 0 to 60—a thrill that lasts a little less than 4 seconds. Whether

on back roads or the highway, I found myself looking for any opportunity

to unleash a sudden, massive burst of speed.

My Tesla ride was not entirely silent. Besides the hum of the tires

and the whistling wind, I heard a creaking spring that begged for adjust-

ment. But I could forgive imperfections in fit and finish. This was, after

all, the first generation of a brand new automotive marque.

Thanks to its Lotus body, the Tesla Roadster scored big points for

looks. Some guy passed me on the highway, honking, smiling and giving

a thumbs up. I waved back and then smoked him, unable to resist the

pleasure of punching it one more time. —Mark Dowden

To find a Tesla store, visit www.TeslaMotors.com/TeslaStore.


Outside the lines: A checked

tie and brilliant pocket square

accent this navy railroad-track

striped two-button suit and

pleated pant.

Smart combinations of patterns make for a confi dent, modern look

MIXEDSETS

2 6 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

POC.fashion.indd 26POC.fashion.indd 26 11/25/09 2:51:55 PM11/25/09 2:51:55 PM

Vive variety: A Canali

multi-check cashmere

sportcoat is dressed up

with a striped shirt and

paisley tie.


Pulled together: Windowpane

sportcoat, olive fl annel trouser,

orange paisley tie and paisley

pocket square.


Check mates: Ermenegildo

Zegna blue/tan windowpane two-

button sportcoat, multi-stripe

cotton sport shirt, brown twill

fl at-front pants. Pocket square

and slacks also from Zegna.

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 2 9


ESCAPEMALDIVESTO

THE

REETHI RAH and COCOA ISLAND offer two visions of BEACHSIDE PARADISE

THINK DESERT-ISLAND PARADISE, and a variety of tropical images inevitably come to

mind: sandy beaches that are ultra-white and silky under foot, a crystal sea studded

with colorful coral reefs, azure skies, perfect palm trees and, of course, quiet seclusion.

If one destination matches this mental checklist, it’s the Maldives, an island

republic sprawled across 56,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives has

the distinction of being the world’s lowest-lying country; its sandy hillocks rarely reach

more than a few meters above sea level. That’s because the entire country is a constel-

lation of coral reef atolls. Twenty-six atolls comprise 1,192 small islands, only 202

of which are inhabited. Of these, about 90 are resort islands, and of the 90, perhaps

18 are truly special, the location of some of the most rarefi ed resorts anywhere.

POC.travel.indd 30POC.travel.indd 30 11/24/09 6:12:10 PM11/24/09 6:12:10 PM

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 3 1

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| BY E V E R E T T P O T T E R

The over-water villas

at Reethi Rah offer

thatched-roof elegance

and endless views of

the Indian Ocean.


3 2 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

Perched over water, the villas at Cocoa Island emphasize barefoot luxury. The resort setting is

more reef than island, as seen in the photo below; snorkeling and diving are prime activities here.

At Reethi Rah (opposite), high ceilings, natural materials and minimalist style distinguish the large

villas. Beachside dining—al fresco, of course—is one of several mealtime options.

While the Maldives have had occasional visitors for millennia—they were a stop on

ancient Persian and Chinese trade routes—it was only in the mid-1990’s that tourism took

off, meaning virtually all of the resorts in the Maldives are quite new. The best of these re-

sorts have a lot in common: Each has luxury villas of unique design. Each has extraordinary

coral reefs lying just offshore, a world of rays, triggerfi sh, clownfi sh and hawksbill turtles.

Each has stellar service and a great spa—because the whole point of a Maldives vacation

is to send you home relaxed, recharged and refreshed. It’s why Donna Karan, Sienna Miller,

Beyoncé Knowles and Sir Paul McCartney are major fans.

But the approach to relaxation varies by resort. Here we present two resorts consis-

tently rated among the best of the best, representing two ends of the relaxation spectrum:

One&Only Reethi Rah makes you comfortable with electronic amenities and glamorous

surroundings, while Cocoa Island epitomizes the concept of “barefoot luxury.”

REETHI RAH

One&Only resorts are the top-tier properties of Butch Kerzner, who developed Atlantis in

the Bahamas and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. There are just six One&Only resorts world-

wide (the best-known to Americans being Palmilla at the tip of the Baja Peninsula), and

what they share are sophistication without stuffi ness and service that approaches six stars.

Reethi Rah, located on North Malé atoll, is no different. The experience begins at the

airport, where one of the hotel’s high-speed custom yachts (which doubles as a registration


desk) whisks you to the property, one of the few islands in the

Maldives that has been expanded, in this case to six times its

original size. There are 130 large villas, some set on stilts over

the water. The beach villas have outdoor king-sized sun beds

set on private infi nity pools next to the beach.

In a country renowned for its spas, Reethi Rah sets the

bar high. An ESPA spa offers 10 treatment rooms and many ay-

urvedic therapies, not to mention signature treatments like the

ESPA Energy Equalizer with Volcanic Hot Stones. There’s a yoga

pavilion, women-only areas and multi-day Wellness Journeys,

such as the seven-day Holistic Fitness journey.

The choice of restaurants at Reethi Rah is superb. Fanditha

serves Lebanese cuisine on tables placed on the sand as well

as in Arabian-style tents; Tapasake offers Japanese fusion;

Reethi Restaurant has an international menu. And the remote

location is no barrier to gastronomic excellence. Sushi-grade

fi sh is fl own in from Tokyo, free-range lamb from Australia,

strawberries from Belgium. Reethi Rah ranks number 17 for

food—in the world, mind you—on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold

List 2009 of the Best Hotels in the World.

COCOA ISLAND

Cocoa Island has a deceptive simplicity, not unlike that of its

sister Como resort, Parrot Cay, half a world away in the Turks &

Caicos. It’s as if the humble but well-located beach shack has


34 / FA L L • W I N T E R 2 0 0 8


H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 3 5

been made over with cool urban chic.

Cocoa lies in South Malé atoll, a 35-minute speedboat transfer

from the international airport. Hotelier Christina Ong’s philosophy pre-

vails here, so the property remains a simple islet covered with palms,

wild sea grapes and hibiscus, encircled by a reef with proverbial gin-clear waters.

The resort is small, just 33 rooms, and its architecture unusual. Serpentine

wooden walkways lead out to each accommodation, which are set on stilts, with

baby sharks and reef fi sh circling below. There are rooms, suites, loft suites and

loft villas, the latter with kitchen and private butler. The Dhoni suites are built to

resemble local fi shing boats. Surrounded by water, they actually look like fl oating

boats, but they are fi rmly secured on stilts. Each has a full-length glass wall, giving

you a view a sweeping view of the Indian Ocean from your bed.

Inside they are airy indeed, with high cathedral ceilings. Bathrooms are huge,

with separate shower and tub. But it’s the natural materials that are standouts.

There are lots of white fabrics, including Frette sheets. The furnishings are wood

and understated, fl oors are teak, and the overall mood rather Zen-like.

Maybe the single biggest reason to choose Cocoa Island is the Shambhala

Retreat, widely considered among the best spas in the Maldives. If you’re pining

for an Abhyanga Ayurvedic massage or a two-hour Como Shambhala Ritual mas-

sage, go for it. After a morning of yoga on the beach, of course. This place has

a massive reputation among devotees of yoga, and some of the world’s leading

instructors hang out here.

Cuisine is a major part of your stay at any Como property, and at the Ufaa

restaurant, which is thatched with alang alang grass, you sit on large sofas and

cushions. You can expect Indian, Sri Lankan and Thai style cuisine, or you can elect

low-fat, organic Como Shambhala cuisine.

At Cocoa Island, you can literally snorkel from your room to reef. And if you’ve

ever contemplated leaning to dive, these calm waters would be the place to learn.

There’s even deep sea fi shing and windsurfi ng available as well.

But to capture the true spirit of Cocoa Island, take a private boat to a deserted

beach, with champagne, picnic and partner in hand. After all, you don’t want to

overdo it in paradise.

EVERETT POTTER writes frequently about travel to Asia.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP

The best time to visit the Maldives is December through March, the driest months.

Temperature remains steady year-round, averaging 88° F by day and 73° F at night.

ONE & ONLY MALDIVES AT REETHI RAH

Doubles from $860 including breakfast | www.oneandonlyresorts.com

COCOA ISLAND

Doubles from $680, including breakfast | www.cocoaisland.como.bz

Soaring spaces and opulent design mark the spa at Reethi Rah (left). The

resort has no shortage of options for soaking, from swimming pools—seen

above is just one of the 40—to spa treatments (right). Known for gourmet

fare, both Cocoa Island and Reethi Rah fl y in fresh food from the world over.

Below, seared tuna from Cocoa’s Asian-infl uenced menu.


slowwear left.indd 2slowwear left.indd 2 11/25/09 9:23:58 AM11/25/09 9:23:58 AM

{ the sporting life } BY E V E R E T T P O T T E R

IF YOU’VE EVER BEEN STUCK in ski traffi c on I-70 in Colorado and longed

for a more remote mountain experience, consider heading north to Brit-

ish Columbia—not to the coastal mega-resort of Whistler Blackcomb,

where you risk being bummed out by rain at the base, but to the interior

of B.C., where you’re guaranteed light powder, freedom from crowds,

gorgeous vistas and improved bragging rights when you return home.

The two up-and-coming B.C. resorts generating big buzz are Kicking

Horse and Revelstoke, and they have a lot in common. Both are hard to

get to: Prepare for a long fl ight and a lengthy (but traffi c-free!) mountain

drive. And both are big, demanding mountains, like Jackson Hole or

Snowbird—family destinations, sure, but also places where hard-core

skiers and boarders can really put testosterone levels to the test.

This is skiing’s new frontier, remote mountains that were colonized

by heli-skiing operations and a handful of über-fi t backcountry powder

hounds. Now that they’ve opened as resorts, savvy skiers have discov-

ered that the reward for a long road trip is a heli-skiing experience with-

out the peril or expense of a helicopter, amidst jaw-dropping scenery.

Start with Kicking Horse, which opened in late 2000. You get there

by fl ying to Calgary and then driving two-and-a-half hours along the Trans-

Canada Highway to the mining and timber town of Golden, B.C. Kicking

Horse had humble beginnings as a locals-only area called Whitetooth,

accessed via a gravel road and a single-lane bridge, with a log cabin as a

day lodge. The lone chairlift carried a few hundred skiers a day.

Where is everyone? With endless mountain views, ample powder and freedom

from crowds, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort offers that top-of-the-world feeling.

SKIING 1 MILLION

ACRES, B.C.Revelstoke and Kicking Horse are North America’s new frontier of lift-served skiing

C O N T I N U E D . . .

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 3 7

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But then Vancouver architect Oberto Oberti and partner Ballast

Nedam Canada Ltd. arrived and spent $150 million U.S., with another

$100 million scheduled to be spent here by 2010.

What really kick-started Kicking Horse was the installation of the

Golden Eagle Express gondola. Overnight, a 12,000-foot peak in the

Dogtooth Range of the Purcells, the exclusive domain of heli-skiing opera-

tions, became accessible by mere mortals. The gondola gave the resort a

4,133-foot vertical drop, second in Canada only to Whistler Blackcomb.

Take the gondola to the top of CPR Ridge, and you encounter a

near-vertigo-inducing panorama of the jagged Canadian Rockies and

Selkirk Mountains. Kicking Horse’s four dozen marked runs are mere sug-

gestions. Basically, if you can see it, you can ski it. From CPR Ridge and

Redemption Ridge, you can drop in from any of 70 inbound chutes, some

of which are breathtakingly close to vertical. The steep head walls drop

into broad bowls, which funnel down to gladed runs and mogul fi elds.

Exhaustion and exhilaration are partners here. And if you have novices in

your family, note that there is a beginner’s way down from the summit.

The town of Golden will never rival Aspen for amenities, but there

are still some niceties for visitors. Foremost are the Eagle Eye Suites, a

pair of luxury accommodations on the second fl oor of the summit lodge,

which houses the gondola terminal and Eagle Eye Restaurant. The suites

come with butler service, breakfast and dinner for two, lift tickets, a

private guide and fi rst tracks in the morning, all for $950 a night.

Then there’s Revelstoke, which takes “extreme” to greater heights.

The new kid on the block, it opened in late 2007 with a sizeable boast:

Revelstoke claimed that in a few years it would be bigger than Whistler

Blackcomb, currently the largest resort in North America and the setting

for the alpine events of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Now, Revelstoke is a working rail town with a population of about

8,500 people, hardly a world-class resort. But what gave the brash

boast some heft were the surroundings. Revelstoke is smack dab in the

Monashee Mountains, one of the most legendary heli-skiing grounds. The

Monashees average 500 inches of powder a year—that’s more than 40

feet of snow—and a heli-ski trip here has long been the stuff of dreams.

Suddenly, for the price of a lift ticket, anyone could access these

legendary powder fi elds with a trip up 8,029-foot Mt. Mackenzie. That’s

the resort mountain, heavily treed below, with alpine bowls above. It

amasses an impressive 480 annual inches of light, dry snow yearly, just

shy of the 500-inch mark.

At the beginning of its second season, 2008–09, Revelstoke surpassed

both Whistler and Vail for vertical, boasting 5,620 feet, with 32 trails, four

alpine bowls, four lifts, two gondolas and two quads, all high-speed. The

3 8 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9


EVERETT POTTER , a contributing editor to Ski magazine,

has skied on four continents.

skiable acreage is now 3,031. In short, it’s enormous and getting more so.

What vaults Revelstoke into the potentially great resort category is that

it offers lift-served skiing, snow-cat skiing and heli-skiing, all from the moun-

tain base. Just carry your skis, buy the appropriate pass, and go. No other

mountain in North America can deliver that. The numbers that go along with

it tell the tale: The snow cat gets you to an additional 5,000 acres, while the

heli-skiing option opens up an astonishing 500,000 acres of wilderness.

If Revelstoke has an issue at this point, it’s that it’s too tough for any

but solid intermediate skiers and above. You won’t be pleased if you’re

a novice—not when more than half of the mountain is rated “advanced”

and there are only two green runs. Good skiers test their mettle on that

nearly 5,700-foot vertical, and multi-mile runs like Snow Rodeo and Devil’s

Club can be an endurance challenge. It also helps to be comfortable in

powder, since Revelstoke gets plenty of it.

The other challenge? Getting here. Revelstoke is located six hours from

both Vancouver and Calgary. As for the town, you won’t fi nd the comforts

of Jackson Hole. But the architecture, a mix of Victorian, Queen Anne and

Dutch Revival, is authentically charming, and the backdrop of the Monashee

and Selkirk Mountains is pretty inspiring. Right now, the coolest place to

sleep is the newly opened Nelsen Lodge, a luxury boutique hotel at the base.

The future? The owners claim the skiing could be developed to the

point where Revelstoke would have 6,000 vertical feet and 10,000 skiable

acres, which would make it by far the biggest resort in North America.

The plan is for a four-season resort that in 15 years will have 130 trails,

5,000 lodging units and an 18-hole golf course.

But for now, go and ski this uncrowded hill while it’s still in its infancy.

And if your friends give you a blank stare when you tell them where

you’ve been, that will be a good thing. The secret isn’t out yet.

Heli-cious descent: For skiers who want entire peaks

to themselves, Revelstoke provides helicopter access

to a half-million acres in the Monashee Mountains

(opposite top). And for those who prefer to fi nd

creature comforts at the summit, the lodge atop

Revelstoke’s Mt. Mackenzie fi lls the bill. The gondola

seen at lower left is one of two at the rapidly expand-

ing resort. This page: High above a cloud bank, a

skier raises a cloud of powder at Kicking Horse.

H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9 / 3 9

KICKING HORSE MOUNTAIN RESORT, B.C.

GETTING THERE: Fly to Calgary, rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle, and then drive two-

and-a-half hours to Golden, B.C.

www.kickinghorseresort.com/winter

REVELSTOKE MOUNTAIN RESORT, B.C.

GETTING THERE: Fly to Vancouver or Calgary, and then rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle

for the six-hour drive. Alternatively, take a flight into regional Kelowna Airport, followed by a

two-and-a-half-hour drive.

www.revelstokemountainresort.com/revelstokemtn


{ malt } RYE REDUX

| BY M A R K D O W D E N

THOMAS H. HANDY SAZERAC RYE, a special bottling from Buffalo Trace Distillery, is one of the LEADING LIGHTS of a WHISKEY RENAISSANCE

PEOPLE THINK OF BOURBON as the classic American

spirit, but for most of our country’s history, the

more popular native whiskey was straight rye. To-

day rye is resurgent, with good reason: The best

rye, spicy and dry, is more intricate and more inter-

esting than bourbon.

Let’s defi ne our terms: At some point in

the 20th century, “rye” became synony-

mous with blended Canadian whiskey,

even though many Canadian whiskies

contain little or no rye grain. In the U.S.,

by contrast, “straight rye whiskey” must

be distilled from at least 51 percent rye,

just as “straight bourbon whiskey” must

contain at least 51 percent corn in the

mash bill. When whiskey geeks speak

of rye, they mean straight rye—true rye.

Eighteenth-century Americans drank spirits in great

quantity, often beginning at breakfast. After the Revolu-

tion, the preferred dram shifted from rum and fruit brandy

to whiskey, especially in the Mid-Atlantic and the South.

Scots-Irish immigrants fueled the trend. They arrived with

a taste for whiskey and the know-how to make it from

whatever grain was on hand, which more often than not

was rye. George Washington operated a sizeable rye dis-

tillery at Mount Vernon. And when, as President, he rode

out with 13,000 troops to quell the Whiskey Rebellion in

western Pennsylvania, the whiskey in question was rye.

For most of the 19th century, Maryland and Pennsyl-

vania produced a lot more rye per year than Kentucky did

bourbon. When the classic whiskey cocktails, the Sazerac

and the Manhattan, were popularized, they called not for

4 0 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac rye is just

one great whiskey from Buffalo Trace.

Dating to 1787, the distillery sits by

the Kentucky River in Frankfort, just

over the hill in this 1871 map.

POC.malt.indd 40POC.malt.indd 40 11/24/09 6:03:06 PM11/24/09 6:03:06 PM

5004 East Addison Circle | Addison, TX 75001 | 972.701.8500

www.modmexkitchen.comHOURS: Mon – Thurs: 11 am to 10 pm | Fri : 11 am to 11 pm | Sat :12 pm to 11 pm | Closed Sundays

Masaryk

masaryk right.indd 145masaryk right.indd 145 11/24/09 6:33:23 PM11/24/09 6:33:23 PM

bourbon but for rye. To drink a Manhattan made with rye, by the way, can

be a revelation. I’ve never cared for a bourbon Manhattan—too sweet—

but the drink made with three parts rye, one part sweet vermouth and a

dash of Angostura bitters, the original 1874 recipe, is terrifi c.

So what killed real rye? In a word, Prohibition. When the act was

repealed in 1933, distillers had to crank up production from scratch.

They gravitated to bourbon, probably because corn was the cheaper

grain. While the new bourbon was aging, Canadian whiskey continued

to fl ood the U.S. market, just as it had on a bootleg basis since 1919.

Sweet and generic, this “rye” became the norm, while only a few die-

hard distilleries in the U.S. resumed the production of straight rye.

Now, after a 70-year hiatus, straight rye is enjoying a major come-

back. Call this Phase III of the Great Whiskey Awakening. In Phase I,

single malt Scotch became the subject of connoisseurship. In Phase II,

enthusiasm turned to bourbon, leading distillers to feats of small-batch

and single-barrel greatness. In Phase III, the focus is straight rye, and

distillers are scrambling to keep up with demand.

While bourbon peters out with too much aging, rye whiskey, like

Scotch, becomes more rounded and complex with additional years in

the barrel. Older ryes are in short supply, and prices have shot up. The

brands to look for are Black Maple Hill, Hirsch Selection, Sazerac and

High West Rendezvous—the latter a highly successful blend of six-

year-old and 16-year-old ryes.

Most rye on the current market comes from bourbon distilleries in

Kentucky. This includes Sazerac, a new brand with an old name from the

Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., which is producing some of the

best whiskies in America. The Sazerac ryes include a bold six-year-old

(known to devotees as “baby Saz”), a stunning 18-year-old and a special

bottling called Thomas H. Handy Sazerac rye. The Handy is named for

the New Orleans barkeep who updated the Sazerac cocktail in the late

1800s by substituting rye for the cognac of the original recipe.

Buffalo Trace issues a new, barrel-strength bottling of its Thomas H.

Handy Sazerac rye each fall. Recently I tasted the third release, for which

Buffalo Trace supplied some enticing statistics: Distilled in spring 2002 from

Minnesota rye complemented by Kentucky corn and North Dakota malted

barley, the whiskey aged for six years, fi ve months on the fi fth fl oor of Ware-

house M. Twenty-two barrels were hand-picked for bottling under the Thom-

as H. Handy Sazerac label. It’s interesting to note that 30 percent of the whis-

key was lost to evaporation! That’s the effect of hot Kentucky summers.

Uncut and unfi ltered, the rye was bottled at a mouth-searing 127.5 proof.

If the baby Saz is the perfect cocktail rye—spicy, grassy and a

little sour—the Handy is best enjoyed on the rocks (with a splash of

branch water to cut the strength). Thick and lush, it mingles sweet

bourbon tastes with a sourdough tang and lingering fl oral notes. Frank-

ly, it tastes like a great bourbon, a fi ne Scotch and an elegant old rye all

in one. This is a big, powerful, complex whiskey that seems to evolve

with each delicious sip—proof positive that American straight rye is a

once and future king.

MARK DOWDEN , a native of Kentucky who was educated at the

University of St. Andrews, considers himself whiskey agnostic.

TASTING NOTES

THOMAS H. HANDY SAZERAC RYE

COLOR | Bright, reddish brown

NOSE | Caramel, molasses, new-mown grass, pepper, saddle leather.

PALATE | Christmas fruit cake, toffee, mint, cinnamon, clove.

FINISH | Sourdough bread, long floral notes, coconut, nutmeg.

PRICE | $100

Scenes from Buffalo Trace (clockwise): Whiskey ages

in Warehouse C, which dates to 1885. Obie Kemper

pulls a sample for tasting while Elmer T. Lee, master

distiller emeritus, tries to be patient. When the whiskey

is deemed ready for bottling, it gets “dumped” from the

barrel over charcoal bits. Here, Sazerac rye, the six-

year-old known as “baby Saz,” goes into the bottle.

4 2 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

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N E W C O N S T R U C T I O N | R E N O VAT I O N | C O M M E R C I A L

D R A P E R I E S | F U L L D E S I G N S E RV I C E S

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{ grape }

| BY C Y N T H I A H U R L E Y

IT’S FALL. You can feel it and smell it in the breeze. Ever since

I stepped outside, I’ve been thinking about my earthenware pot

of cassoulet doing a slow bubble on the stove. Is there any meal

better for a day with a little nip in the air? And, being a wine

importer, I’m also thinking about what to uncork with it, but this

is not a real head-scratcher. Cahors, that powerhouse red from

the southwest of France, is far and away my first choice. Great

Cahors is one of the richest and inkiest wines you’ll ever put in

your mouth. And the history of Cahors is as rich as the taste. I’ll

give you just a sip of that.

Cahors is a very old wine town, planted by the Romans, to

the east of Bordeaux. The people of Cahors were making wine

when the Bordelais were still drinking beer. Their wines would

float west along the Lot River to Bordeaux, where the Borde-

lais would extract heavy taxes and sell the wines to markets in

northern Europe.

In his book Wines of South-West France, Paul Strang tells us

that in the 14th century, most of the wine being shipped out of Bor-

deaux was from Quercy, the region of which Cahors is capital. Some

of these very profits allowed the Bordelais to clear their marshy

Medoc vineyards and develop their own winemaking business. The

Bordelais often mixed in the superior Cahors grape juice to add sub-

stance to their then rather amateurish, insipid wines.

One of the most appealing estates you can visit in the Cahors

region is Clos Triguedina. The name comes from the medieval lan-

guage Occitan. “Me trigo de dina” means “I’m longing to dine,”

which is probably what travelers said as they passed through Cahors

on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

Custodian of a family tradition dating back to the time of Louis-Philippe,

vintner Jean-Luc Baldès (above, left) puts grapes in a prune oven. Grown in a

sun-kissed Cahors vineyard (top right), grapes are harvested lovingly by hand.

Clos Triguedina: GORGEOUS MALBEC FROM CAHORS

C O N T I N U E D . . .

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Clos Triguedina makes a wine called Prince Probus

to commemorate the action by the Roman Emperor

Probus in 280, which put the winemakers of Cahors

officially back in business after a previous edict had

outlawed winemaking outside Italy. Apparently, grow-

ing wheat was not nearly as interesting as making wine

and that part of their agricultural obligation was being

neglected. The plucky folks from Cahors had largely

ignored the ban, but it was good to be out in the

open again. The wine called Probus is powerful, racy,

silky, harmonious, first-class, and you should probably

drop whatever you are doing and go and buy a bottle or

three. Sorry. It’s easy to get carried away with the taste

of this wine. It is splendid.

Etienne Baldès planted Clos Triguedina in 1830. To-

day, Jean-Luc Baldès is the eighth generation to be in

charge of the winery. The domain makes three red wines I

particularly love: Clos Triguedina, which is a blend of 80%

Malbec (known locally and historically as Auxerrois), 15%

Merlot and 5% Tannat; Prince Probus, which is 100% Mal-

bec; and The New Black Wine (also 100% Malbec), which

is made in the style approximating the way Cahors used

to taste in the pre-phylloxera days. Phylloxera vastatrix is

that very nasty sap-sucking insect that nearly wiped out

all the vineyards of France in the latter 19th century.

In the past, Black Wine was made by baking the grapes

in the oven, pouring them into a saucepan and then boiling

them to remove most of the water. Today’s Black Wine is

made by putting the grapes in a wooden box with grills on

the bottom and blowing in warm air to shrivel them. The

grapes are then pressed, fermented, and aged in new oak

barrels for 18 months. The wine is dark (although not really

black), smoky and delicious. Uncork some Cahors tonight;

it’s the fi nest expression of Malbec in the world.

A Scotsman in Côtes du Rhône: McKinlay sold his information

technology business to retire on a vineyard. But the extraordinary

land on the slopes of Mont Ventoux drew him deeper into the new

venture.

CYNTH IA HURLEY is an importer of French wines and

a frequent writer on the subject.

CLOS TRIGUEDINA

TASTE | RICH, DARK, BERRY FLAVORS, SMOKY, SPICY, LONG-LIVED

BEST DRUNK WITH | CASSOULET, RICH STEWS

BEST YEARS | 2005, 2006

PRICE | CLOS TRIGUEDINA: $25, PRINCE PROBUS: $50,

THE NEW BLACK WINE: $60

WHERE TO FIND IT | WINE VENTURES IN TENAFLY (201-568-4341);

CENTRAL LIQUORS IN FLEMINGTON (908-782-2518)

(Clockwise from left):

Malbec grapes grow in

clusters on the vine,

barrels fi ll a commodious

cellar and vineyard rows

promise tomorrow’s sipping

indulgence under the

supervision of Monsieur et

Madame Baldès.

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What are your favorite men’s clothing brands?

Zegna’s amazing fabrics and clean lines can make any man

look effortlessly put together and refi ned. Luciano Barbera has

beautiful soft jackets, and CP Company and Transit make great

knitwear. I also love casual pants from Mason. They put a unique

twist on the everyday cotton pant with their cool printed fabrics.

What kind of men’s shoes do you like?

I prefer a clean brown loafer or a classic lace shoe, and always

shoes to fit the occasion. Gravati shoes provide it all with an

extremely comfortable last, great rubber walking soles and the

best selection of leather and skins available in men’s shoes.

What items should every man have in his wardrobe this winter?

Defi nitely a soft constructed sportcoat and a nice pair of dark blue

jeans. This is my favorite look because it’s so comfortable,

yet the tailored jacket keeps it refi ned. For colder weather,

wear the sportcoat over a great cashmere sweater

and Zegna sport shirt.

What’s your best grooming advice for men?

Pay attention to the details! Give your face

some much-deserved care because this

is the fi rst thing everyone sees.

A little goes a long way with

products from The Art of Shaving and Jack

Black. Our customers regularly restock their

favorite shave creams and face moisturizers.

They love the difference that quality grooming

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Complete this sentence: “All women notice a man’s …”

All women notice a man’s style—or lack thereof!

{ fi nishing touch }

YOUR STYLE, SIMPLIFIED

4 8 / H O L I D AY 2 0 0 9

Super sales associate Laura McElyea’s expert advice for Pockets customers

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pockets holiday 2009 issue

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