Arneis
Langhe, a wine-producing hub in the the heart of Italy's northwestern Piedmont region, is home to nebbiolo, an elegant grape variety that turns into two of the most-famous red wines in the world: Barolo and Barbaresco. But it's a different grape grown in the region, arneis, a white variety once on the verge of extinction (the name translates to “little rascal”), that is having a seasonal moment thanks to its fall-friendly palette of pear, honey and almond. Langhe’s vineyards and terroir deserve a toast of their own during the cooler post-summer months, too, when its rolling grapevine-covered hills turn fiery hues of red, orange and yellow.
Blonde Ambition
Over at Dollywood, arguably the campiest amusement park in the country, a new overnight booking has opened up: Dolly Parton’s tour bus, a pink-velvet sanctuary on wheels designed by Dolly herself where the singer wrote dozens of her country hits. Another bombshell dropping this fall is Blonde, Netflix’s adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates novel based on the life of Norma Jean Mortensen, which puts a darker spin on the Marilyn myth. And, after a six-year hiatus and a thirteen-year legal conservatorship, Britney Spears is back atop the charts with Hold Me Closer, a dance-y duet with Elton John that mashes up Britney’s breathy vocals and two of John’s hits, Tiny Dancer and The One, that is all but guaranteed to be the earworm of fall.
Classics, Old and New
What’s on the menu for fall? Nostalgia. Whether it’s booking a table at an old school joint like Frank and Musso, the storied chophouse in Hollywood, or a classic-in-the-making like Le Rock, the glamorous new brasserie by Frenchette chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson in Rockefeller Center, diners want to feel like eating out is an occasion again. That means white table cloths, jacketed waiters and decadent dishes like prime rib and profiteroles. At Horses, arguably the most of-the-moment restaurant in Los Angeles, diners can enjoy Cornish game hen and steak tartare in a clubby English pub-style setting. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Deux Chats is an elegant Art Nouveau-inspired cafe with seafood towers and ice-cold martinis. Dress code required.
Dukes Camp
Fans of Jack’s Camp, the over-the-top safari destination in Botswana’s Kalahari Desert, will find much to love about founder Ralph Bousefield’s new venture in the Okavango Delta. A first-of-its-kind partnership between Bousefield and conservation legend Colin Bell, the co-founder of Wilderness Safaris and Great Plains Conservation, Duke’s Camp brings the same safari opulence to 20,000 private acres of wildlife-rich lagoon.
Earth Tones
A wave of new design-forward properties have eschewed maximalist patterns and colors in favor of muted, earthy palettes. On the isle of Menorca, the five-bedroom Finca Bellavista farmhouse seems to have sprouted directly from its sun-bleached surroundings. (Think lime-washed interiors punctuated with jute rugs, glazed ceramics and wooden antiques.) Pagostas, a 16th-century monastery turned three-suite guesthouse on the Greek island of Patmos, offers similar scaled-back rusticism. And while Japan’s ryokan inns are known for their simple lines and no-frills furnishings, Kyoto’s nine-suite Shinmonzen hotel — a project dreamed up by Tadao Ando and cabinet-maker-turned-yacht-designer Remi Tessier — puts a woodsy spin on the genre with Hinoki-cypress wood bathtubs and and balconies overlooking the Shirakawa River.
Florence
Across the board, fall is for forms of Florences. In Florence, Italy, a new exhibition of monumental installations by the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi brings a burst of hyper-contemporary design to the ancient Tuscan city. Stateside, Florence Pugh stars opposite Harry Styles in Don’t Worry Darling, the highly-anticipated, Olivia Wilde-directed psychological thriller about a housewife in a mid-century California company town. And another Brit with an Italianate name, Florence Welch, the flame-haired singer of Florence and the Machine, is heading on tour across the U.S. and Europe through November.
Guadalajara
Mexico’s second largest city has mostly been known as a manufacturing town. But recently Guadalajara, with its rich history of craft and industry, has become a design hub for artists from Mexico and beyond who flock to the creative epicenter to collaborate with the city's diversity of metalworkers, carpenters, glassblowers and weavers. Ceramic Suro, a family-owned operation since 1950, has turned into an artistic incubator, working with the likes of David Adjaye, the Hass Brothers and Rene Redzepi. There are also newcomers like Estudio Popdots, which creates contemporary crafts, and LUIS Galería, a showcase for emerging talent.
Höller
The German artist Carsten Höller’s latest venture is Brutalisten, or “the Brutalist” in Swedish, a restaurant concept in Stockholm with a menu that emphasizes ingredients, textures and construction. True to its name, each dish is prepared through a Brutalist lens, which in Höller’s hands means “mono-ingredient” dishes, or, say, steamed white asparagus topped with sauce made from fermented asparagus. Reflecting the kitchen’s commitment to its architectural manifesto, the space is filled with works by Carl Andre, Dan Flavin and the Congolese painter Moké, all hand-picked by Höller. For those who haven’t cut alcohol from their diet, a “Brutalist beer” is brewed without hops; for those who have, specialty drinks are made from mushrooms and algae.
