Bungalow bound

Before I bid farewell to wine for one week, I wanted to indulge by exploring Ensenada, the wine country of Baja Mexico, conveniently located 90 minutes away from the San Diego airport. Overlooking the vine-rich Valle de Guadalupe, the Encuentro Guadalupe Antiresort immerses guests in nature and culture. The experience begins with 20 luxury bungalows staggered amid boulders, cantilevered from the secluded hillside, each outfitted with minimal but high-end amenities including a wood terrace with a chiminea, perfect for wine drinking at dusk. The “eco-lofts” share the 40-acre property with Vinicola Encuentro, a rugged mountain vineyard and winery bottling Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Blanc and Nebiolo (only sold onsite). Encuentro guests are encouraged to patron the bar, cellar and Origen restaurant– a locavore open-kitchen concept offering cooking classes and dinner service on a terrace overlooking the valley. Ever ready to go glamping, I could pack this Mum & Co suede backpack in a matter of minutes, leaving room for wine of course.

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Asado Arcadia

 

Rolling the grill out of the garage yesterday fired me up for the charbroiled parade of summer. With meat on my mind, I sought out an exotic outlet for my carnivorous cravings and found this Arcadian jewel in the fishing village of Jose Ignacio, Uruguay – beloved by some jetsetters in the high season (December to February). Dubbed the best beachside restaurant on the planet by Bon Appetit in 2012, La Huella sits at the end of the six-by-seven street downtown, on the sandy doorstep of the Atlantic Ocean (Bon Appetit food editor Hunter Lewis described the scene as a “bohemian pirate ship run aground – a warren of dining rooms, decks, and open kitchens made of wood and canvas”). Against a soundtrack of Tropicalia music, chef Alejandro Morales has mastered the art of the asado – the South American tradition of cooking meat of an open fire – in addition to many other gourmet traditions from around the world. The menu is a palimpsest of influences: Morales learned to make paella in Spain and shellfish pastas in Italy; for his breads, he drew inspiration from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, and Chez Panisse compelled him to forge connections with organic farms. Now (spring, their autumn) is the time to visit Jose Ignacio: the 300 year-round residents resume their small-town rhythms, and with a new international art fair set for next January, the village – and La Huella – will surely see a spike in appetites.

Headstrong history

I was named after Katharine Hepburn, a fiery legacy I’ve gladly embraced my whole life. But today, I came across a quote that deepened my sense of the star, widely considered to be the greatest female actor in Hollywood history. In the quotation, Lauren Bacall paints a portrait of her friend layering vulnerability and devotion atop the headstrong hue so widely depicted.

“There was always vivid Kate carrying her broken full length mirror to the set every day in Africa – Kate in tears at the death of friend Fanny Brice – Kate eating peaches out of a can in Africa – cooking for Spence – sitting at his feet keeping his coffee hot while hanging on his every word – Kate holding a small bouquet of flowers my first day home from the hospital with her godson, Sam. Kate was a doer – a worker – a riser above all things – exasperating – intimidating – loyal – funny – loving – sentimental – proud – passionate in her likes and dislikes – a lover of beauty – nature – she was all those things and even more.”

So in honor of Hepburn, I present a vignette inspired by her transcendent spirit: daffodil yellow, menswear-inspired-but-oh-so-feminine crinkled crepe pants worn (in my imagination) inside Seven Park Place, a Michelin-starred restaurant by famed chef William Drabble within St. James’s, a former men’s club now boutique hotel in London. A historically exclusionary space reborn in style, fit for a sparkling feminist.