Originally published in the December issue of Robb Report as “Magic Dragon”

The Gift:

? DeepFlight’s new 16-foot-long, two-person submersible.
?$1.5 million

Although the new DeepFlight Dragon submersible can dive as deep as 400 feet below the surface of an ocean or lake, it is as easy to operate as any personal watercraft. In fact, because the sub is controlled with a lever and a joystick, maneuvering it evokes playing a video game. The Dragon is designed with tandem seating, and each cockpit …

Originally published in the December issue of Robb Report as “The Human Factor”

Relationships define the terroir-rich wines of Donelan Family in California’s Sonoma County.

The same asset that enabled Joe Donelan to prosper as vice president of A.T. Clayton—an East Coast enterprise supplying paper to catalog and magazine publishers—prompted him to launch a new career as vintner: a genuine affection for others. “Deep down, if I had to characterize myself,” says Donelan in his brash New England accent…

Originally published in the December issue of Robb Report as “Gift Wrappers (and Fillers and Binders): Celebratory Smokes”

Partagás Aniversario
To commemorate the 170th anniversary of its Partagás brand, General Cigar has created the Aniversario cigar, which incorporates ligero and viso tobacco leaves from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua (including a proprietary Nicaraguan Gurdian leaf) and a Connecticut Habano binder. The crowning glory is a 5-year-old Cameroon wrapper, which imparts a sophisticated…

Two years ago, when Lamborghini was debuting the Veneno Roadster, the company chose 1201 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills to host a VIP viewing event. The home’s five-car showroom—where floor-to-ceiling glass windows frame unobstructed hilltop views—has a better lookout to Los Angeles and the Pacific for the cars than many Angelenos have ever witnessed for themselves.

A moat surrounds the main grand-piano-shaped grade, rendering unnecessary any railings around the steep hillside edges below. The showroom sit…

This holiday season, aviation fanatics can tour the Caribbean like never before, island hopping in a private Gulfstream G650 jet and experiencing some of the world’s most thrilling airport landings. Overseen by PrivateFly, a private jet charter booking service based in the United Kingdom, highlights of the PrivateFly holiday itinerary include landing on the world’s shortest commercial runway (a 1,312-foot stretch located atop craggy ocean bluffs on the 5-mile-long island of Saba); experiencing the flying round…

Originally published in the November/December issue of Host’s Guide as “Dessert Wines”

R.A. Harrison Family Cellars 2009 Nobility
While at Beringer Vineyards, Roger Harrison honored the legacy of two of Napa’s most respected winemakers, Myron and Alice Nightingale, by helping craft the winery’s much-admired late-harvest dessert wine, Nightingale, a blend of botrytized Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Recently he left Beringer to focus his talents on one of the region’s rarest offerings, a dessert wine made w…

Originally published in the November issue of Robb Report as “Phinisi Fantasies”

Silolona Sojourns’ sailing expeditions through Indonesia uncover a wondrous world of whale hunters, dragons, and volcanoes. 

I am standing on the edge of Batu Tara, an isolated volcano that rises straight out of the Flores Sea in Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, when I feel the first rumble. “Scott!” a voice cries out behind me. “Get on the boat!” 

One hundred feet offshore, Patti Seery—my guide and the owner o…

Originally published in the November issue of Robb Report as “The Dish Down Under”

Farm-to-table is nothing new in New Zealand, where long-standing agricultural traditions are finally translating to world-class cuisine. 

It was a crisp May morning, and I was sitting patiently in a New Zealand traffic jam. To the left of the winding dirt road, rolling hills tumbled into one another like golden-green waves until they disappeared suddenly into the shimmering horizon of Pigeon Bay. To the right, a steep…

Every year, hundreds of parka-clad cinephiles spill out of the Egyptian Theatre, traipsing over Utah’s moonlit snowbanks as they discuss which of the independent films is most worthy of the big screen. Since 1985, Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival has become America’s premier independent-film festival. For those planning to attend the 30th anniversary of the festival next year—taking place January 21 through 31, 2016—RobbReport.com has compiled a list of its favorite Sundance accommodations. From a one-of-a-kind ice lounge to aerial tours of national parks, these five hotels …

A ubiquitous symbol with a variety of meanings—power, regeneration, protection, and eternity, to name a few—the serpent has served as a dramatic jewelry motif for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, gold necklaces, arm cuffs, and headpieces were fashioned in the shape of the reptile, often to signify the wearer’s devotion to and protection by the sun god Amun-Ra. During the Victorian era, Prince Albert popularized the symbol when he proposed to Queen Victoria with a bejeweled snake ring. Decad…