Celebrity Life

Perched Villages of the Cote d’Azur There are over 120 perched villages on the Cote d’azur!  I’m just visiting a handful that are near my villa.  My visitors always enjoy them and I hope you…

One of Edinburgh’s most-loved addresses, InterContinental Edinburgh The George has undergone a multimillion-dollar refurbishment while retaining the history and character of the storied building. Its top-notch location in the Unesco World Heritage Site city calls to first-time visitors who want to explore, but the attentive staff, laid-back dining and elegant decor keep guests coming back... View Article

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Grantley Hall caused a stir when it opened in summer 2019, before Covid-19 forced the storied building to close its doors before reopening in fall 2020. Despite its faltered start and limited time open, the hotel has won many awards. Situated just outside the pretty town of Ripon in the Yorkshire Dales, the Relais &... View Article

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The Austrian village of Lech has long been considered an elite destination, but unlike its French and Swiss counterparts, it has managed to retain much of its original alpine charm. The secret is out, however, and Lech is quickly growing. Chalech, a development that opened in 2019, is one of the village’s newest elite accommodations.... View Article

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With its prominent position at an altitude of over 6,500 ft above sea level, sweeping views over Lake St Moritz, and 60 suites designed by Carlo Rampazzi, the Carlton St Moritz is one of the most stunning hotels in Switzerland. Guests are treated to a variety of culinary surprises in both the Carlton Hotel’s restaurants,... View Article

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A timeless experience awaits at Iconic Santorini, a boutique cave hotel literally carved from Santorini’s volcanic caldera wall. Set in picturesque Imerovigli village at the highest part of its dramatic cliffs, this serene retreat is a haven of tranquility. Each of the enchanting residences captures the spirit of the caldera, where traditional cave accommodations combine... View Article

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Built in 1939, this boutique five-star hotel in Dubrovnik was completely restored and refurbished for its grand opening in spring 2012. Owned by Adriatic Luxury Hotels and part of the Dream Collection, this stunning villa is adjacent to picturesque, cascading seafront gardens with breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea, Lokrum Island and Dubrovnik Old Town.... View Article

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Nobu Ibiza Bay is the island’s premier luxury destination located on prestigious Talamanca Bay near Ibiza Town and its most famous restaurants, nightclubs and Marina Botafoch. It offers 152 rooms and suites with soft furnishings, natural wood and artisan ceramics that reflect the island aesthetic, yet with all the desired indulgences of a luxury resort.... View Article

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An antidote to the archetypal grand dames that dominate the hotel scene in London, The Mandrake is a labyrinth of dark sensuality. Each turn brings you face-to-face with a new and gasp-inducing work of art —be it a seven-ft ostrich with the neck of a snake, or a Game of Thrones-esque chandelier. Cozy corners decked... View Article

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In his waders, Stefan Astner checks on the albino sturgeon: Almost two decades after they hatched, they're ready to be gutted for their white caviar to be shipped out for New Year's celebrations.

"The fish have already been through the ultrasound so we saw that they are full (of roe) and they will go into production soon," Astner says, dipping his net into a small pond teeming with the rare, white sturgeon.

Deemed the most expensive food in the world, demand for caviar -essentially, salted roe - has driven most sturgeon species to the brink of extinction in the wild.

But fish farms like the one where Astner works in the village of Groedig, near the Austrian city of Salzburg, offer a more sustainable alternative. Owner Walter Gruell is one of about 2,500 sturgeon farmers worldwide that produce a combined 415 tonnes of white caviar a year, according to the World Sturgeon Conservation Society's most recent figures dating from 2018.

But patience is imperative for producers. The required investment is high and doesn't pay off for years until the sturgeon begin carrying roe -- that's if they aren't stolen by gangs hoping to skip the arduous breeding process.

The albino female that Gruell slices with surgical precision is 16 years old. Slowly, he removes, rinses, and weighs the cream-coloured roe, which, like the fish, lacks pigmentation.

There are no more than 40 sturgeon breeders specialising in albinos worldwide, according to Thomas Friedrich, an expert on sturgeon at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna.

Though there's no research suggesting that lack of pigmentation affects white caviar's taste, Gruell is convinced of its superiority, asserting that "it's even sweeter, even smoother than the traditionally black one."

Consumers are willing to pay for the difference. The female that Gruell just cut yields 600 grams (21 ounces), worth 8,000 euros ($9,750) -- more than three times the price that black caviar fetches.

Sturgeon rustlers

The coronavirus pandemic has curbed demand as upscale restaurants, like all eateries in Austria, have been closed, but retail is booming, partly because people still want to treat themselves, Gruell believes.

"People want to savour the present moment," he says, between the many phone calls ahead of the end-of-year celebrations, when he makes close to 40 percent of his annual turnover.

While AFP visited his farm, Gruell spoke to a luxury automaker, and shortly before had been in contact with an airline hoping to serve first-class travellers caviar "Made in Austria".

Demand for white caviar remains high, and not just from paying customers, but sturgeon rustlers, too.

A year ago, 400 kilos of sturgeon were stolen from a farm less than two hours away from Groedig. The eviscerated fish were later found in a reservoir. A year before that, 400 individual sturgeon worth 50,000 euros were stolen from another farm.

At Gruell's farm, the fish, which include sturgeon native to the Danube, are protected by surveillance cameras and high fences with heavy padlocks.

Outliving dinosaurs

Though sturgeon breeding in countries like China, Italy and France started as a purely financial venture, it is now also seen as a sustainable alternative to wild sturgeon.

Having survived the demise of the dinosaurs, some sturgeon species have recently gone extinct, while others are on the brink.

In Russia and Iran, production of wild caviar collapsed in the 1980s due to overfishing as well as pollution in the Caspian Sea.

Most countries along the Danube now protect the local sturgeon species, though experts worry that conservation might have come too late.

Official government data in Romania, where the Danube empties into the Black Sea, show that catches of Russian sturgeon plummeted from 3,725 kilos (8,214 pounds) in 2002 to just 37 kilos (82 pounds) in 2005, indicating that overfishing had gravely diminished their numbers.

Though the country issued a moratorium in 2006, impoverished fishermen continue to try and catch the fish, as the dozens of kilos of roe that one sturgeon can carry are worth as much as a fisherman's annual income.

Some fans of the delicacy still believe that the taste of wild caviar eclipses that extracted from farmed sturgeon - though Gruell says his albinos are in a taste category of their own.

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Found in the Alps of eastern France, Haute-Savoie is a region bordering both Italy and Switzerland. Lake Geneva and the beautiful surroundings are to the north, and Mont Blanc and the Aravis mountain ranges are to the east. There are bountiful ski resorts, too, such as Chamonix, Megève, Morzine and Le Grand Massif. With so... View Article

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This charming chalet is set in the equally charming village of Villars-sur-Ollon in the western Swiss Vaud Alps. While many flock here in the winter months to ski, there’s still plenty to do come summer. Laid over three floors with an additional basement level, the chalet is well suited for families and small groups who... View Article

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