Three of luxury’s brightest stars will be the toasts of the Caribbean during celebratory dinners at Caneel Bay, a Rosewood Resort on St. John. On the menu for the waning days of autumn are a Holiday Champagne Dinner featuring Moet & Chandon on December 16; and an Artisan Dinner for jewelry designer John Hardy of the Cinta Collection on December 20.
Each evening will unfold with a champagne reception and light hors d’oeuvres served on the veranda at the Turtle Bay Estate House overlooking Turtle Bay. The reception will be followed by a multiple-course dinner created by Turtle Bay Estate House Chef Clearance McCoy. Exceptional wine pairings will accompany each course.
Caneel Bay Wine and Beverage Director Eric Toles created this popular resort dinner series, which has seen five events during 2007, with a handful more already in the works for 2008. Turtle Bay Estate House is widely renowned for classic and creative American cuisine, with a beautiful atmosphere just right for marking notable occasions — as well as celebrating noteworthy guests.
Moet & Chandon Champagne Holiday Dinner
The evening begins with butlered hors d’oeuvres and Jeroboams of Brut Imperial served on the Turtle Bay veranda. This annual holiday event is marked by elegant cuisine paired with a full range of French champagne styles and finishes with a rich dessert selection of petit fours and artisan cheeses. Our guest of honor will be Mr. Gilles Veluzat, President of Moet & Chandon LV Latin America, who will saber Premium Dom Perignon right before guests’ eyes. The 1998 Dom Perignon was unveiled at the Turtle Bay Estate House in 2003, and has become a tribute to this annual event.
Caneel Bay will feature a wonderfully sublime varietals expression of a Cabernet Sauvignon from Afincado, a Terrazas de los Andes winery in Mendoza, Argentina, which occupies one of the best growing altitudes and regions for Cabernet. Moet & Chandon actually used to grow Champagne grapes in the very same vineyards. Holiday attire is encouraged.
Artisan Dinner: John Hardy
A man who loves to show things, and has chosen the perfect medium through which to do it, jewelry designer John Hardy creates stunning pieces for the Cinta Collection from his workshop/design studio deep in rice farming country in Bali. The heart of the complex, which doubles as an organic farm, is the wantilan, a three-story, antique open-air pavilion that was formerly a Balinese community hall. There, Hardy’s design concepts are born, incubated, refined and developed — first in sketches, then fine watercolor drawings, and finally carved in hard green jewelers wax to be cast in silver or gold as the master copy.
Though originally recognized as a designer of silver jewelry, Hardy now designs in gold, too, as well as with diamonds and other gemstones. The Cinta Collection grew out of Hardy’s tradition of using the finest gemstones to create one-of-a-kind pieces for his wife, Cynthia. The word means “love” in Balinese — so think of Cinta pieces as love offerings, and the perfect symbols for celebrating the same. The ocean-life inspired collection is a fitting complement to the resort and Virgin Islands National Park. Following the dinner at Turtle Bay Estate House, the exclusive Cinta Collection will be on view at Jewels at Mongoose Junction, December 21 and 22.
Reservations for each dinner are limited to 70 guests; 45 seats will be reserved for resort guests wishing to join the event. Caneel Bay wine dinners sell out quickly, so try to book in advance! Cost for each prix fixe evening is $150 per person, excluding gratuity.
For reservations or more information on any of the above celebratory dinners at Caneel Bay, a Rosewood Resort, contact Caneel Bay Activities at 340-776-6111.