STEPHANIE DRAX

As we dine outside under a linden tree - feasting on fine wines paired with exceptional French food – and with a panorama of immaculate vineyards in view, I find myself casually learning all about taste and terroir. This is student life on the Chȇne Bleu Extreme Wine Experience at Domaine de la Verrière in Provence. It is a class - with class.

Lalique Crystal. The temptation to touch is overwhelming. Spun on the end of a gathering stick, a bulb of liquid crystal looks like golden candy. The viscid syrup requires skillful manipulation as it quickly cools and I prudently resist the urge to reach out: this “candy” is 2,100℉ (1,150℃).

Virginie Taittinger Champagne. One of a very few women to have created her own Champagne house, the founder of Virginie T. has bubbly in the blood: Her father is a Taittinger, her mother a Piper Heidsieck.

Tattersalls Thoroughbred Market. For almost 400 years the ‘Sport of Kings’ has fascinated and frustrated in equal measure. Where an artwork, real estate or even diamonds can offer immediate and definable distinction, glory cannot be guaranteed when buying a horse – despite its being tipped for racing triumph.

Superyachts. The seduction began the moment my bare toes made contact with soft teak. Posteriors were guided to plump cushions, cool drinks were pressed into palms, and after a rosé-fuelled gourmet lunch and sunpad snooze, I was tranquilized by this cocooning and utterly private floating oasis.

A Gourmet Road Trip, South Africa. Capetonians are a gastronomically discerning clique. Their palates are honed by not only living in the culinary capital of South Africa - a fertile hub that provisioned passing ships as the halfway point on the Spice Route during the 17th century - but by virtue of the world renowned vineyards on their doorstep.

Reviews of the Taschen Book Tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Modus Operandi online shopping & Miller Harris Bespoke Perfume Service.

Reviews of Diane Von Furstenberg’s Tableware Collection & Philip Treacy’s Bespoke Hat Service.

Sarah's Bag, Beirut. Beirut-based designer Sarah Beydoun employs and empowers underprivileged Lebanese women to handcraft every detail on the hypnotic clutches that make up her namesake collection.

Toronto - a vintage heaven. There it was, casually draped over the contours of a mannequin: the cream silk blouse for which I'd spent months scouring London. I'd unsuccessfully trawled all of the reputable high-street retailers in search of what I'd assumed was a staple item, but it had proved exasperatingly elusive. Trust a Toronto vintage shop to come up trumps.

Finding Your Inner Frenchwoman. As my taxi pulled up outside the convent I started to panic. This wasn’t what I’d had in mind at all. Consigned to five days with eight women in a nunnery? I had been promised a retreat in the south of France with lessons in how to be a Frenchwoman. But here I was, in the tiny hamlet of Hérépian, deep in Languedoc, slightly confused.