Wine estates, forest lodges, and Alpine retreats

Autumn is the most cinematic season—when landscapes soften into golden tones, vineyards blaze in deep purples, and the first snow dusts the mountaintops. For the global elite, this is more than just a travel season - it is an opportunity to retreat to properties that capture the magic of the moment. Increasingly, high-net-worth individuals seek homes that combine seasonal refuge with long-term investment—wine estates, forest lodges, and Alpine chalets that offer not only seclusion but also ritual, beauty, and a profound sense of belonging.

Wine estates: The allure of harvest

There is something almost intoxicating about vineyards in autumn: the rows of vines like brushstrokes of amber and crimson, the air perfumed with the scent of ripening grapes, the faint echo of history in every barrel. Today’s collectors are no longer satisfied merely to taste—they want to craft.

In Tuscany, estates in Chianti Classico beckon investors longing to pour a bottle bearing the family crest, sourced from vines visible from their terrace. Some collaborate with celebrated oenologists, producing boutique vintages served in private clubs—transforming their properties into both private retreats and cultural statements.

In Napa Valley, California, a renaissance unfolds. After years of wildfires, a new generation of architects and wine producers has crafted stone-and-glass villas with subterranean tasting rooms, expansive terraces overlooking the vineyards, and guest wings designed for both intimacy and entertaining. Harvests are spent alongside Michelin-starred chefs and sommeliers guiding guests through the alchemy of blending, while lantern-lit terraces carry the heady aroma of fermenting grapes across the cool evening air.

Farther south, Argentina’s Mendoza offers not just wine but lifestyle. Days begin on horseback among the vines, afternoons unwind in private thermal pools, and evenings under open skies transform into a theater as the Milky Way arcs like a brushstroke above the Andes. In the Southern Hemisphere, spring brings harvests in April, allowing owners the rare pleasure of two grape harvests in one year.

Portugal’s Douro Valley has emerged as a haven for the discerning. Once famed solely for port wine, the region now thrives with biodynamic vineyards and elegant contemporary estates perched above terraced slopes. Autumn here is a ballet of sunlight on the river, long walks among centuries-old vines, and evenings in stone salons where tradition meets contemporary design. Heritage and innovation coalesce, drawing a new generation of aesthetes to the valley’s steep terraces.

Forest lodges: Where nature becomes architecture

If vineyards are about ritual and heritage, forest estates are about retreat and renewal. Autumn is their season of glory: trees ablaze in fiery hues, the air rich with earth and woodsmoke.

In upstate New York, Manhattan’s elite slip into glass lodges, where mornings are spent wandering maple and oak forests and evenings are punctuated with cocktails beside stone fireplaces in soaring libraries. Afternoons might bring yoga atop wooden terraces suspended among the treetops or tastings of local vintages from nearby boutique wineries.

Across Europe, forest lodges are experiencing a renaissance. In Germany’s Black Forest, architects are transforming classic timber cabins into modern estates with private spas and infinity pools reflecting the canopy above. Gourmet experiences abound: truffle hunts, mossy forest rides, and dinners orchestrated by star chefs crafting delicacies from wild mushrooms and game.

In Tyrol, Austria, restored hunting lodges offer a discrete escape, where autumn unfolds in harvest festivals, private wine tastings, and candlelit chamber concerts. In Norway and Finland, simplicity is the ultimate luxury: lodges of stone and cedar, interiors scented with smoke and leather, days spent fishing in crystal lakes, foraging for berries, or watching the northern lights dance across the clear skies.

Catalonia’s forests cultivate the art of slow living. Ancient stone houses have been reborn with sleek glass facades, contemporary kitchens, and private spa suites. Autumn here is olive harvests, leisurely walks through chestnut woods, and long evenings beneath pergolas lit with lanterns.

Alpine retreats: Prelude to snow

Autumn in the Alps is the quiet before winter’s spectacle—a moment when villages ready themselves for snow, yet the ski crowds have not arrived. For those who own chalets, the season is a coveted interlude.

In Switzerland’s Verbier and Gstaad, estates are no longer mere winter refuges - they are year-round sanctuaries. October brings golden leaves, crisp but soft air, and days spent on picturesque empty trails, afternoons in stone-carved hydrotherapy pools, evenings by candlelight overlooking misty valleys. The season is less about skiing and more about restoration—before the social calendar bursts to life.

The Italian Dolomites, with their rose-tinted peaks, offer a refined rhythm: mornings foraging for truffles, afternoons wandering orange-tinted forests, evenings dining on polenta, porcini, and Barolo in intimate mountain lodges. Here, grandeur meets intimacy, UNESCO-protected landscapes blend effortlessly with the lived experience of being a local.

Across the Atlantic, Aspen becomes America’s secret autumn capital. While winter dazzles and summer brims with festivals, fall is golden and serene: aspen forests aglow, horseback rides through quiet meadows, private concerts in cozy salons. It is a season for gathering, fireside evenings, and cultural life without crowds.

Living the season

What unites wine estates, forest lodges, and Alpine chalets in autumn 2025 is a transformation in how ownership is perceived. These properties are no longer merely assets—they are rituals, identities. Vineyards turn owners into wine producers and hosts, embedding heritage in every glass of wine. Forest lodges offer refuge and silence amid a world racing forward. Alpine chalets carry the promise of winter, the beauty of anticipation, the luxury of time paused.

In a world where time is the rarest resource, autumn offers something priceless: the chance to inhabit a season fully. Whether on a terrace in the Douro, in the Tyrolean woods, or high in the Swiss valleys, the true luxury of autumn lies not just in the property, but in the life that unfolds within it.

Photos: Foodandwine.com, Alessandro Moggi, Badia a Coltibuono, Marilyn Krieger, DiBacco Imports, napavalley.com, Louis M. Martini, Pine Ridge Vineyards, Stags’ Leap Winery, Archdaily.com, Verbierlocation.com, Dezeen.com, Forestis.it, Robert Benson, luxesourse.com.