The Experience Wars

Private Ferrari races. One-on-one powwows with John McEnroe. Torchlit tours of the Vatican. Inside LUXURY’S FURIOUS FIGHT for the affections, and coffers, of the world’s big spenders.

- Horacio Silva

It takes a lot to impress Susan Gutfreund, the doyenne’s doyenne who famously had a private car wash built in one of her apartments. But on a recent summer afternoon she was giddy with excitement. Gutfreund had recently returned from an invitation-only trip to Reims, France, for a celebration of Piper-Heidsieck’s top-of-the-line champagne, Rare—a cuvée that was presented to Marie Antoinette in 1785.

“It was my first champagne experience, and it was extraordinary,” Gutfreund said. “They had magnificent food by beautiful Michelin chefs, including a lunch where they pressed the grapes, a tour of the vineyard, great company. The whole experience was unforgettable.”

Gutfreund explained that, beyond allowing her to savor various vintages in a bucolic setting worthy of Watteau, the experience was all the more remarkable because so few of her friends, even in as sophisticated an environment as New York City, had heard of it, let alone tried it.

“If you have had the privilege of being exposed to so many wonderful things, you become fascinated with finding things that are not that well known,” Gutfreund says. “I think we’re all looking for the cave of Ali Baba. We all want to be surprised, and brands are clearly taking note.”