Tips for Planning a Wine-Tasting Tour

Aspen Partners founder Nikos Hecht manages one of the world’s most impressive luxury and vintage watch collections. Alongside his passion for high-quality timepieces, Nikos Hecht curates a top-level wine collection.

Many wine enthusiasts travel to notable wine regions for tastings and tours. If you’re planning a wine tour, consider the following:

- Season

Wine regions in Europe and North America are best experienced during the summer, while vineyards in New Zealand and South Africa are at their peak from December to February.

- Tours vs. tastings

While many wineries offer both, tours usually educate visitors on the winemaking process by walking through the vineyard, while tastings are held in one specific dining room or outdoor area.

- Schedule

Hundreds of wineries may operate in a single wine region. Narrow your choices to a handful of wineries within a reasonable driving distance. To keep an enjoyable pace, schedule no more than two tours per day.

“Debt Activism” Set to Emerge as a Driver of Corporate Restructurings

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Aspen, Colorado-based Nikos Hecht gained prominence as the founding partner of a hedge fund that managed a multibillion-dollar portfolio of assets. A particular focus of Nikos Hecht was in identifying value to be gained through the processes of bankruptcy and restructuring.

A recent Financier Worldwide article brought focus to new dynamics informing companies’ restructuring approach. The background is one in which the retail sector is already experiencing major insolvencies and restructurings. Some 60,000 broader corporate bonds with an S&P rating of no higher than BBB are set to mature in 2020 and 2021.

At the same time, there has been a tenfold increase in covenant-lite loans from 2007 to 2018. This increased corporate flexibilities while providing pathways for decreasing transparency about financial condition, shielding value, and extending restructuring timeframes. Countering this, industry analysts are increasingly able to dive deep into debt documents and reveal what would otherwise be restricted.

With shareholder activism already well established in the United States, what this may lead to is debt activism, with equity investors seeking to influence stakeholder perceptions while taking a litigation-focused approach to moving restructuring processes forward in companies that would otherwise be protected by covenant-lite arrangements.

2019 Hermes and Vuitton Timepieces for Only Watch Charity Auction

Hermes shop
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Nikos Hecht is an Aspen, Colorado, entrepreneur who guided a hedge fund that achieved industry-leading results when it came to the restructuring and bankruptcy industry. Among Nikos Hecht’s passions is timepieces, and he maintains a significant collection of watches spanning eras and styles.

Among the unique creations of 2019 designed tor the Only Watch Charity Auction is the Hermes Arceau L’heure de la lune Only Watch. This features two mother-of-pearl moons on its black surface, such that the lunar phase spanning both the southern and northern hemispheres can be viewed.

At the 12 o’clock spot, a Dimitri Rybaltchenko-designed Pegasus appears in the moon, while the moon at the 6 o’clock spot features a realistic lunar view. Beneath the moon and time sundials is a dark meteorite dial, with the timepiece powered by Manufacture Hermes H1837 movement and making an elegant statement for stargazers.

A distinctive 2019 Louis Vuitton Only Watch offering is the Escale Spin Time, which features traditional miniature hand painting and a painstaking Grand Feu champleve enameling process. The result is a timepiece with a distinctive red rose intertwined with “LV” that takes direct inspiration from tattoo art and is bordered by alternating circles of diamonds and red rubies.