Baron Enno von Ruffin says about himself that he’s a ‘car-driving rambler’

“The baron is coming in a second”, says the friendly woman and pleases me to wait. And then he’s standing in front of me – in red cords, a for him typical cardigan, of course with a breast pocket handkerchief: Baron Enno von Ruffin falls down on his sofa in his salon. “There was a problem with the cables for the Christmas illumination”, he explains his delay whilst being a little bit out of breath. But everything is sorted now. Like always. Even after 2 a.m., when a hotel guest stands in front of his door – without a key. Then it’s Ennos mobile phone that rings.

Since 400 years, Gut Basthorst is the home for the Ruffin family

Since 35 years Enno von Ruffin is leading Gut Basthorst in Schleswig-Holstein, a 650 hectares big estate, which includes next to its agriculture a company for gardening and landscaping, as well as a hotel and gastronomy with its own Basthorst Bier. And since 400 years, Gut Basthorst is the home for the Ruffin family that originally comes from Bavaria and Meran in Tirol. This is where Enno was born. Where he was raised. He knows every corner, every tree, and every shrub. He went to the village school, pending between mornings and afternoons, because there was only one classroom. Afterwards Enno has been sent to boarding school. At this stage he was only ten years old. He couldn’t really cope with the rough world of boarding. Suddenly there were different rules. Rules, which didn’t include cigarettes, beer or girls – Enno was, as a lover of liberty, truly not a fan of these rules. “In fact I was an easy child”, says Enno and grins. “Others probably saw that differently”. So he changed the boarding schools in periodically intervals, “I have no idea how many.” His protest against the establishment, “but never against the family.”

The manor: in the former private rooms of the old Baroness – the mother of Enno von Ruffin – today the hotel resides

After school he went to Bavaria, was lieutenant for the mountain infantry, completed an agricultural apprenticeship earlier. And spent one year near Dallas, where he dealed with the American agriculture. It seemed to be fascinating and deterred at the same time. This anonymity. “There was no caregiver, nothing familiar.” Instead there were miles of fields. “This literally broadened my horizon.” Enno von Ruffin returned to Germany to his home in Schleswig-Holstein. Because it was clear; he as the male heir takes over the farm and the responsibility for the business and the therefore involved people. At just 27 years of age. He structured, modernized, rented the empty buildings to craftsmen. The former horse stable nowadays contains an inn; events take place in the barns, from dog competitions to the ‘Players Night’ – a night where the polo cup, which regularly takes place at Basthorst, is celebrated.

In the former horse stable – built in 1913 by the ancestors of the Ruffin family, the Brusselles – visitors will find a comfortable restaurant, in which German cuisine is served

Basthorst is popular for its seasonal markets. Next weekend starts this years Christmas market. Ten thousands of visitors will come to attune themselves to the Advent season with Negus and deer-sausages. And to sing Christmas songs with Vicky Leandros. In the mid 80s Enno von Ruffin gets to know the famous singer in the once legendary Hamburg nightclub ‘Insel’ (island). First he didn’t know who she is; he did one of his flippant slogans, which she skillfully parried. He introduced her to his – luckily relatively liberal – parents so that Vicky’s Greek origin or the “standardized marriage” were no obstacles. Today they are amicably seperated.

The pond of the village lies romantically in the middle of the hundreds of years old building-ensemble

35 employees and a diversity of temporary workers take care of the farm estate. “I am farmer”, says Enno von Ruffin, “I don’t want to look after chair covers.” The animal husbandry – pigs, cows, sheep, chicken with which Enno grew up – have been abolished in the 60s. Now there are horses again, because Ennos companion, the Swedish Estelle Rytterborg, is a passionate show jumper. A passion that unifies both and nearly leads to a disaster: in fast gallop Enno fell from his horse, suffers from a life-threatening breach in his lungs. “Such incisions make you humble”, he says in thoughts. Since then he doesn’t smoke anymore. “Sometimes I drink enough”, he laughs. Enno enjoys skiing in Kitzbühel during his holidays and says about himself that he’s a ‘car-driving rambler’. “I got calmer, don’t have to attend every party.” The wild times are over now.

Enno von Ruffin with companion Estelle Rytterborg

What is from true importance? The family. Of course. The children Leo, Milana and Sandra. His companion Estelle and her daughter Pauline. Friendships. Basthorst. Milana, who’s meanwhile mother of two children, is going to take over Gut Basthorst one day. Gradually, how Enno von Ruffin emphasizes. Sometimes. Because he cannot completely release: “I always have an ear on the yard.” If it’s raining inside or if the wind whips off the tiles of the roof: it will be his phone, which rings. BvH

Christmas market in Basthorst

Tip:

The Christmas market at Gut Basthorst is one of the most beautiful in North Germany. It starts on the 20th of November (except the 22nd of November) and will be open all Advent weekends: from Friday until Sunday 300 exhibitors offer handcrafts and regional specialties in harmonic atmosphere.
Friday the 27th of November Vicky Leandros is doing a Christmas benefit concert in favor of ‘Ein Herz für Kinder’ (‘a heart for children’). You can auction a VIP-Christmas Tree that will be signed by celebrities like Udo Lindenberg, H.P. Baxter, Johannes B. Kerner, and others.

About the antique secretary the coat of arms of the ancestors

“I’m a human of yard and family, this is what makes my day”, says Enno von Ruffin, who is accompanied by the two Jack Russell terriers Lion and Trouper at every step

Shopping at Gut Basthorst: in the outbuildings of the yard are several shops that invite to further shopping experiences

Over all reigns the neo-Gothic, evangelist Granit church St. Marien – with Baron Enno von Ruffin as patron

Diverse trades have been established at Gut Basthorst: a shoemaker and bassoon-maker, a glider and a felt maker …

… There’s an antiques shop and boutiques for fashion, presents as well as a distillery, a bakery and a whisky-storage

Always with Enno von Ruffin: Lion and Trouper. Sweet!

Pure nature: Gast Basthorst in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Accession at Gut Basthorst is an original ‘Holzhäuserl’ (house out of wood) from Tirol …

… marvelous lodge-feeling – for this no one has to drive to Austria

Impressions of the countryside …

… and one photo opportunity more beautiful than the other

Enno von Ruffin and me

Contact:

Gut Basthorst
Auf dem Gut 3
21493 Basthorst, Germany

www.gut-basthorst.de

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When Caspar Heinrich Count of Sierstorpff acquired the mineral springs in the Westphalian Driburg in 1782, he did so with the intention “to create a place of rural pleasure”.

The fountain arcades – built in 1804 – with the healing water sources

Annabelle Countess of Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff actually always dreamed of a life far away in the big world, after she finished her studies in art history in Berlin and worked for several galleries and museums. But it turned out different: the art historian – who was born in Pakistan and raised in Seville, Barcelona and Essen – fell in love and so ended up in the east of Westphalia. There, in Bad Driburg near the Teutoburger Forrest, her husband Marcus Count of Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff leads the stores of the family business in the seventh generation, consisting out of five convalescent homes, one mineral spring and the “Gräflicher Park Hotel and Spa” (Royal Park Hotel & Spa) with over 1.500 employees. Annabelle, mother of three children, is leading the business communications of the count’s business. Not to forget the special focus on art, that plays a major role in the house of the family.

Annabelle Countess of Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff

MyStylery: When you arrived to Bad Driburg, the city didn’t really have the status of an art-mecca…
Annabelle von Oeynhausen: (laughs): … not really. That’s why my friends literally felt for myself. Today it’s the opposite. In the Diotima community that was founded by myself, we realise art projects and organise readings and concerts. That’s my real passion. The newest project is an observation deck located in a maze, for which Marcus meant, that we could hire a carpenter. With Michael Sailstorfer we could find an international artist for our design. Unfortunately this costs a lot and won’t be realisable without incentives.

View into the Lobby

Modern architecture connects the historic lodging houses

MS: The Count’s Park has long been associated rather as a place of cur than with art.
AvO: Actually the past level was rather like “men in string vests with beer bottles”. The health reform then brought the change. Cures with certificates of illness don’t exist since 1995 and all spa resorts had to reorient. We changed the whole construction eight years ago, back to its original high standards, and we established the Count’s Park to a hotel resort with spa. It was a large construction site for two years. And there’s always something to look after. One’s never done.

Extensively renovated in 2007, the four-star Superior Hotel is now one of the leading spa resorts in Europe

The 1,500 square meter big spa area with an outdoor swimming pool of 25 meters in length

Facials with beauty products by Clarins are offered in the Spa-Suite

MS: What makes your resort “Gräflicher Park Hotel und Spa“ so outstanding?
AvO: When Caspar Heinrich von Sierstorpff, the ancestor of Marcus, founded the hotel in 1782, it was a noble place just from the beginning. Our family leads it now for 233 years. And there exist only a few hotels with a private landscape park of a size of 64 hectare. Isn’t that a paradise?! Meanwhile our hotel counts to one of the best in Europe, considering its F. X. Mayr-Cures and a 1.500 square meters big spa. A steam sauna in the cellar alone doesn’t automatically make a wellness hotel.

More than 30,000 plants are planted each year always in new formations and in springtime also more than 20,000 pansies

The dutch garden artist Piet Oudolf created gardens of perennials and grasses with passable hills for different viewing angles

In the English landscape park with its partially resultant trees from 1782 twelve gardeners are in continuous use

MS: You’re not really the type of hillbilly that seamlessly integrates in a royal family and its special traditions. How was that for you?
AvO: It wasn’t easy to arrive here. We lived in a small house in a forest in the beginning. I missed the big city life. I’m now very happy with my actual living situation, in love with the landscape, the nature and my job. Nowadays I won’t be able to consist the socialising in the city.

Redesigned rooms at the Sierstorpff house come with modern, floral wallpaper and orange-green color accents

The cuddly Chinese-room – my favorite!

How about a spa weekend in the “Gräflicher Park” with accommodation in the “Red Room”? A F.X. Mayr cure should at least be scheduled to ten days

MS: In the beginning you wanted to prove yourself and you were very engaged in the family business. With a positive feedback?
AvO: I was working for ten years without any interruption. When my daughter then went to boarding school, I realised, oh now she’s gone, and I’ve missed her. I then pulled myself back and concentrated more on the private.

The “Caspar’s Restaurant” pampers guests with international dishes. In the morning, breakfast is served here …

… or outside on the terrace, when the weather is nice

The menu of the restaurant “Pferdestall” – stable – offers regional country kitchen

MS: Is there nothing that can bring you out of rage? You seem to be thoroughly relaxed.
AvO: (laughs): Oh for sure! On Easter an employee set up tons of rabbits, which had nothing special and I didn’t like them at all. Creative processes like this one have to be coordinated with myself. BvH

The “Gräflicher Park” is popular for family celebrations as well as for company conferences, product presentations and employee incentives

At bar “Oscars” you can make yourself comfortable by the fireplace

The poets Friedrich Hölderlin and Annette von Droste-Hülshoff enjoyed the effect of the medicinal and mineral springs already 200 years ago – and also the nature of the “Gräflicher Park”

Six lodging houses – each is decorated in a different style – with a total of 135 rooms

For over 230 years, the “Gräflicher Park” is already owned by the family Oeynhausen-Sierstorff

The “Gräflicher Park Hotel & Spa” …

… surrounded by a 64-hectare English landscape garden …

… with its old trees, ponds and a deer park

Contact:
Gräflicher Park Hotel & Spa
Brunnenallee 1
33014 Bad Driburg
Germany

+49 5253 95230
www.graeflicher-park.de

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Hilliard-Bruce: a 21-acre picture perfect winery of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on an 101 acre property in the Santa Rita Hills*

In Santa Barbara, California, 20 miles from the sea, lies the 101- acre winery Hilliard-Bruce, which is surrounded by the Santa Rita Hills. The big bronze gateway opens for appointed visitors only. Past many rosaries and herb gardens, the palm-lined driveway leads to the house of the couple John Hilliard and Christine Bruce, an in Tuscan-style built villa with adjacent horse stables. Since 2004, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are cultivated here – in fact, personally by John and Christine.

Visitors are welcomed by the fountain’s murmur and palm-lined paths

MyStylery: John, you led the domestic shipyards from Houston for ages, later engaging in the art scene. What caused a Texan tradesman to grow wine in California?
John Hilliard: I had a serious kidney disease, including two kidney transplantations and chemotherapies. I am a fighter, I survived, and I knew, that this was not everything my life had to offer. And as Christine and I had always been passionate gardeners, the idea of growing an own winery arose. At first the plan was Texas…
MS: … not the classic area for winegrowing really…
JH: Exactly. When we came here for the first time, we instantly knew that this was the right place. We benefitted from the cool breeze of the pacific. The grapes can be cooled naturally overnight and, by the way, are only harvested in the early morning hours and after sunset to keep the aroma of the grapes during the process.

“We both love plants and digging in the dirt,” John told me, while relaxing with poodle “Wig” on the sofa in the livingroom

In the hall, which is also used for winetastings, Christine Bruce has mixed fabrics and materials in a stylish way

Antique furniture in combination with modern countrystyle

MS: Christine and you, both of you are certificated gardeners and also created the parks and orchards. But isn’t winegrowing on a new level?
JH: Especially in a country, where everything is “organic”. We do not take stock in these biodynamical methods. We pit on sustainability and traditional agriculture.
MS: What does that mean?
JH: We bear in mind the ecological principals, including organisms in their environment. Our winery is completely solar-powered. A specific aquifer waters the vines to save water. We comply the “SIP Certified Standards”, an independent control system, which is incentive for us. And we only grow 21 acres of wine, so that we can keep the project small and the quality high.

John und Christine in front of the painting “Monkey” of the american artist Donald Roller Wilson*

Christine Bruce sits down with us, grey-bluish paint on hands and check shirt.
CB: Sorry, I just had to paint a table for the kitchen.
JH: Christine has an incredible sense for Interior. She arranged the house and the hall for the winetastings and chose colors and fabrics. The horse stables were also built to her specifications.

Christine’s piano with a view into the rose garden

MS: Christine, you studied music and were a successful keyboard player in R&B bands. An unusual career for someone who is a horse breeder and vintner today.
CB: I grew up in the countryside and loved playing in the garden since I was a child. When I could not see anything at night, I took a lamp and placed it next to the patch. For me, there is nothing better than the smell of fresh mint, the living nature and to work with my hands.
JH: We are here now and happy. Our life motto comes from the german-american author Robert Green Ingersoll, which is also printed on all our wine labels: “Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.”  BvH

Entrance to the main building

The solar-powered, sustainably farmed vineyard was built in 2014

The oak barrels are made in France, each is about 1.200 Dollar and has to be replaced after five years

Floating bioremediation islands keep the water reservoir seaweed-free

Tip: A great experience is a winetasting in this homy atmosphere. The tasting room is open by appointment only.

Contact:
2097 Vineyard View Lane,
Lompoc, CA 93438
USA
(001)305-979-2601

www.hilliardbruce.com

*Photos by Jeremy Ball, www.bottlebranding.com

with permission by John Hilliard

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