Behind the wheel, Angelos Pervanas, one of the proprietors of Quercus, was just as delighted to see the cat as my wife and me. He told us it was only the second bobcat he’d seen in his years at the ranch.

Pervanas and his wife, Chiara Visconti di Modrone, clearly love their land, a 4,000-acre escape in Gay. A member of Italian nobility, Chiara is the daughter of the Duke and Duchess Visconti di Modrone, and she grew up at Quercus Farm after her parents established it in 1977. In Italian, Quercus means “oak.”

Now the stewards of Quercus, the couple feels so connected to the property that they’ve chosen to raise their three daughters there. Pervanas, our host for most of the visit, expressed some trepidation about opening the family’s personal paradise to the public, though it’s not as if the gates to the castle have been thrown wide.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

Only four guest suites comprise the all-inclusive resort, with prices starting at $1,350 a night per person. According to Pervanas, a few additional junior suites might be added in the future, but they plan for the World of Quercus to remain an intimate, boutique experience. Quality far outweighs quantity here.

The more one learns about the World of Quercus, the more it begs some important questions, such as: Why? And who is it for?

The “why” becomes quickly apparent once you chat with the couple for more than a few minutes. Chiara is deeply passionate about nutrition, while Pervanas is an avid gardener. Their complementary interests find a perfect intersection at the dining table.

To that end, they have lured their friends chef Ryan Smith and Kara Hidinger, the owners of Staplehouse, south from Atlanta. Both are still heavily involved in their Michelin-starred, Old Fourth Ward restaurant, but now they also helm Uberto at Quercus.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

Named for Chiara’s father, the restaurant sources most of its ingredients from Quercus’ own garden. And Smith pushes these ultra-local, often humble, vegetables to dizzying heights.

For our dinner, Smith paired uni, or Japanese sea urchin, with autumn squash from the garden — but it’s the squash that was lavished with attention. The uni sat atop a dairy-free squash custard cloaked in a savory-sweet squash sauce and topped with raw squash painstakingly brunoised into minuscule cubes that added a crisp, fresh texture to offset the velvety sea urchin.

At Uberto, the squash grown a few hundred yards from the restaurant is as much a delicacy as the uni flown in from Japan.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

The same care was given to Thai eggplant from the garden, which was vacuum-sealed in oil and gently poached in a sous vide bath. The vegetable took on a decadent texture almost like a savory cheesecake. The meal’s final savory dish featured duck and an elaborate preparation of tender, poached leeks, topped with bright white okra seeds treated as if they were caviar.

Even a midcourse palate cleanser was magical. During our tour of the garden, Pervanas introduced us to holy basil, also known as tulsi or tulasi, with the sweetest floral scent. At dinner a few hours later, a palate cleanser of tulsi tea distilled the aroma into such an intense, absorbing flavor that it felt like we’d time-traveled back to the sun-drenched field and were smelling the herb for the first time again.

Chiara, who has a master’s degree in nutrition, works with the kitchen to develop nourishing meals that are both healthful and indulgent. Even our dessert featured Quercus vegetables. The final course combined chocolate with sunchokes, achieving a flavor almost like toasted sesame.

Wine pairings can be purchased for an additional cost, or guests can select their own vintage from the wine list. Cocktails are also served.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

This rapturous care for what guests eat while visiting Quercus helps illuminate who might be the guest for this unusual resort: The well-heeled crowd obsessed with food. The same people who order their wine from biodynamic vineyards they’ve visited, attend the Southern Foodways Alliance’s annual symposium for fun or set their travel plans based on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

But the resort also offers a rare level of tranquillity that will appeal to anyone who wants to disconnect from the grind of modern-day life. It’s perfect for people who want to feel close to nature without roughing it in any sense.

As a working cattle ranch with several hundred head of cattle, guests can hear the animals lowing all across the property. Chickens roam freely outside Uberto’s root cellar. At even the busiest locations on the property, you’re as likely to come encounter a deer as you are another person.

Even if you’re not greeted by a bobcat, arriving at Quercus is utterly transporting. Guests park their cars at a barn near the gate and hop into their own personal utility vehicle, like a souped-up golf cart, that they’ll use to get around for the duration of their stay.

Each guest suite is an individual, isolated cabin decorated in a timeless, European country house style. There are no TVs in the rooms, though there is Wi-Fi. During our cabin tour, I watched whitetail deer graze just outside, only glass and about 10 feet separating us.

Window-peeping wildlife notwithstanding, the cabins feel like private sanctuaries, composed and cozy but with more than enough room for a couple not to feel cramped. Suites have open living rooms, kitchenettes and large porches with fireplaces. Chiara said they wanted the suites to feel like extensions of their home, and some of the art and objects decorating the spaces were provided by the Visconti family.

A sense of calm is imbued in the rooms thanks to a focus on human wellness. The mattresses and linens are organic, the paint is nontoxic and the lighting is designed not to disrupt our circadian rhythm. Chiara said their goal, which she acknowledged might be impossible, is for the entire Quercus property to one day be plastic-free.

Credit: Emily Towill

Credit: Emily Towill

Guests can have breakfast en suite or at the centrally located cottage that serves as a lounge and meeting spot between Uberto and the garden. Boxed lunches are meant to be enjoyed as picnics.

Credit: Mammoth Studios

Credit: Mammoth Studios

The many outdoor activities at Quercus also balance wellness and fun, from yoga to fishing on the Flint River to hiking and kayaking. The unique equestrian program focuses on bonding with a horse before riding it.

Through a process called Liberty training, guests spend time alone with a horse in a circular corral called a Liberty ring. At Quercus, this takes place in an achingly beautiful pecan grove. Pervanas said the experience is often deeply emotional for first-timers.

Credit: Mammoth Studios

Credit: Mammoth Studios

Having just opened this fall, Quercus and its amenities are currently available only to overnight guests. However, there are plans to open up Uberto to the public for dinners in the future. Meanwhile, the resort is taking bookings for special events and weddings. There is a beautiful chapel on the property that Pervanas said was a late-in-life passion project for Chiara’s father.

Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of visiting Quercus is its lived-in imperfection. Because it’s an active farm and ranch, Quercus lacks the overly polished, stage-managed feeling of some other all-inclusive resorts. A piece of heavy equipment might be parked near your cabin’s driveway. The garden could be too muddy for a tour. You could step in a cow pie. It lifts pressure from the guests and gives them permission to relax.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

For Georgia natives, there’s also something gratifying about seeing this lovely bit of property worked into a postcard-perfect pastoral landscape. Chiara and Pervanas bring a European sensibility to the land, and they treat this slice of Georgia as something rare and exotic. A visit to Quercus gives one the opportunity to experience the state’s gifts through a new lens and luxuriate in this confluence of natural beauty, impeccable taste, engaging activities and fabulous, nourishing food.

If you go

World of Quercus. $1,350 and up, per person. 208 Caldwell St., Gay. worldofquercus.com