Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Sunset Cruise



Road America's sunset cruise offered a convenient (and inexpensive) reason for an afternoon road trip, track time and gorgeous scenery near Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine scenic drive.





My father navigated a delightful rural route, one that included farms, windmills, an obiligatory stop at the popular Kelley Country Creamery and later, Fond du lac's Gilles for a vintage evening drive-in dinner.





I'd not been to Road America for many years and had no idea what to expect in terms of the crowd, cars, participants and track time.





  • The crowd was larger than expected. A Road America staffer mentioned that they sometimes host 200 vehicles for an evening cruise.


  • The car population included expected names: Corvette, Porsche, BMW, Camaro and Mustang. The number of sedans and SUVs was a surprise. An Austin Healey, a beautiful orange Pontiac GTO and a blue Chevrolet pickup grabbed plenty of attention.


  • One did not have to walk far to engage in car tales, including a birthday cruise, the search for the perfect S4 Avant and an American Motors AMX Spirit.












Explore the road trip, track time and scene with amuz photos, videos and panoramic scenes (sampler above).


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Learn more about Road America, and the Sunset Cruise, here



Wednesday, August 12, 2020

A Family Legacy on Oregon's 45th

In this podcast, we continue a conversation about the development and strategy for Left Coast Estate. The second generation of the Pfaff family is very well positioned to continue and build upon the vision ideated by their parents.

CEO Taylor Pfaff has intimate knowledge of the Estate’s acreage and biodiversity. He began work as a teenage farmhand helping wrest the future vineyard from abundant and persistent gophers - a la Caddyshack. Taylor’s experience is well suited to the long term management of the estate. He holds a MBA in Wine and Spirits from the University of Bordeaux’s Kedge Business School.

His sister, left-handed Cali (three of five in our family are left handed, part of the Left Coast story) after whom Cali's Cuvee Pinot Noir is named, is now the Creative Director and a licensed Landscape Architect, whose work contributes to the Estate. She runs her own practice, Studio Campo, focused on nature-inspired design.

What is evident in this conversation is the connection to the land and the family’s commitment to making the best wine possible. The stewardship continued by Cali and Taylor is a testament to a lifetime of lessons taught by their parents, Bob and Suzanne, whose Left Coast origin story is available here: French Ambition Comes to Fruition on Oregon's 45th

The siblings are in sync with how they view life and the land. Cali tells an informative story about spending a summer creating artwork on the estate as a means of really absorbing and expressing its seasonal changes. Both have been given wide berth to add product and agricultural initiatives. The oak savanna restoration is one example of an initiative that ehanched and improved the property.

Truly they are the hybrid vigor that results when children are nurtured with love and exposed to big ideas. Creativity runs deep at Left Coast due to the encouragement and example of their talented parents. We look forward to watching these two continue to imbue the estate and their wine with their own gifts and innovation for many years to come.

Listen to a conversation with Taylor and Cali [amuz podcast link]

Subscribe to amuz podcasts here.

Explore Left Coast Estate along with interesting destinations and experiences worldwide in amuz:

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