SecTion by Robert Kaufman Ask any PGA professional whether to 30 www. n A PAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine .com play golf from the red or white tees, and depending on your skills, their response should be clear as black and white. Ask that same pro about the difference between red and white wine, and odds are it would be too complex a question to answer—unless you’re speaking with Greg Anderson, believed to be the only PGA Professional who has also earned the title of Level 1 Wine Sommelier. Anderson, a PGA Member since 1986, worked his first ten years in the business for American Golf facilities in California, during which time he held positions of general manager, head golf pro and Director of Instruction. However, it was Anderson’s subsequent golf stint that would drive him down one of life’s doglegs. Nine months after the devastation of Hurricane Iniki on Kauai, Anderson took over as PGA head golf professional at Princeville Resort, Makai Golf Course in 1993. Within months he had a fateful encounter with Jess Jackson, who modestly introduced himself as a lawyer. Turns out he was also a visionary leader in the wine industry who had founded Kendall-Jackson Vineyard Estates, and a golf addict. Throughout the following several years, Anderson became Jackson’s personal golf director and the two worked diligently to devise plans for two world-class golf resorts in California. After cultivating a close relationship with the acclaimed vintner, Anderson could not resist the seduction of making Jackson’s dream a reality in the vineyard-covered hills of Sonoma County. So, with his invite, Anderson returned to his native turf in 1998, and started blending his golf and wine worlds. The two have since aged into the perfect pairing. During Anderson’s decade with Jackson Family Wines, he worked as both Director of Golf and Golf Concierge, and was thereby granted extraordinary entrée into the wine culture. With that access, Anderson not only popped the cork on his new venture, GolfVino (www.golfvino. com), but he succeeded in completing an intense educational program put on by the Court of Master Sommeliers. “This three-day class of training definitely brought back memories of the PGA Schools for me,” said Anderson. “I felt as though I knew a lot about the game and rules of golf, but studying French, Italian and other international wines was a whole new ballgame.” Unfortunately, the goal of building luxurious mountaintop resorts fell short, but that didn’t prevent Anderson from capitalizing on the three vital ingredients to the success of a business he learned from Jackson – Quality! Quality! Quality! With Anderson’s time spent marketing specific wine brands and entertaining VIP guests of Jackson Family Wines, he was afforded the opportunity to merge his two passions to create elite golf and wine adventures using the worldrenowned Napa Valley and Sonoma County wine regions as the backdrop. Now, years later and after recently leaving his PGA Director of Golf position at Braemar Country Club in Southern California, Anderson is back in Northern California pursuing GolfVino Tours and Wine Club full-time. “There’s a market and a demand for what I’m providing,” says Anderson. “For me to utilize my knowledge of both the golf and wine industries, GolfVino can provide a group of four to eight couples with a memorable experience that allows them to kick the dirt—hopefully not on the golf course but in the vineyard—and to learn about winemaking and the history of the areas through intimate behind-the-scenes tours of private wineries and vineyard estates not available to the public.” Some of the tour stops have included such wineries as Freemark Abbey, Cardinale, Stonestreet, Matanzas Creek and Arrowood, but with over 750 tasting rooms throughout Napa/ Sonoma wine country, there’s plenty of inventory to complement the world class golf venues to customize memorable tours for discerning golfers who appreciate the wine country lifestyle. With GolfVino’s success, Anderson has now expanded its offerings to other California golf and wine playgrounds such as Santa Barbara and Monterey, with plans to hit international destinations like Italy, France, New Zealand and Australia within the next couple of years. Whether wearing his golf or sommelier hat, Anderson understands the key to both is quality service. So for his customers to fully appreciate their swing through wine country, he encourages them to not drink and drive unless on the golf course—and, in that case, to tee it up responsibly! For more information on group tours or individual visits to California Wine Country, please either email Greg Anderson at Greg@GolfVino.com or call him at 707-696-1621. The Red or the White? Local golf pro doubles as a sommelier Greg Anderson SpeciAl Frys.com Open PgA golf Tournament
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