It’s green. It’s got the Viridian Wines logo on it. If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the van on the highways and byways of America.
Cayce Kerr, Fuzzy Zoeller's Caddy in the Viridian Van
However, the most surefire way to see the Viridian Van is at one of the many PGA 2008 Champions Tour stops (and several U.S. Open and other events too), where it is driven by the great Cayce Kerr, caddy to the legendary Fuzzy Zoeller.
Lots of people ask me how Olsen Family Vineyards hooked up with the PGA in the first place. Well, in case you haven’t guessed, I’m a huge golf fan. Over 20 years ago, I was lucky enough to meet Fuzzy through another golfing legend Peter Jacobson at the Fred Meyer Challenge event here in Oregon. Fuzzy and I stayed in touch over the years and after Olsen launched our Viridian wines in 2004, an idea was born. What if Olsen got involved?
So this is the first season Viridian has been on the Champion’s tour. Big surprise, it has been a blast. I’ve been able to attend a few events so far such as the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in Tampa, Florida April 18-20th, and the U.S. Open on TK in San Diego where we stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and participated in a private tasting at the Lexus Event Night.
The San Diego U.S. Open was really amazing, a true once in a lifetime thing. I really felt like I was witnessing golfing history. The crowd was humming with energy as Tiger Woods took his 3rd U.S. Open Title and 14th major title. The anticipation and tension took hold – you may have read that it took him 91 rounds to do it, but win he did in spectacular fashion with his hometown crowd roaring in support. It was quite a sight to see in person. Given that Tiger was playing, and won, with a pretty serious knee injury, it just goes to show you that the Tiger is well worth his golf-god reputation. However, watching his victory was bittersweet too. Tiger is now out of the game until that knee of his has healed. No one knows how long that will take or when he will play again, so watching him live was even more special for me. Tiger if you are reading this, Olsen Family Vineyards wishes you a speedy recovery.
The best part of a part of the PGA isn’t just watching the games. It just doesn’t get any better meeting so many cool, creative and fun people. Everyone our team has met this season has just been wonderful. It’s great to be able to talk about our wines and see how unbelievably interested people are in our Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and the Willamette Valley, Oregon wine region in general.
We’ve made a lot of new friends so far being part of the 2008 PGA Champions Tour, and have reconnected with people we haven’t seen in a long time. If you find yourself at one of the Champions or other events Viridian is at, please stop by and say hello.
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