Say "Cheese"!
This past weekend we drove up to the Appleton, WI area to visit our son, JT, and his girlfriend, Kaytlyn. One of our favorite activities while touring around is visiting small local wineries, so the four of us were off in search of a couple that our local tourist guide said existed. It's a little like hunting but without the orange sweatshirt and the noise. We didn't drive far before we bagged the first one... Kerrigan Brothers Winery.
One of the things I truly enjoy and continue to marvel at is the diversity of people I run into out there, the varied interests and passions, and the unusual skills and talents possessed by the otherwise most ordinary people. This stop at Kerrigan Brothers was a case in point. The four of us wandered into the tasting room and were greeted by a large man... Troy Landwehr. Troy is a man of many talents. In addition to being an owner and a winemaker, Troy is an artist -- a sculptor. But not just your normal, run-of-the-mill stone carver. Oh no, Troy is a cheese sculptor! But wait, there's more... he's a famous cheese sculptor that earlier this very year created a cheesy replica of Mt. Rushmore from a 700 pound block of young cheddar. It turned out quite "gouda". Both the sculpture and the artist went on a 10 city tour, including New York City, where they visited the TV show "Fox & Friends" and Times Square. Last year Troy was on the Letterman Show where he carved the head of stage manager Biff Henderson in, of course, cheese. This guy's a "muenster" celebrity!
So, has all of this fame gone to his head? Absolutely not! He told us, and allow me to paraphrase here, that he used to be considered "strange", but all this attention has advanced him to "quirky". His goal, and it's within site, is to be "eccentric". And he's a heck of a nice guy, too.
If you're in the Appleton area, take a little time to visit the Kerrigan Brothers Winery, just north of Hwy 41 on Cty "N". They make a nice selection of very reasonably priced fruit wines, some of which are really quite good.
Click on this link to see a story about Troy and a picture of his Mt. Rushmore sculpture.
And Thanks to JT and Kaytlyn for a great time this past weekend.
T
One of the things I truly enjoy and continue to marvel at is the diversity of people I run into out there, the varied interests and passions, and the unusual skills and talents possessed by the otherwise most ordinary people. This stop at Kerrigan Brothers was a case in point. The four of us wandered into the tasting room and were greeted by a large man... Troy Landwehr. Troy is a man of many talents. In addition to being an owner and a winemaker, Troy is an artist -- a sculptor. But not just your normal, run-of-the-mill stone carver. Oh no, Troy is a cheese sculptor! But wait, there's more... he's a famous cheese sculptor that earlier this very year created a cheesy replica of Mt. Rushmore from a 700 pound block of young cheddar. It turned out quite "gouda". Both the sculpture and the artist went on a 10 city tour, including New York City, where they visited the TV show "Fox & Friends" and Times Square. Last year Troy was on the Letterman Show where he carved the head of stage manager Biff Henderson in, of course, cheese. This guy's a "muenster" celebrity!
So, has all of this fame gone to his head? Absolutely not! He told us, and allow me to paraphrase here, that he used to be considered "strange", but all this attention has advanced him to "quirky". His goal, and it's within site, is to be "eccentric". And he's a heck of a nice guy, too.
If you're in the Appleton area, take a little time to visit the Kerrigan Brothers Winery, just north of Hwy 41 on Cty "N". They make a nice selection of very reasonably priced fruit wines, some of which are really quite good.
Click on this link to see a story about Troy and a picture of his Mt. Rushmore sculpture.
And Thanks to JT and Kaytlyn for a great time this past weekend.
T
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