“My favorite getaway places have always been those surrounded by picture-perfect scenery and with great food, wine, art, and authentic shops in which I can wander for hours. Perhaps it was living in Florence, Italy, for a year, taking getaways with close friends to Napa and San Francisco, or spending weekend afternoons at wineries in Sagaponack, N.Y., or Newport, R.I., that influenced me. And, because I have enjoyed a lazy Sunday drive with the top down to the Missouri towns of Defiance, Hermann, and Augusta, I was instantly drawn to the news stories about David and Jerri Hoffmann and their plans to invest $125 million in Augusta to create a luxury destination — a combination of Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and a sort of Napa Valley of the Midwest.”

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