Page 32 - SHARP Summer 2024

SHIFTING UP
I T’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT NORTH AMERICA’S FIRST AMG
Brand Centre landed in Toronto. After all, Canada has an unusual predilection for muscular German cars. “In Canada,” explains Mercedes-Benz Canada CEO Andreas Tetzloff, “approximately one out of every five passenger vehicles retailed is an AMG.”
And the new 6,536-square-foot AMG Brand Centre, found next to the carmaker’s Queensway dealership, has AMG experts on hand to talk customers through the product lineup and bespoke build process. But there’s more than just cars on offer, as the centre is also being used to enrich the local community.
To that end, in April the brand invited Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) to participate in a motorsport-themed grand opening cele- bration, featuring inspirational talks from professional drivers Demi Chalkias and Marc Lafleur.
32 SUMMER 2024
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
MAN ABOUT TOWN
STRONG START
W HAT BETTER WAY TO USHER IN SUMMERTIME THAN BY
sampling fine wines and admiring luxury watches? This was the question posed by Justin Seidenfeld, head winemaker for Rodney Strong Vineyards, during an evening of sipping and shopping at Yorkville’s L’ORO Watches and Jewellery earlier this year. Alongside bottles of the brand’s Symmetry and Brothers wines, there were timepieces from IWC, Panerai, and Roger Dubuis on display. Seidenfeld, an avid watch collector himself, was in his element.
Since joining Rodney Strong in 2021, the winemaker has epitomized the vineyard’s guiding philosophies of “precision, purpose, and over-delivering with surprise and delight.” And, by pairing exquisite watches with his signature expressions, these expectation-exceeding values also defined the event itself.