Go West, young couple! After Michael earned his Law degree and Nancy a History degree from Skidmore College (class of 1968), the Lippman's left their native Rochester, NY in the early 70’s to seek out the sun and lifestyle of California. The very night that they arrived in Los Angeles, Nancy and Michael were invited to a movie screening and were unknowingly on their way to a career in the entertainment industry. After various positions with law firms specializing in the entertainment sector, at the age of 25 Michael joined Arista Records, where he learned the music industry from the inside out. In 1976, the Lippman's decided to branch out on their own and launch a new concept – a company dedicated to representing the producers and songwriters of the music industry. Lippman Entertainment was created to manage and represent these supporting cast members of the music world, along with a few artists.

Lippman Entertainment was the first management business of its type, and today is the largest. In addition to representing producers and songwriters, the current client list includes artists matchbox twenty, Rob Thomas, George Michael and newcomer Anna Nalick. One of Lippman Entertainment’s original three clients was Michael and Nancy’s friend, Bernie Taupin. Bernie and Michael shared a love of the West, horses and the cowboy culture. When Bernie decided to investigate purchasing ranch land, Nancy suggested looking in the Santa Ynez Valley. Taupin purchased the first place he saw and the Lippman's and their two sons would often stay in the guest house on the property. A year later, a ranch not far from Taupin’s came up for sale, and the Lippman's jumped at the opportunity. The 66-acre Great Oaks Ranch & Vineyard was theirs.

Michael’s love of horses and his boyhood dream of being a cowboy are fulfilled by the performance horses he raises at the ranch. He has honed his skills in reining and in 2001 won his first championship in reining and in 2003 won the Amateur Reining title at the Santa Barbara Rodeo and placed third in Reining Cow Horse at the World Amateur Championship in Reno. You can read more about the horses bred and raised at Great Oaks Ranch and Michael’s continuing successes in reining and cutting in the Horses section.

Back at the ranch, Nancy was making one of her dreams come true. She had always wanted a vineyard and decided to convert some of the pastures and hay fields of the ranch to vineyards. She dove right into learning everything about vines and wines, taking classes through the local Alan Hancock Community College’s Viticulture and Enology program and finding the best people to help her plant what has become one of the premier vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley. While many of the grapes are sold to a select group of local winemakers, the quality of the grapes and Nancy’s passion for the project convinced Andrew Murray to become winemaker for Great Oaks Ranch & Vineyards estate wines. The high scoring wines have received accolades and medals in wine competitions, including a silver medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle wine competition. More details on the Vineyard and the Wines are included, as well as the ability to purchase the limited selection Great Oaks wines online are available in those sections of this website.

Nancy’s other ranch projects include cultivating a patch of two different Lavender varietals, both of which are prized for their culinary and aromatic qualities. Sold out each year, the lavender is sold to local companies who include it in food products. Nancy also donates some of the lavender to Cal Poly and high schools so students can learn how to make products from the fragrant stems.

Perhaps the most prominent residents at Great Oaks Ranch are the Romagnola Cattle that graze the lush pastures of the ranch. The herd of more than 50 is managed by Ranch Foreman Thomas Gonzalez, who has worked the ranch for more than two decades. Nancy first found this rather amazing breed of large cattle while accompanying Michael at a rodeo competition at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and personally selected the first of the Great Oaks prize-winning bulls.

Vines, Wines, Horses, Cowboys and Cows are joined by the five dogs that are always bounding around Nancy and Michael’s heels. There are great oaks on the property and great things coming from the property. Great Oaks Ranch and Vineyard - a blue ribbon kind of place.