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Winery Concerts: Sipping to Some Favorite Sounds
By AUSTIN CONSIDINE
Published: August 4, 2006
POPULAR music has always had an intimate relationship with alcohol. Whether it plays the muse, as in the Neil Diamond song “Red Red Wine,” or the critic, like so many half-swilled, airborne cans at rowdy rock concerts, it’s a connector between artist and fan.
At an outdoor winery concert, aficionados of both a good vintage and a killer guitar solo can relax with a wineglass in one hand while the other becomes a pumping fist. Depending on the winery, the audience may be spreading out blankets on a lawn, listening from the outdoor deck of a restaurant or seated in an amphitheater. The concerts are often family-friendly, but some have age restrictions.
Established vineyards may feature big acts like the Doobie Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Charles Aznavour. Smaller wineries often highlight local talent. Ticket prices vary just as widely. Checking out some Irish folk music at the Childress Vineyards in Lexington, N.C., is free, while seeing Tony Bennett at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif., costs $150 for premium seats, alcohol not included.
Most vineyard concerts tend toward the lighter side of popular music — smooth contemporary jazz artists like the saxophonist-vocalist Mindi Abair at Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley of California, for example, or classic rock bands like Styx at the Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash. But some wineries, like Wente, which is now in its 20th summer concert season, also offer surprisingly intense lineups, given the slow-sipping crowds to which they cater. Later this month Lynyrd Skynyrd is scheduled to play a sold-out show at Wente.
With tickets there ranging from $89 to $249, it’s probably safe to assume fans won’t be too wild. But will flaming cigarette lighters still be held high during “Tuesday’s Gone,” and how many people in the audience will have packed their air guitars for “Free Bird”? Nancy Mueller, marketing director at Wente, said the answers were surprising. “Our audience is pretty much 35 to 55, so it is a rock ’n’ roll audience,” she said. “We’re a pretty high-priced ticket, and so you expect people to be pretty sedate, but when the B-52’s were here, there was a gentleman on top of the table with his shirt off.”
Ms. Mueller pointed out that many musicians who come through are 50 to 60 years old. They not only sip wine along with the audience, but are also big fans of the vineyard’s on-site golf course and upscale restaurant.
“Last year Foreigner was here, and they actually loved it so much here that they made a pre-show wine-tasting part of their tour,” Ms. Mueller said.
Not all vineyard concerts are packed with stars (other than those in the sky). Wagner Vineyards in Lodi, N.Y., for example, which also has a microbrewery, packs its outdoor deck and lawn for local acts like Steve Southworth and the Rockabilly Rays, from the small, nearby city of Cortland. Admission at Wagner can be as low as $3, but the cost of drinks is not included.
Dottie Bistransin, events director at Boordy Vineyards, just north of Baltimore, said Boordy’s attendance had gone up over nine seasons of summer concerts, but she attributed that mainly to a growing interest in wineries. Acts at Boordy, ranging in style from zydeco to big band to a group that does Jimmy Buffett covers, have been drawing crowds of 1,200 to 1,500 people, she said, even though none of the musicians are particularly well known. Last year, a 1980’s cover band called the Reagan Years drew 2,300.
“People just really enjoy coming out, even if it’s not their style of music,” she said. “We get that all the time — ‘I don’t really like bluegrass,’ or ‘I don’t really like Big Band,’ but ‘I wanted to come out and taste some wine and have a really nice picnic with my friends.’ ”
Ms. Bistransin said she had seen a growth in interest among younger adults who want another option for their nights out, among them young parents who are looking for a family-friendly way to go out. “Believe it or not, even when we do 50’s and 60’s music, we get the millennials out here — you know, the 22-, the 23-year-olds who grew up with their parents drinking wine,” she said. “Wineries are part of their vernacular.”
Details
LODI, N.Y. Wagner Vineyards. What: Friday night concerts; admission, $3; (607) 582-6450, www.wagnervineyards.com.
When: Through Sept. 1.
HYDES, MD. Boordy Vineyards.
What: Saturday evening concerts, from 5:45 p.m.; general admission, $15; (410) 592-5015, www.boordy.com.
When: Through Sept. 2.
WOODINVILLE, WASH. Chateau Ste. Michelle.
What: Summer concerts; prices vary; (425) 415-3300, www.ste-michelle.com.
When: Through Sept. 9; Styx, Aug. 23.
LIVERMORE, CALIF. Wente Vineyards.
What: Concert series; prices vary; (925) 456-2400, www.wentevineyards.com.
When: Through Sept. 10, including the Doobie Brothers, Sept. 6; and Rick Braun, Brian Culbertson and Mindi Abair, Sept. 10.
LEXINGTON, N.C. Childress Vineyards.
What: Music in the Vineyards, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m.; free; (336) 236-9463, www.childressvineyards.com.
When: Through Oct. 1.
SARATOGA, CALIF. the Mountain Winery.
What: Concert series; prices vary; (408) 741-2822, www.mountainwinery.com.
When: Through Oct. 4, including Tony Bennett, Sept. 9; Charles Aznavour, Sept. 25; and Emmylou Harris, Oct. 4.
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