Black Barn events manager Francis de Jager says winery concerts have a spinoff for Balck Barn's wider business interests and the region. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND
Winery concerts are designed to be a holistic experience, says Black Barn Vineyards Cellar Door and Events Manager Francis de Jager.
"It is about creating a culture around our brand, but it is about bringing something special to Hawke's Bay as well," he said.
The Havelock North winery is hosting the Winery Tour for the tenth time this summer, featuring Brooke Fraser and Bic Runga, but the winery has a concert tradition from its days as Lombardi Wines in the 1990s.
Its ampitheatre was one of the first structures built by founders Andy Coltart and Kim Thorp amongst the vines.
"We spent 10 years putting different elements of Black Barn together," Mr de Jager said.
"We built some of the retreats, started one of the first farmers' markets in New Zealand and then we built the amphitheatre and actually the last thing was the restaurant and the brand itself.
"It was very methodically and purposefully done that way so the actual brand, when it was released, would be a complete experience for our visiting customers."
Finding artists was a competitive business but it was more than about the numbers.
"As with a lot of things, it comes down to the relationship with artists and promoters - to be able to get the gigs that compliment our venue."
Some events are run through a promoter and others "we chase to bring their experience to our experience".
"Right across our business, from the events to the cellar door, visiting Black Barn is about an experience. We want to create something that is memorable and lasting enough that the audience will tell the world.
"For us the artist is equally important, to create a memorable experience from their time at Black Barn. That could be bringing the family to stay in several of our retreats and then the concert. At times the concert is almost a sideline - come and enjoy your time in Hawke's Bay and Black Barn with us and perform at the amphitheatre as well."
Acts usually charged a flat fee "but there are almost no two artist alike when it comes to what they are asking or the way they are remunerated".
Choosing an appropriate act was not an exact science.
"A lot of it is research, a lot of it is experience and a part of it is gut feeling.
"We have a small team here and we will generally have a catch-up about events that are coming our way or artist that we are looking for that work in Hawke's Bay and our market."
The purpose-built ampitheatre seats up to 1800, depending on the type of concert.
"Some of the events are fully seated concerts along the classical music lines, but for the majority of events there are grass terraces that people can sit on and they bring a picnic blanket or a small low sand chair."
Last year Black Barn staged a UB40 concert on Kahuraniki Rd several km away.
"One of the reasons we have begun to develop the bigger venue, for up to 10,000 people, is we wish to attract more name international artists to Hawke's Bay offering wide appeal for concert goers.
"It is a small part of the business at the moment, but it basically allows us to tailor events and artists to various venues.
The growers' market round was for concerts with 400 to 500 people.
"It's an amazing venue and one of our goals is to bring smaller, unheard-of artists to New Zealand, to help broaden our horizons.
"There is a lot of music travelling around the world that we just don't come across here and we can offer a small venue that fits perfectly to some artists like Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and Pokey Lafarge. They were really great events - we light all the trees at night, braziers roaring, which is pretty special."
At the other end of the winery-concert scale is the Mission Concert.
Mission Estate Winery Chief Executive Peter Holley said he knows of no other winery that staged a large concert prior to the inaugural Kiri Te Kanawa concert nearly 26 years ago.
He said the Napier winery did not find it difficult to sell tickets, providing the right artist could be found for its paddock for up to 25,000 music fans.
"We have a fantastic venue and clearly there is a market for good world-class entertainment," he said.
Many concertgoers are out-of-towners and next year's Dixie Chicks concert will be no different, with the winners of 13 Grammies so far attracting more South Islanders than usual.
The Mission Concert was "an opportunity all around our brands".
"Different artists attract different audiences and a lot of those people turn out to be first-time Mission Concert goers, so there is an opportunity to extend your franchise."
There was also an opportunity for profit, but it was a risky business.
By March the Dixie Chicks will likely sell out, grossing more than $3.1 million in ticket sales alone.
"Every single concert is completely different. When we went from BYO we employed about 225 counter staff, from memory, to serve our patrons beverage and food and that still was still not enough."
While other vineyards link into national tours of wineries Mission Estate "is a single-venue proposition".
Dixie chicks was 18 months in the planning and while Mr Holley is on a planning committee the bulk of the work is done by Australasian promoter Sports and Entertainment, responsible for both signing the artist and staging the show.
Mr Holley is part of the management committee which sorts red tape for matters such as liquor licences and this year made the decision to cancel the concert because no suitable act could be found.
"We were in a situation where we couldn't secure a performer but that didn't stop the momentum around 2017. You could argue 2018 and 2019 are still a work in progress as we speak."
There is no fixed musical genre for performers. The Mission Concert's website is used to ask people's preference for potential acts.
"Sometimes those are just not possible - they are big acts and they cost a lot of money - but it does gives an indication of what is preferred.
"We've gone into popular music we've gone into country and western and had a bit of rock along the way. Certainly the Dixie Chicks is a crossover pop/country act."
The exchange rate was yet another variable.
"Most of our artists are priced up in US dollars. Over the 25 years we have seen weakness around the Kiwi dollar but we have also seen strength."
Finding suitable acts was becoming more competitive.
"There are lot of outdoor events happening, especially in vineyard settings, that all go to fragment in the market."
The closest competitor, Church Road Winery, is walking distance.
Next month Grammy winner Ben Harper plays Church Road and living legend singer-songwriter James Taylor performs in February.
Pernod Ricard New Zealand public relations manager Cathy McKeown said wine and music "have always gone beautifully together".
Church Road started staging large shows 20 years ago with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra before jazz acts and "more mainstream artists with wider appeal" for its venue for 10,000 people.
Concert promoters advised of touring acts "and the business reviews these opportunities on a case by case basis".
Church Roads "wonderful park-like grounds offering a pseudo amphitheatre setting" was very popular and provided "a fantastic opportunity to expand our ability to provide a Church Road experience beyond our cellar door."