A growing number of B.C. wineries are hosting concerts to tap into an increasingly lucrative revenue stream: direct to consumer sales.
Wineries that sell a bottle of wine for $25 at their gift shop net back about $21. They often sell that same bottle through British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) stores for $30 and, after BCLDB mark-up fees and taxes are subtracted, receive a mere $10.
"Wineries want to sell out of their cellar door because it's the highest profit margin," explained Township 7 spokeswoman Lori Pike.
Her winery, based in the Okanagan and Langley, hosted its first concerts July 14 and 15 at its Langley site to celebrate its 12th anniversary and its recent selection as the Calgary Stampede's official wine.
Success prompted Township 7 to partner with local theatre troupe Fighting Chance Productions to perform songs from Broadway-style musicals on July 27 and 28, also at its Langley site.
Winery owners who have hosted concerts say wine sales boom on concert days.
Cedar Creek Estate Winery proprietor Gordon Fitzpatrick estimated that his winery's wine sales double on concert days.
"You need the right facilities to pull off a good concert," Fitzpatrick said. "We do. So, it's a nice way of reminding people where we are."
He plans to host Chantal Kreviazuk August 2 in the winery's second concert of the year and expects to sell out his 300-seat venue. Tickets for the Kreviazuk event are $95 each.
All profit from his Telus Corp.-sponsored events is donated to Kelowna's Rotary Centre for the Arts. Fitzpatrick estimated that works out to about $5,000 annually.
He reaps extra business by hosting dinner packages for concertgoers.
B.C.'s Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards and Hester Creek Estate Winery all keep the profits from their concerts. But the real incentive for those wineries to host concerts is attracting tourists and locals who buy wine.
Cedar Creek sells all wine at its events by the glass; the other B.C. wineries that host concerts allow patrons to buy bottles at gift-shop prices and open them on site.
Owners at Washington state winery Chateau Ste. Michelle spearheaded winery concerts in 1984. It has a 4,300-seat amphitheatre; the largest facility at a B.C. winery is Mission Hill's 1,000-seat amphitheatre.
Tinhorn Creek and Hester Creek both offer concerts at about $30 per ticket, which is about half the price of most concerts at Cedar Creek, Mission Hill and Chateau Ste. Michelle.
"We do the concerts because we love music and dancing," Tinhorn Creek co-owner Sandra Oldfield told Business in Vancouver. "Our bands are all Canadian and we look for bands that are hopefuls for Juno awards. They're a step up from a bar band but they're not as expensive as the one we get for a year-end concert."
