One of the largest attended events of Hawke’s Bay is the Mission Concert. The Mission Winery has hosted this event for the past 18 years with previous artists including the Beach Boys, Eric Clapton, and many other great musicians. Sting was the major artist this year featuring the famous New Zealand Symphony. My friends and I were all fortunate to meet the Lead Stage Director of the event and were given VIP tickets. We drove to Taradale, the town where it was located, and got to our seat just as the music began. The stage was setup perfect: white chairs were arranged for VIP seating in front of the stage; and behind the VIP section was a large hill for lawn seating. An estimate of 27,000 people attended the event and enjoyed listening to Sting’s songs. But one aspect of the concert made it very unique. The drinks they sold. They sold the normal concert beverages soda, water, and beer. However, they also sold wine. Not just glasses of wine…bottles of wine! You could buy a bottle of wine for $15NZ. I even purchased a bottle of Pinot Gris myself and enjoyed Sting’s beautiful music. I guess that’s what you get when you live in Hawke’s Bay, the Heart of New Zealand’s wine country.
