Community Corner
Wine Council Imposes Cover Charges for Jazz on the Vine Concerts
Faced with state funding cuts and slow reimbursement from Suffolk County, the Long Island Wine Council this year is making wineries charge a $10 per person fee for attendees of the concerts.
Jazz on the Vine promotion this year comes with a twist. Formerly free, each event will cost attendees $10 per person.
The reason, say officials of the wine council, the region’s main winery trade group with 47 licensed wine producers as members, is a lack of state marketing funds, due to budgetary constraints and the months-long wait to obtain reimbursement from Suffolk County to cover the costs of marketing and putting on the event.
Jazz on the Vine is the 2011 wine council’s winterfest theme for the fourth consecutive year. From Feb. 12 through March 20, visitors to East End wineries can experience six weekends of concerts featuring jazz musicians performing at tasting rooms and other venues. The program’s main objective is to bring visitors to East End vineyards during the slow winter season, Bate said. All performance details haven’t been released.
“We’ve lost our underwriting,” said Jim Waters, treasurer of the wine council and co-owner of in Cutchogue.
“We’re looking to monetize this,” said Steve Bate, executive director of the trade group, noting after New York State ended its Explore New York and Agricultural tourism grants two years ago attendance at the event last year dropped and the trade group incurred a loss. The grants were used to market the festival.
The $10 fee will be split 50/50 between the participating wineries and the wine council, which covers the cost of the music, estimated by Waters at $40,000. The other $5 covers the cost of the wine provided by each producer.
“All these musicians have to be paid,” Waters said. He said the county, which has assured the wine council it will reimburse some of the costs, won’t issue a check until later in the year. Last year’s check was issued in November, Waters noted.
“It’s still a solid deal,” said Waters. “Where else can you go to a 2-hour concert and get a glass of wine for $10.”
It’s not clear what impact the fee will have on attendance, since tickets have not been put up for sale. Bate said ticket buyers using the East End Tourism Alliance’s website, EastEndGetaway.com, will be entered into weekly drawings for free acommodations on the East End and a basket of wine.
Bate said a similar fee may be imposed on future wine council events, including a barrel tasting program in April and and rosė festival in May.
“The money we raise goes back to promoting the region," Waters said.
