We purchased tickets on July 27, 2023, for the Rumors tribute band for Friday, July 28, 2023. First of all, the fact that there were still tickets available for a Fleetwood Mac tribute band of any kind, made me think that perhaps this show was not sold out and there would be ample room. We drove close to an hour to get to the winery, well before the start of the band, which was 7P. We sat, and I mean SAT in traffic for 45 minutes to go a half mile into the grounds, and then another 10 minutes until they could find somewhere to park us. We were not able to taste any of the wines prior to purchasing without paying at least a $10 fee. Furthermore, it was so unbelievably busy, we wouldn't have been able to taste anyway, as it would've caused an even further delay for other guests wanting to purchase wine/drinks. The website said there would be wood-fired pizza and food trucks available. They were both closed, due to selling out and/or not being able to handle the crowd. So, we bought a bottle to take home. The website also said we could bring coolers. However, on the way up the drive, there were signs that said NO COOLERS. That said, we left ours, with some water, in the car. It was so late by the time we actually walked through the woods to get into the grass area, we didn't even get to see the "beautiful castle." We heard the band play 3 songs before they announced they were taking a 30 min break, which was more like 40-45 min. We basically paid $26 to sit in our lawn chairs with no food, nothing to drink, and no music for the better part of the evening. Once the band started again, we heard maybe 4 songs and then had to leave well before the show was over, or it'd have been at least another 2-3 hours to get out of the overparked lot and on our way home. The parking attendants had run out of room to park the several cars that were behind us, making people back up so they could re-route them. Other people next to us were also disgusted with the entire experience. This event was grossly oversold! I don't know how many thousands of people attended, but at $26/ticket, there was no reason to oversell an event like this. I don't care how massive the grounds are, the staff could not handle the parking or the food situation. The bartenders were quick, but again, we didn't want to hold up the lines either by taking up their time to taste. I've read the history of this place. It doesn't seem like any of the owners were ever "in need" of money to get off the ground or make a profit. I've been to many wineries, and not one has charged us to taste, or has oversold to the point where people missed the show. I thought we were going to a WINERY, not an overcrowded drunk-fest. It was nothing short of the prior disasters that have happened at the Pavilion at Star Lake, where people have missed the concert. The managers/owners should be ashamed of themselves because this was a blatant display of sheer greed. Why on earth would they keep selling tickets when they knew they couldn't handle the crowd. GREED. Plain and simple. It's a real shame that these owners/managers are only worried about their "numbers" and not providing an enjoyable experience. read more