Photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash

This year, Hernder Estates winery suffered a fire that destroyed part of the property. That’s what makes the partnership between Five Cork Productions and Hernder Estates special; they came together in a time of hardship to produce an event about friends gathering together to offer an ear and a glass of wine. This musical was featured at Hernder Estates winery, a winery located in St Catharines, throughout the summer. 

The musical included a wine tasting where the audience got to try four of Hernder Estates best wines. The wines included a rose, a white, a red and their classic cranberry wine. 

This was a great wine tasting order for the performance as attendees tasted the white wine following the musical’s number about flat Sauvignon Blanc. Following the number, Hernder Estates allowed attendees to taste their red wine through the reveal that one of the musical’s characters preferred red. Near the end of the night, Hernder chose to finish the evening with their signature cranberry wine, a very sweet wine that  could also be considered a dessert wine. 

 The wine tasting truly brought on a different type of inclusiveness to the show. When the women were on the stage discussing their life over a glass of wine, attendees felt like they were right there with them.

The musical was not only about friendship, but women supporting women in the most unique and most fun filled way. This musical brought five women from all different walks of life together. Although they didn’t always see eye-to-eye, they managed to always be there and listen to one another. This brings a very important message: You don’t always have to agree with the choices or views of your friends, but it’s important to offer them a caring ear, support, and a glass of wine!

This musical did an amazing job at bridging formal winery and comedic musicals together for one amazing experience. 

The five friends were portrayed by talented actors, Tamera Broczkowski, Nicole Cino, Melissa Penner, Adrianna Polito, and Victoria Kyoko. 

These actresses truly made the audience feel a part of their Winesdays. The play also helped people, especially women, feel okay about the rough patches in life, like being unemployed, being in crazy relationships, searching for love, and loving your dog more than your significant other. 

This performance felt like watching a Friends spin-off about friends in their mid-. 

 This musical also had their own Gunther. The wine steward who was portrayed by Alex Titei. 

 If you’re looking for a fun night out, the musical Winesday at Hernder Estates is a must go! It’s the perfect evening for anyone. Especially for girlfriends looking for a night out! 

The entire cast, director Matthew Yipchuck, musical director Chelsea Di Franco and choreographer Louisa O’Keane should be very proud that Five Cork Productions and Hernder Estates were able to successfully collaborate and bring this fun musical to wine country. 

What made this experience all the better was knowing this collaboration came from a place of wanting to help a business after disaster struck.