Simply Red takes a tour through the Villa Maria vineyards

Mick Hucknall, lead singer of Simply Red, is coming to Villa Maria’s Auckland Winery on 15 February 2009, to belt out Simply Red’s greatest hits in the beautiful surroundings of Villa Maria’s Auckland Estate. As well-known for his love of good wine (having launched his own Sicilian wine brand in 2004) as for his flaming red curls and distinctive gravelly voice, the singer will play an open air concert within the grounds of the Villa Maria Winery and Vineyard park in Auckland.

The park sits inside the collapsed crater of an extinct volcano, which forms a natural amphitheatre making it an ideal venue to host open-air concerts throughout the year.

Simply Red have been around for 25 years, achieving world-wide success with well-known hits such as ‘Stars’; ‘Money’s too tight to mention’; ‘Holding back the years’ and ‘If you don’t know me by now’ and releasing six albums. With all this under his belt Mick has “kind of decided that the 25 years is going to be enough, so I intend that the 2009 tour will be the last Simply Red tour."

This should leave the talented singer-songwriter more time to pursue his other passions including his love of fine wines.

How apt then, that Mick’s final tour should take him through the Villa Maria vineyards where he will have the chance to try New Zealand’s most awarded wines from Villa Maria which should be a wonderful lubricant for those world famous vocal chords!

For more information, log on to Villamariaestate.co.uk.