Fairly soon the &quot;little gorge&quot; was to hear its first music; to hold the sound within its naturally-curved cliff walls and send it back out to a listening audience. It was not fancy: a small wooden stage, and a few hastily-laid sod terraces. The sole intent of the &quot;amphitheater&quot; was to provide a wonderful musical experience that would draw visitors to Champs de Brionne Winery. As summer approached pamphlets were written up and dittoed into damp, inky-smelling piles. The Bryan children handed out these &quot;Champs de Brionne Summer Music Theater&quot; pamphlets at the end of the dusty, unpaved road leading past the winery. And, to everyone&#039;s amazement, they passed out 1,000. It was clear: the amphitheater, with its amazing sound, its jaw dropping views of flood-carved cliffs and ribbon of grand blue water stretching off into the horizon, was a very special place. Guests came, tried Champs de Brionne wines, sat on the grassy terraces, listened to the music and enjoyed themselves tremendously. Quickly the amphitheater grew to include a much larger stage and an increasingly exciting line up of performers... the fact that the Bryan family had to vacate their summer trailer to turn it over to these early performers didn&#039;t matter: it was exciting to the Bryan children that people like Chuck Barry had just sat on their couch; eaten at their dining room table.

The Champs de Brionne Summer Music Theater was gaining momentum. This land seemed to elevate everything and everyone around it, and with that understanding came the decision to close the winery and concentrate on making the estate vineyards larger, more mature, more select in making them a match to their surroundings. Then and only then would a new, smaller, boutique winery be built.