She said the law was a lot tougher and in some cases there were decisions to be made as to whether events were viable. "I do know the festival [team] are having to look long and hard about how they run the festival."
Mrs Staples said the majority of the festival-goers were fine - it was the five per cent that got "trolleyed" who posed problems. "This is my opinion, they [police] need to be focusing on Courtenay Place on Friday night but there are differences of opinions on these things. They were strict with the races as well with regard to BYO."
Each vineyard had to apply to the District Licensing Committee for a special on-licence. It was created under the act and can impose several conditions, such as making sure free water is available. Essentially, vineyards became a bar for the day, said Mrs Staples.
"They are required to do everything that a bar has to do when they sell you a glass of wine."
She said some vineyards had been given notice about not having water marked clearly.
"They are coming down very hard."
Toast Martinborough chairman and Ata Rangi vineyard business manager, Pete Monk, said every event was facing some challenges as a result of the act and they were working through the implications at the moment.
He said he couldn't comment on the future of Toast as it was commercially sensitive.
Deputy mayor and chairwoman of the DLC, Viv Napier, said a lot of time was spent on each vineyard's licence and the committee was very strict, imposing about 20 conditions.
She said there had been issues with the availability of water and food. "Some had to resubmit their menu because there were not enough substantial items at $10 or less."
Mrs Napier said if vineyards breached the conditions, they risked participating in Toast because the next time they applied for the licence, police and health officials could oppose it. They could also be shut down on the day.
"Police are doing it to the letter of the law."
Last year, Te Kairanga vineyard closed half-an-hour earlier than the other vineyards, to avoid breaching its licence conditions.
Wairarapa area commander Inspector Brent Register said there were some breaches which were being dealt with by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.
"There were a couple of issues around the sale of alcohol around the new legislation.
"I don't think it's a threat, what needs to happen is the vineyards need to recognise they are licensed premises and they are responsible for what happens on their premises."
There are normally around 10,000 people at the event. Last year, three people were arrested for disorder offences and a person was assaulted on a bus.
