Vineyard near Cheddar joins in a celebration of English wine at this year's Wells Food Festival

By Guest

29th Sep 2021 | Local News

Perch Hill Vineyard, which is based near Cheddar, is helping bring a new feature area to life at this year's Wells Food Festival, taking place on October 10 from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

Celebrating English Wine is a marquee in the Recreation Ground, featuring local vineyards and those from further afield.

Perch Hill Vineyard at Westbury-sub-Mendip will have their selection of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Rosé and Sparkling wine, all made from their own vines grown on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills.

Owner Alison Ironside said: "I am so looking forward to taking part in the new English Wine Area at Wells Food Festival.

"It's a great opportunity to celebrate the excellent wines that are locally produced."

For anyone wanting to test their tastebuds, Ben Franks, of wine merchant Novel Wines in Bath, will be sharing his passion for English wine with three exclusive wine tasting sessions, each lasting approximately 45 minutes.

The first tasting is of Bacchus wine at 11am (£12); at 12.30pm there is a pairing of English wine with food (£15) and at 3pm Ben explores the rise of English sparkling wine (£12).

"England is diving headlong into this world, competing with Champagne on quality but experimenting endlessly with new grapes, styles and lees-ageing," said Ben.

"The market of English fizz is very exciting to explore with an almost unanimous pursuit of quality from all winemakers."

Tickets are available to book in advance at www.wellsfoodfestival.co.uk.

Meanwhile, there is plenty more to explore at the festival. With the support of the headline sponsor, Charlie Bigham's, this year's free, family-friendly event is set to be a jam-packed celebration of Somerset's rich and diverse producers.

"After a really challenging 18 months for our artisan producers we are determined to make this festival our best yet," said Jon Abbott, festival director.

"We were obviously proud to be able to support them with a virtual event in 2020, but there's nothing quite like the real thing for the full experience, meeting and talking with the people behind our finest food and drink."

The Artisan Market, with more than 150 stalls at the last count, is a star attraction with an array of regional produce.

It's a melting pot of cuisine, and in addition to local specialities such as cheese and cider, visitors can eat their way around the world.

A street food scene is in evidence with everything from macaroni and cheese through to Tibetan dumplings on the menu.

There is lots for younger visitors as well. A Gingerbread Man Trail can be collected from the entrance to the festival with clues hidden in each of the main areas and a prize for all correctly completed sheets.

There are also four free cookery workshops for children taking place in the Fun Kitchen pop-up cookery school. Suitable for ages 3+, kids can get cooking and create their own apple scone bread twist.

To be kept up to date with all the details, visit the website www.wellsfoodfestival.co.uk.

     

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