Bristol festival puts wine first

The UK is now gloriously awash with foodie festivals, but so often wine struggles for equal billing and ends up as little more than a sideshow to the celebrity chef parade.

Enter the Bristol Wine & Food Fair, which takes place from 2-4 July in the city’s historic harbourside. Now in its third year, over 14,000 visitors are expected to soak up an extensive programme of tutored tastings and visit over 30 wine importer, agent and retailer stands.

One of the centrepieces of the event is the Wine & Food Tasting Lecture Theatre, which will host a series of 18 tasting masterclasses by Susy Atkins, Charles Metcalfe, Fiona Beckett, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Tim Atkin MW.

The Bristol Wine & Food Fair represents the resurrection of the original World Wine Fair, which ran in the city for 14 years until 1992. In its heyday the event attracted crowds of up to 80,000, making it one of the biggest wine fairs in the world at the time.

It was this legacy which inspired Chris Scholes, director of the Bristol Wine & Food Fair, to revive the festival, adding some modern touches by incorporating food and education elements

Speaking to the drinks business, Scholes set out his vision for the fair: “There is a tremendous amount that still has to be taken on in this country to educate people about what they drink but by creating an informal environment, where everyone can taste and discuss wine with industry experts, producers and importers, it allows visitors to develop their own tastes and discover new wine regions.”

As an independent event, Scholes has also ensured that the fair is particularly geared towards helping consumers to discover original wines from new or unfamiliar regions through encouraging specialist agents and retailers to exhibit. “It is these companies that are providing excellent choice in the market place and great value for money,” he maintained.

Gabriel Savage, 01.06.2010