FARNHAM Maltings will turn its focus from the hop to the grape this April for the inaugural Farnham Wine Festival, raising funds for two local charities Challengers and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care.

The festival will kick off in the evening of Friday, April 7, with a session from 7pm to 11pm, followed by an afternoon session on Saturday, April 8, from 12pm to 4pm and a final session on Saturday evening from 7pm to 11pm.

It will feature more than 120 international wines including Champagnes and premium wines, alongside wine experts and producers. In addition, there will also be music, entertainment, concessions, food, money off wine vouchers and more.

Local wines and producers will also feature with their own special section to celebrate the strength and diversity of wine production in this area. These will include Albury Vineyard (nr Guildford), Blackdown Ridge (Haslemere), Greyfriars (Puttenham) and Jenkyn Place (Bentley).

A blind wine tasting will support Challengers and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care will run a raffle, with the proceeds of each going directly to the charities. In addition, organisers VantagePoint Events will donate money from every ticket sold.

Entry to each session costs £10 if booked in advance, with wine tokens also available at a reduced price when booked together. Corporate and group rates will also be available for parties and larger bookings. 

Steve Page, one of the organisers, said: “We are delighted to be working with such great local charities as Challengers and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care for our first Farnham Wine Festival. At our last wine event, we raised over £1,500 for charity and we hope that we will exceed this amount in April.

“We urge as many people as possible to come along and not only taste some great international and local wines but also help support these two brilliant community organisations.” 

For more information and tickets, visit the website vantagepointevents.co.uk.