So this was Wine Festival Winchester 2020 style – ONLINE! A year in which we decided to do something positive in the face of the pandemic chaos, and organise a lip-smacking line-up of delicious and fascinating online masterclasses.

The line-up above went out on Saturday 28th November 2020. We had a blast – thank you to everyone who joined in and made the day such a success. We had wines selling out, a barrage of social media interactions and nearly 2,000 views on the day (and each view often accounted for more than one viewer) with some tuning in from Europe and the US too. Not bad for a festival in Winchester that usually has a 1,500-capacity!

We had extra buzz from the legend that is Sam Neill appearing, and also the brilliant TV chef Ching He Huang. Thanks to everyone who’s got in touch to say thanks, comments included: ‘Superb event’ (Mike), ‘Fantastic as always and just as fun doing it in our own home,’ (JC), ‘Very well done!! Thank you all so much for bringing it to us at home. Can’t wait for 2021!’ (Clare) and, ‘An astoundingly impressive online event…it was sensational and still available on playback’ (DrinksNetwork).

On which note, all the above sessions are still available on catch-up, both here and on our Wine Festival TV channel on YouTube. Do join in, it’s all for free – and you may still be able to get hold of some of the wines too. Thanks to our sponsors and exhibitors.

This subsequently turned out to be our last event, as we called time on the festival in June 2021. We’ve gone out on a high, celebrating many wonderful memories. Thanks to everyone – and here’s to wine!