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The Gadoochi Brewing crew hard at work in the leadup to the festival.
The Southland Beer Wine and Wild Food Festival is returning to Invercargill this weekend, promising to deliver a new drip to hop and vine lovers.
The festival, based at ILT Stadium Southland, has grown this year from just beer and wine, to wild meats and produce from across the region ready to be enjoyed by festival goers.
The event will kick off from 12pm on Saturday, with craft breweries primed to pour, wineries itching to splash, and chefs ready to saute, organiser Chris Montgomery said.
“If you want to experience something that’s a chilled afternoon, it’s something that’s a little bit different, and we’ve got a bit of everything.”
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The festival, which first launched in 2017 under the name Hop’n’Vine, had been going for seven years, he said.
However, with a growing number of attendees and an aspiration to expand the event, Montgomery and his co-organiser Kevin Downie renamed the festival to reflect all it had to offer.
With about 1500 people attending the event last year, Montgomery was optimistic he would see similar numbers again in 2023.
“We normally get that classic late influx from people and there’s heaps of new beers, wines, spirits, food and entertainment on offer this year.”
Top New Zealand breweries such as Behemoth and Garage Project were returning as well as many South Island craft breweries from Christchurch, Dunedin and Central Otago’s Crimson Badger.
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Scott Whitaker from 4 Mates Brewing at the Taproom in Invercargill.
Local flavours from new breweries that had popped up in Southland in recent years would also be gracing the tap this year too, Montgomery said.
“We’ve got a lot of new styles, as breweries like Hopsession, Four Mates, Gadoochi and The Factory in Invercargill continue to produce excellent craft beer.”
Montgomery was excited to showcase chef Ethan Flack and Bluff’s Hayz at the Anchorage which will be creating delicious offerings, alongside a host of other food vendors with a southern twist.
“Food venders are going to be showcasing the best regional produce available and people can look forward to some fantastic, tasty creations.”
Tickets for the festival can be found on the Hop’n’Vine website.
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