The long-awaited return of Birmingham Wine Weekend (BWW) is here as the event organisers take over the city once again this spring. In a bid to make up for lost time after a two-year hiatus thanks to the pandemic, the festival has returned with more venues, days, and wines than ever before; as well as a line-up of special events, exclusive dining options and even a brand new app, to make this real-life event doubly immersive.
Birmingham Wine Weekend will run for a full week from April 4 to 10, meaning participants are set to enjoy extended access to exclusive festival wines, events and offers. E-tickets costing £10 are now on sale and give ticket holders access to each venue’s festival wines, with a select few offering premium wine flights to take your wine discovery journey to new heights. Plus, each venue will all present two of the following: a specially selected wine for £5 per glass; or a wine and canapé pairing for £7.
This year, the line up features close to 30 hand-picked venues– the most in the festival’s history – giving both those who know a little about wine and those that know a lot the opportunity to discover the city one glass at a time, via Birmingham’s best venues. Some of the venues taking part in Birmingham Wine Weekend include Loki Wines, The Pineapple Club, Hotel du Vin, Fazenda and Arch 13 at Connelly’s, as well as new bars such as Chapter, Wine Freedom, Vagabond Wines and recently-opened, Shibuya Underground.
Alex Nicholson-Evans, the founder of the festival’s parent company, Living For The Weekend, described the line-up as their “best and biggest yet”, and it’s widest with fantastic venues in Edgbaston and Digbeth now joining the celebrations. “As ever BWW gives people a great excuse to visit their favourite bars and to discover new venues across the city,” said Alex.
In a festival first, this year e-tickets will grant access to the brand-new BWW App, which is where each festival-goer will find their Wine Pass: a personalised digital wine passport for the week that is key to unlocking the festival. The BWW App also features tasting notes for the wines available; a journal for festival-goers to rate and comment on the wines they’ve tried; and a handy digital map of the venues taking part, making it easier than ever to plan and enjoy a grape adventure.
Commenting on the Birmingham Wine Weekend’s new app, Alex Nicholson-Evans, added: “The introduction of the BWW App means that festival-goers can enjoy all the things they already know and love about Birmingham Wine Weekend, but in a more personalised and innovative way. Not only does the BWW App allow you to see the participating venues and access exclusive events; it also means you have a wine-expert in your pocket at all times, with the introduction of our digital tasting notes.
“What’s more, we’re giving our festival-goers the opportunity to shape their own wine journey. By popular demand and for the first time ever, attendees will be able to choose if they want to find out which wines are being served at which venue or if they prefer to be surprised.”
BWW begins on Monday 4 April and will run through until the last venues close on Sunday 10 April. Wine Passes will be valid for the entire week, enabling attendees to dip in and out of the festival as they please or take advantage of the entire seven days. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased via the Birmingham Wine Weekend website.