Wirral Food and Drink Festival ? a view from the Corks Out Bar

The last bank holiday weekend before Christmas was a typical British bank holiday; sunshine and rain. However it did nothing to affect the spirits of the thousands of people who descended on Claremont Farm on Sunday 26th and Monday 27th August?for the annual Wirral Food and Drink Festival.

We at Corks Out have had a stall at the festival for a good few years and for the last three years we?ve also had a wine bar, directly opposite the beer + cider tent and music stage. We were doing a selection of wines by the glass for the happy punters to sip on as they enjoed their burger/pizza slice/chicken wrap/dish of paella or any of the myriad dishes available in the food section of the festival.

The Sunday was the perfect day for attending any festival. The sun was high in the sky. There was a light breeze wispily dancing its way across the fields (which, due to torrential rain the previous night, were a bit muddy to say the least?.) and there were people aplenty in attendance. Most people had the forsight to wear wellies, but a few went hardcore and wore sandals or flip-flops??. Dogs and children were in their element due to the sun and the mud. A few unfortunate people took a tumble in the mud too?(hopefully not due to excess alcohol) but just laughed it off as if it happens to them all the time (maybe it does..?). As the sun beat down the wine was flowing freely. We could have had our Primo Prosecco on draught we were going through it so fast. Norte Chico Sauvignon Blanc and Carlotta Cataratto were fast on its heels though and there were times when Richard, Josh and myself could hardy open bottles fast enough. Time quite literally flew by?and as?the Sunday drew to a close at 5pm, we closed down the bar and headed off home to prepare for the deluge of rain the Met Office had warned was on its way the next day.

So we came to Monday and the expectation of torrential rain. Well, at 7am it was overcast but no sign of rain. Rather gusty but dry. At 8am there was no change either. Arriving at Claremont Farm about 9.30am there was still no sign of rain. Could the Met Office have gotten it wrong? Well, about 10.30am we found out that they were bang on. However, the rain and gusty winds did absolutely nothing to dampen the spirits of the people literally flocking through the gates. Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the bank holiday rain so to speak. With what seemed like everyone walking around with tea or coffee in their hands, the question we were all asking ourselves was, would anyone want to drink wine al fresco on such a day? The beer tent opposite started to pick up business?by midday?and not long after the snowball effect started on our wine bar too. Unlike the Sunday though, today was a red wine day. Norte Chico Merlot and Carlotta Nero d?Avola were the hot favourites. Primo Prosecco certainly sold well, but the general feeling from the punters was that ?it?s a bit cold for white/fizz today?. Then, about 2pm the rain stopped!! With the folk/Irish music blasting out across the festival we even got a hint of sunshine (albeit brief). The wine kept on flowing and as the festival drew to a close at 4pm many happy souls wandered off home maybe a little wet, certainly very muddy and definitely high spirited.

All that was left for us to do was to pack everything away and head off home for another year. Then it started to rain again?Bank holidays eh? Don?t you just love ?em???

Cheers!!

Gray.

Source: http://www.corksout.com/blog/wirral-food-and-drink-festival-a-view-from-the-corks-out-bar

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