Glasgow natural wine festival set for one day tasting event this summer

On Saturday 10th August, Vin Vivant - a festival of living wine - will open its doors for a debut outing in the city, bringing over 100 different organic, biodynamic and natural wines under one roof for the biggest tasting festival of its kind in Scotland.

Earlybird tickets are on sale until June 30th, saving 15% off the regular ticket price of £35. Some of the country’s top independent importers will be on hand to open bottles, pour and talk through their wares with the hundreds of wine-lovers expected to flock to The Briggait.

Guests will attend one of two three-hour sessions and should expect to learn about minimal intervention wine-making practices, organic and biodynamic agriculture and the benefits of these approaches in expressing the true terroir in each bottle, all whilst sampling from a practically unlimited range of wines.

Pét-nats, orange wines, flinty Alsatians, savoury Iberians and more traditional Bordeaux, Côtes du Rhône and Bourgogne will all be present - with some natural champagne too.

You’ll take your tasting glass and walk the stalls, tasting as you go, with no additional fees for samples. Each stand will also retail their wines to takeaway, so you can scurry away a few for the house and learn where to pick them up in future.

Bartenders at a very special vermouth-focused cocktail bar will be serving up spritzes to refresh you, and hot and cold food stands will be on hand for you to grab a snack, or some cheese or charcuterie to take home.

The team behind Vin Vivant also run Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival, which sold out last month in the Briggait. The team has also decided to pair up with local beer and cider producers, those whose practice very much sits nicely alongside the natural wine movement, so you’ll be able to sample an ever wider range of delicious drinks, if you at any point get a little tired of wine.

Colin Campbell, one of the founders, told us: “What is summer without wine? And what is wine without natural wine? The aim of this festival is to have a wide enough programme that it appeals to both those in Scotland who are already big fans of natural wine, know a lot of the top producers etc, and those who perhaps have dipped a toe in, or have just heard the terms ‘biodynamic’, ‘minimal intervention’ etc recently and wondered what all the fuss is about.

“We aim to be an accessible festival for these people primarily, as the world of wine can be an intimidating place in general, never mind the potentially daunting concept of natural wine. Sometimes maligned, it would be great to get those interested people in a room with the wines and with the experts, and for them to see just how enjoyable and familiar these wines are.”

Compared to conventional wine, which is produced for the mass market and as such can pressure winemakers to rigid structure and the use of chemicals to achieve conformity and high yields, natural winemakers are challenged with creating accomplished and delicious vino without the use of chemicals in the vineyard, and with little to no use of sulphur dioxide in the cellar.

Early bird tickets are on sale until midnight on 30th June and offer a 15% discount from general admission at £29.75. Each ticket normally costs £35, details can be found here.