English sparkling, organic and biodynamic wines will take centre stage at the first ever Dorset Wine Festival.

The event is to be hosted at the prestigious 10 Castle Street in Cranborne from 11am to 5pm Saturday, September 23 and Sunday, September 24.

The two-day festival is the creation of Alex Boon, owner of the members’ club and wine merchant at Museum Wines, and will feature some 100 wines from up to 40 producers, many of which are unavailable to try anywhere else.

The focus for year one will be home grown sparkling, as well as natural organic and bio-dynamic wines. The festival will also feature many award-winning wines from producers in France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Lebanon, and New Zealand.

“As an independent importer, the team at Museum Wines and I have built up relationships over the past 15 years which give us access to wines not available anywhere else in the UK," explains festival director Alex.

"Our aim with the Dorset Wine festival is to showcase some of these exclusive wines that we know are punching about their weight in terms of value. We’re also passionate about sharing the rise of the English producers, who’ve had a phenomenal year sweeping up a host of international awards, along with some exceptional natural wines.

"The Dorset Wine Festival promises to be a great weekend for all lovers of wine, be they expert or novice.”

The festival will offer informative and entertaining talks throughout the day by a wide variety of international wine experts, producers, growers and wine makers. Attendees can expect samplings, pairings and talks along with live entertainment and a selection of fabulous dining options.

There will also be an art workshop from Iain Alexander, Ambassadeur Art Gallery’s resident artist.

Iain will be inviting guests to design a new label for the 10 Castle Street range of wines.

Iain said: “I’m a huge fan of 10 Castle Street”

"It’s such an inspirational venue and when the owner, Alex, said they wanted a new label for their own range I came up with the idea of running a live workshop at the festival. I love running these kind of workshops, you never know what amazing ideas are going to come out of a group of creative minds all together. I’m sure that by the end of the day we’ll have a really special new label for this special wine.”

Tickets for the Dorset Wine Festival are now on sale at £35, which includes day entry to the festival, a wine glass, tokens for up to 35 tastings and an official event programme. To purchase, visit dorsetwinefestival.com