Seven years after creating the Hop’n’Vine Festival for Southlanders, its organisers are celebrating the growth of craft beer brewing in Southland as they prepare for this weekend’s event.

The original Hop'n'Vine continues to go from strength to strength and has grown into The Southland Beer Wine and Wild Food Festival, featuring beers and wines from throughout New Zealand, but also showcasing the finest wild foods from the Southland region.

The latest edition of the festival pours into action at ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill, from mid-day on Saturday.

It will be a busy weekend in Invercargill with the Southland A&P Show on as well, but Chris Montgomery, alongside co-organiser Kevin Downie and an army of volunteers, hopes people will be able to fit both in.

“Get along to the A&P show in the morning and come along for a nice, relaxed afternoon with us,” he said.

The Invercargill festival is the sixth in the city since 2017, with organisers also hosting two Te Anau festivals during the past few years, while battling through Covid disruptions.

Last year about 1500 people attended and Montgomery was optimistic of 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.

A real highlight was the continued emergence of Southland and Otago breweries, giving the festival a fantastic local flavour, he 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.”

Central Otago beweries such as Crimson Badger and several Dunedin and Christchurch breweries would further add to the occasion, Montgomery said.

Scott Whitaker from 4 Mates Brewing at the Taproom in Invercargill. Photo: Supplied

Celebrated chef Ethan Flack and Bluff’s renowned Hayz at the Anchorage will be creating delicious offerings, alongside a host of other food vendors, putting together amazing fare 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.”

A wide range of entertainment with something that will appeal to everyone would keep people up on the dancefloor, he said.

The homebrew competition was going to be hotly contested with a massive influx of entries, Montgomery said. Winners will be announced during the festival.

With Covid hopefully in the rearview mirror to a large degree, Montgomery said they were keen to re-establish the festival in its early Autumn window.

“We’ve worked really hard to keep the festivals going through Covid, and we’ve been amazed at how Southlanders and visitors from other regions have embraced the day as a highlight of the events calendar,” he said.

Tickets can be purchased at www.hopnvine.co.nz