Wines have been crafted by Matt Thomson, who was named as International White Wine Maker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge 2008 and also New Zealand Winemaker of the Year 2008.

The participating pubs are The Brocket Arms in Mesnes Road and The Moon Under Water in Market Place, both in Wigan and The Thomas Gerard in Gerard Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield.

New wines on offer are during the festival, which runs from June 10 to 28, include Pinot Grigio 2008 Grave del Friuli, Ponte del Diavolo (Italy), Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Steam Wharf Road (New Zealand), Grenache Blanc Chardonnay 2008 Vignes de l'Eglise (France), Rosato Veronese 2008 Alpha Zeta (Italy), Barbera d'Asti 2003 Ca' del Matt (Italy) and Hawkes Bay Merlot 2007 Stop Banks (New Zealand).

They will complement up to 15 additional wines that will be available at each of the pubs during the festival.

The manager of The Brocket Arms, Jaffa Paul, said: "The six new wines have been sourced for the pub from one of the world's leading winemakers, who has crafted the wines himself.

"They have not previously been served at The Brocket Arms and I am confident that customers will enjoy the opportunity to sample them.
"Our range of festival wines will be on a par with those served in restaurants and hotels, however they will be sold at a more affordable price."

The other wines on sale during the festival will include White Zinfandel Rose (USA), Chardonnay (Chile), Rioja (Spain), Bereich Bernkastel (Germany), Shiraz (Australia) and Merlot (USA).