Wine, food and culture at Hastings Garden

Valletta's historical Hastings Garden will host the first Marsovin Summer Wine Festival, which will be held between July 4 and 6, as part of the Malta Arts Festival that will run till July 17.

The gardens will be split into four sections for the event and each area will feature Mediterranean cuisine from Malta, Italy, Spain and Morocco as well as a broad collection of Maltese wine.

The event will include flamenco dancing, live rock and jazz bands, tribal musicians and string quartets. There will also be art exhibitions by popular Maltese artists.

The Minister for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Dolores Cristina said the government was pleased to be entering into partnerships with the private sector to promote cultural events. Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier echoed her sentiments and praised Marsovin's effort to offer a holistic approach to Maltese culture.

"The fresh concept of combining wine, food and culture in an event like this is a first for Malta," Jeremy Cassar, Marsovin's director of marketing said. "And what better place to hold it than Valletta, our historic and strikingly beautiful capital, which is heaving with culture?"

Mr Cassar explained that each person who attends the festival will pay a €4 entrance fee each day and in return receive a glass of wine. The glass can be retained. Food and wine can be purchased by using a token system - a 185ml glass of wine will cost from €2 to €8 depending on the wine and the price of food will range from €5 to €15.

As Marsovin promotes sensible drinking, alcohol can only be consumed by over 16. Children under 12 will enter free of charge.