Following the success of its inaugural event in September 2016, Waitrose announces its second Drinks Festival, which will take place from the 17th - 19th November 2017.

Held at County Hall, London, the festival will see up to 4,000 customers sampling the best wines, beers, spirits and speciality food the supermarket has to offer. Over 200 Waitrose producers will be taking part in the festival, which will be split into four sessions over the weekend.

With themed rooms dedicated to each main category, the venue will be taken over by all manner of drink and food experts, showcasing their products. The wine room will house hundreds of different wines, spanning the breadth of the supermarket's range, from well known brands to lesser known winemakers.  There will also be rooms dedicated to cider, beer, dark spirits and light spirits.

The festival will include various masterclasses, workshops and Waitrose Cookery School demonstrations. Back by popular demand is the 'Make Your Own Gin' workshop with distillers Audemus, where customers can make their own gin to be judged by an expert panel. The winning gin from last year's masterclass is now available online at Waitrose Cellar. There will also be a 'blend your own whisky' class with Glenfiddich.

New for 2017 is an exclusive lounge, with drinks personalities making appearances and giving talks throughout the weekend. Lounge customers will also be able to go on personalised wine walks with the Waitrose wine buying team.

Masterclasses will include: Guigal, Chateau Musar, Masi, Graham's Port, Catena Malbec, The Chocolate Block, Asian Whiskies, Sipsmith, Hayman's Gin, Wines of Rioja, Altos Las Hormigas, There's a Beer For That, Yealands and Brooklyn Lager. Confirmed suppliers with stands at the show include Pedrino, Sipsmith, Peroni, Les Dauphins, Masi, Catena and many more.