A sell-out wine-tasting evening at Macclesfield furniture retailer, Arighi Bianchi, has raised more than £700 for local charity, East Cheshire Hospice.

Wine expert and social media personality Tom Gilbey, known as The Wine Guy, joined Nick Bianchi for the special event held at Arighi’s Caffè AB, along with wine lovers from across the region.

Tom, who has spent more than 35 years in the wine trade, is well known for his entertaining and accessible approach to wine, as well as running the London Marathon while tasting 26 different wines along the way. He expertly guided guests through a hand-picked selection of wines in his own inimitable style, before sitting down with Nick for a fireside chat about wine, business, friendship and family heritage.

But the biggest success of the evening was the money raised for East Cheshire Hospice, one of Arighi Bianchi’s charity partners. Several local businesses donated prizes for the fundraising event, including Macclesfield FC, The Lowry Hotel, Victors, Tommy’s Pizza, the Lambing Shed, Flower, Water, Salt and the Northern Chambers Orchestra – with a total of £700 raised for the charity.

Nick Bianchi said:
“It was a real pleasure to welcome Tom to Arighi Bianchi. We’ve known each other since our school days, so to sit down together in Caffè AB and hear some of the brilliant stories and experiences from his 30-plus years in the wine trade was truly special.

“A huge thank you has to go to Tom for making the evening such a memorable one, to everyone who donated a prize, to the East Cheshire Hospice team and, of course, to every guest who joined us and dug deep for such a worthwhile local cause.”

The evening formed part of a growing programme of events at Arighi Bianchi’s landmark Silk Road store, bringing together shopping, food and drink, interiors and experiences while supporting organisations within the local community.

Arighi Bianchi will continue its events programme this autumn and winter, with further events planned at its Macclesfield store alongside its current Autumn Savings event.