The Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival, known far and wide as one of the “must attend” vintner happenings in Virginia, is taking up new quarters for its 20th anniversary celebration. Slated for Saturday and Sunday, September 27 and 28, the 2008 event will be held on pastoral fields overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains in Franklin County. Previously, the wine festival was held at Bernard’s Landing, a resort and conference center located directly on Smith Mountain Lake. However, the popularity of the event caused organizers to seek out new quarters with more venue space for participating wineries and craft vendors as well additional parking for the thousands of festival-goers who look forward to the annual rite of autumn. More than 9,000 people attended the 2007 festival. The new site is located about 2 miles south of the Hales Ford Bridge directly off of Route 122, making access to the site convenient for all participating. The 2008 wine festival site is 25 percent larger than its predecessor location.