STAFF from a Woodstock hotel will make a dash for it across the Channel to collect some of France’s finest wine to sell at a hospice fundraiser.

Staff from The Feathers Hotel are gearing up to race to Beaujolais for the time-honoured tradition of collecting the first wine of the season.

Three cases of the six-week-old crop have been signed by ‘king of Beaujolais’ Georges Duboeuf and will be served to diners at a fundraiser for East Oxford hospice Helen and Douglas House.

The team, made up of sales manager Ben Harrison, chef Marc Hardiman and general manager Luc Morrel, will travel in a Porsche-powered VW Samba van alongside owner David Carrington.

Their return will be celebrated at a four-course dinner at the hotel to raise £5,000 for the good cause.

Along the way, they hope to collect ingredients for the menu, to feed the 60 hungry diners.

Mr Harrison said: “We are only allowed to pick the bottles up at midnight on October 18 at the earliest and we are not allowed to sell them before noon.

“We’ve got eight hours to get from Beaujolais to Calais and hopefully we will be back in Woodstock by noon.”