FORGET glugging glasses of house white – when it comes to plonk, the latest craze is all about posing with poultry.
Nicknamed “The Chicken Wine” online owing to its bird-themed branding, the £8 French tipple La Vieille Ferme has become the latest cult bottle for Gen Z boozers.
The clucking great pink has gone down a storm on social media, with celebrity fans including singer Charli XCX, who declared it the official “Brat” booze.
And it’s not the only quirky vino to go viral.
Here, drinks expert Helena Nicklin gives her verdict on the latest social media all-stars, giving each a score out of five.
THIS famous, fowl-themed French pink plonk with the chicken on the label is now so popular on TikTok that discounter Aldi has brought out its own not-so-subtle tribute bottle (Le Petit Poulet, £6.49).
The original poultry plonk, though, is still perfectly judged for the more premium price tag, with its cool notes of citrus and strawberry.
Silky and supple, it slips down far too easily, as Generation Z have discovered for themselves.
If you really can’t get enough of the rooster it’s also available by the box for £15.50 (where it’s even better value).
HAT’S off to Joy for knowing exactly who they’re aiming at with their vibrant-looking, simple sippers.
And this is another bottle with real eye-catching looks and colour that has led to it going viral. Gone are grape varieties and countries of origin.
Instead, we have analogies for cosy jumpers, juicy berries and mischievous elves.
The wine in the bottle mirrors the styling: very simple and sweet.
It’s suggested that you mix this with lemonade, oranges and strawberries for a wine-themed cocktail.
Perfect for first-time drinkers but vino aficionados should swerve.
COMBINING two vino trends was always going to be a risk but, with this, it has paid off in spades.
And not only has it gone down a storm on social media but even the wine pros like it.
A hybrid-style bottle, which is half French rosé and half orange wine, it has the moreish texture and bergamot notes of the latter with the ripe strawberry fruit of the former.
The resulting tangerine colour will look great in your glass and on your feeds but it’s also a fine one to sip.
Not just a novelty bottle, this is a great intro to orange wine and I think it’s well worth the premium price tag.
AS far as wine names go, this vino does exactly what it says on the label.
Very sweet and jammy, with a slick of vanilla wood that’s a bit rough around the edges – a bit like licking a new shed (or at least that’s how I imagine that would be!).
Still, the branding is eye-catching, which is why it’s become a trendy sipper and I suppose if you really, really love strawberry jam, then chances are that you might like this too.
In the real world and off the grid this vino is possibly a bit of a one-glass wonder for most people, though.
ANOTHER vino to go viral and I’m not sure Lidl actually knows just how good this wine is for the price.
It’s a seemingly accidental dupe of a much more famous rosé produced around the corner in Lugana, near the Italian home of George Clooney, called Cà dei Frati Rosa dei Frati, which sells for around £25 a bottle.
Delightfully different, this soft, rose-tinted tipple will appeal to everyone with its pear and white peach flavours and a slick of saline.
Definitely a trending wine to take note of and taste for yourself.
A proper lesser-known gem.
FOR a drink that’s been talked about in leading wine circles as “19 Crimes against winemaking”, as a hugely commercial tipple this is actually not too bad.
If you’re after a powerhouse vino with lots of very sweet, ripe fruit and flavours of caramel and vanilla, there’s no ignoring this Australian red.
Best with grilled meat or cheese to smooth it out, it’s big and unsubtle, which is why it packs a punch with its branding and has been a hit online – but in many ways that’s all part of its charm.
IT’S been around for a long time but unlike another, ahem, “softly spoken divine wine”, Brad Pitt’s French pink Miraval has not lost any of its quality punch over the years.
And still huge on TikTok, it shows no sign of losing its popularity on social media either. In fact, dare I say it, over time it’s actually got better.
A beautiful bottle inside and out, this lean and quietly confident pink sipper put celeb rosé on the map – and the rest have been playing catch-up.
It’s not the cheapest cult tipple but for what you get when it’s on offer it’s very well priced.
A VERY recent addition to the online trending wine list is this great-value Malbec from M&S which influencers and grid gluggers have been quick to pay attention to.
As the label suggests, this is a classic example of the grape from Argentina: ripe and smooth with notes of mocha, vanilla, blueberry and blackberry.
Not too sweet and with just enough grip, it would be impressive at twice the price.
One for pouring, sipping and savouring with your sizzling Friday night steak.
PHILLIP Schofield has told the haters to ‘kiss my a***’ as he shared a bum picture from his stint on Cast Away.
The 62-year-old returned to our TV screens on the Channel 5 show after his shock exit from ITV’s This Morning in May 2023.
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away premiered on 30 September.
The three-part series followed the star on an deserted island, opening up to viewers about what has happened to him over the past year.
Phillip took to Instagram to share the love with fans.
Sharing a snap of him running into the sea with no clothes on, he wrote: “Thank you for your incredible support.
“I’ve been shown hundreds of lovely messages which are very important to me.
“I’m so proud of the shows.”
He continued: “Obvs the haters can… … kiss my a***,” with a laughing emoji.
Earlier this week viewers were left shocked when he stripped off to run naked into the sea.
Setting down the camera, he said: “This next scene, I will shoot, but I need approval. Explicit approval.
“Thank you!”
Phillip then charged into the water with his bare bum on display.
His voice over continued: “I want to look forward with positivity and joy…
“What an opportunity.
Phillip returned to TV after 16 long months after being involved in a This Morning scandal.
By Rod McPhee
OVER three nights – and three hour-long episodes – Phillip Schofield has been bearing his soul in new Channel 5 show Cast Away.
And it’s basically a chance for the former This Morning host to explain the circumstances that saw him leave the show last year.
To put it mildly, he left under something of a cloud, admitting he’d had a fling with a much younger runner on the programme. But in the C5 show he presents his own versions of events – one which is at odds with the narrative that emerged at the time.
He was portrayed as a man who’d had an “unwise” affair, who’d resigned as a result and had let many of his colleagues down.
But in Cast Away Philip insists he was fired by ITV and not for the affair, but because of the bad publicity that surrounded the crimes of his paedophile brother. He summed it up best when he claimed he’d been “pushed under a bus.”
After watching Cast Away what you’re left with is something rather confusing, however.
Did Philip think he’d done something wrong by having the fling with the runner, or not? For example, he said he wouldn’t have been slammed for it quite so much if it were a heterosexual fling.
He said he: “would have received a pat on the back for having an affair with a woman.” This infers that the only thing wrong with it was that it was a same sex fling. So why does he also say: “I will be forever sorry. I screwed up. I made a mistake.”
The answer, I suspect, is that the whole affair was a murky business. There were so many blurred lines around appropriateness, professionalism and honesty.
The only firm conclusion you can draw from the show is that Phillip himself isn’t ENTIRELY sure to what extent He was guilty of wrongdoing.
Amid the confusion, what will the viewing public think? I suspect that this will leave those who disliked Phillip to feel even more suspicious of him.
Those who backed him, will feel reassured too. But those who still aren’t sure what to think will be none-the-wiser – and I’m not sure if that’s what Phillip would have wanted.
The former telly presenter admitted to ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a young runner.
In one of the episodes Phillip recounted the exact moment his agent told him he had been ‘let go’ from This Morning.
He had been a presenter on the ITV show since 2002, but was ‘axed’ last year.
Phil revealed he was apparently sacked for his paedophile brother’s crimes.
Timothy Schofield was found guilty last year of 11 counts of child sex abuse.
Before admitting to his affair with a young runner on This Morning, he claims his agent told him a decision had been made to drop him over the publicity of his brother’s trial.
He said: “That’s it, it’s done. You’re not going back on Monday. What? Because of what?
Phil revealed he was apparently sacked for his paedophile brother’s crimes.
Timothy Schofield was found guilty last year of 11 counts of child sex abuse.
Before admitting to his affair with a young runner on This Morning, Schofe claims his agent told him a decision had been made to drop him over the publicity of his brother’s trial.
He said: “That’s it, it’s done. You’re not going back on Monday. What? Because of what?
“And the thing is, about a week later, I blew my own wheels off with everything else, because I thought the only way to even begin to put this right for everybody is to do a full mea culpa. I came clean about my affair.
“What people don’t realise is, I wasn’t fired from this morning when I admitted lying. It was before. Because of someone I used to call brother. But that is my last story.”
However, an ITV insider this week rubbished Phil’s claims and branded him a ‘liar’.
They told The Mirror: “Phillip’s new comments are simply untrue, he is lying again.”
“We stood by him through his brother’s court case and he then stepped away when things became too much,” the source said.
“He then admitted himself he had been lying about an affair and he resigned from ITV altogether.
“We didn’t sack him, he lied to us and then he resigned, there is not much else to say and we as a network just want to move on.”
Phillip presented the show alongside Holly Willoughby.
She left This Morning in October 2023.
WITH the price of a first-class stamp hitting £1.65 on Monday, sending a letter or card will cost a packet.
The hike means it’s important to find other ways to save on postage.
So follow these tips to the letter . . .
STAMP IT OUT: Beat Monday’s 30p rise on first-class stamps by bulk-buying today.
As long as the stamp doesn’t have a price on it, and just says the postage class, it will still be valid after the hike.
Buy from a post office or reputable retailer to avoid fakes.
SEND SECOND CLASS: The price of second-class stamps is staying at 85p.
It should take two to three days for a second-class letter to be delivered, compared with one day for first class.
So, by being a bit more organised, you can save 80p on sending each letter.
BOX CLEVER: If you have an item weighing more than 1kg, a parcel courier website, such as Parcel2Go or ParcelHero, might end up being cheaper than Royal Mail.
E-CARDS: You can send all the sentiment without any of the cost of a stamp with a free e-card.
Lots of companies do this. Check out friendsoftheearth.uk/take-action where you can send a card to a whole group of people, and it’s up to you if you want to make a donation, too.
There is also a good selection at worldwildlife.org.
PACK IT IN: Use the right packaging as postage costs are determined on size and weight. Pack things as small as possible, making the packaging as thin as you can.
Envelopes and plastic mailing bags are the cheapest — so if you can fit gifts you want to send to a friend into a bag, it could cost less to send.
STASH your outdoor cushions and blankets in a 270-litre Keter box, down from £45 to £30 at Argos.
SAVE: £15
SAVE 20 per cent on selected eye make-up at Superdrug, with the Morphe 2 Ready In 5 eyeshadow palette down from £7 to £5.60.
SAVE: £1.40
ENJOY beef bourguignon and molten cookie dough from the new Gastropub deal at M&S, with dishes by chef Tom Kerridge.
For £15, get a main, a side, and a dessert or starter.
BLOCK breezes with the luxury velvet draught excluder, above, £39.95 from Graham & Green.
Or stay warm with Dunelm’s version, for £16. Both available in a range of colours.
SAVE: £23.95
KIT out a bedroom with a Lexington bedside table, four-drawer chest and two-door wardrobe for £210 at The Range. Items can be bought individually.
GET bready to try the new 800g farmhouse batch loaf from Hovis, down from £1.65 to £1 for Tesco Clubcard holders.
SAVE: 65p
GOT an urge for a Victoria sponge?
A sandwich cake tin is down from £2 to £1.50 at Morrisons as part of its baking sale.
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MAN United fan Anderson Pollard shows off his skills on the pitch after giving cancer the boot.
The eight-year-old was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of the disease called Burkitt lymphoma at the start of last year.
He had more than ten tumours in his stomach and needed four months of chemotherapy.
But he kept his spirits up during treatment by wearing his favourite kits and by visiting the Premier League side’s Old Trafford stadium, where he met winger Alejandro Garnacho.
Anderson was declared cancer free a year ago and earlier this year joined his local junior football team, playing his first match in June.
Dad Sam, 35, of Redditch, Worcestershire, with partner Debbie Bath, 43, said: “He was thrilled to be on the pitch. It was his dream come true.
“When we were told it was cancer, we were just in total shock – you just don’t think it will ever happen to you.
“It was devastating and we feared the worst.”
Sam, of Redditch, Worcs, who was supported by charity the Ben Saunders Foundation, said: “It was his dream to beat cancer and join a team and he’s done it.
“He’s always been football-mad and it really helped him through.”
Along with Alejandro Garnacho, Anderson also had visits from many more of his idols – including United heroes Rio Ferdinand, Ledley King and Kieran Dyer – to aid him on his recovery.
The BBC was slammed last night over its “shameful” coverage giving top billing to Iran’s Supreme Leader on its news channel.
The Beeb came under fire over the transmission of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s sermon while leading Friday prayers.
At one point its breaking news headline said Hamas’s October 7 massacre was “logical and legal”.
One Tory MP said the organisation always appears to be on the side of the aggressor.
Bosses decided to lead its coverage of the vile address which was given to tens of thousands of people in Tehran.
At one stage, a headline on the screen read that the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas last year were “logical and legal”.
It comes after the BBC point-blank refuses to call Hamas terrorists – despite the atrocities
Tory MP Greg Smith said: “The BBC time and time again seem to be on the side of the aggressor and it’s shameful
“We saw last year in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks that they refused to call Hamas the terrorists that they really are.
“Now they are giving Iran’s Supreme leader top billing on their news channel.
“It seems like there is a consistent pattern at the BBC and bosses there should address this immediately.”
A BBC spokesperson last night said: “Reporting what someone has said, so that people can understand what’s going on, isn’t the same as endorsing their views, and we’re sure our audiences appreciate this.”
LONDON - Controversial socialite Olinda Chapel has rubbished rumours that she is now married to rapper Desmond 'Stunner' Chideme, saying that she is still legally in a union with Tytan Nkomo.
The post “Desmond and I are NOT in a relationship” – Olinda denies Stunner marriage rumours appeared first on Nehanda Radio.