If you love wine, and you love Manchester, and you’d quite like to do something with your afternoon that celebrates both of those things, can I put you onto the Manchester Wine Tours?
This genius little event sees small groups of people heading across the city on, essentially, an organised and very sophisticated bar crawl.
Imagine Carnage, but instead of drawing on a t-shirt and slamming neon green alcopops, you’re dressed up nicely and visiting some of Manchester’s top food and drink businesses.
Manchester Wine Tours is owned and operated by Kel Bishop, a local food and drink writer and wine teacher.
Each tour is different, taking in different bars, different wines, and different people.
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But as a general rule of thumb you can expect to meet up with Kel somewhere centrally, and follow her to around four different bars, sampling one or two wines in each.
You end up drinking roughly two-thirds of a bottle of wine, unless you get lucky with a small group like ours, where we definitely got a little more than that.
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And each tour factors in a few points of interest, in classic walking tour style and for even more of a Manchester flavour.
On the Manchester Wine Tour I joined, our route included a few of the city centre’s newest wine hotspots, starting at Kallos, the fantastic greek restaurant in Salford that’s striving to have the largest collection of greek wines in the UK.
Here we tucked into their divine, puffed-up flatbreads and dips, as well as tinned octopus, all paired with a crisp sparkling Domaine Karanika Brut Cuvee Speciale.
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Stop one on our Manchester Wine Tours – Kallos
Then it was on with the big coats for a walk back into the city centre to Sterling.
On a personal note, I’ve been working as a food and drink journalist in Manchester for a decade. I did not expect to have any surprises along the way.
But then Kel led us into the wine room at Sterling – not usually open to the public – and proved me wrong.
Tucked away from the main bar, surrounded by wooden shelves glinting with different wines, we sampled a dry Chenin a New Zealand Lethbridge Chardonnay, and all realised we had been judging Chardonnay far too harshly.
Inside Sterling
It’s at this stop that Kel really breaks down the art of wine tasting, and how to build your understanding of a wine from sight to smell to sip.
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Suitably warmed up, it was time for a dash across to Winsome, the new British restaurant that’s already been added to the Michelin guide, where we crammed around a centrepiece of wine bottle candles dripping in wax to discover the delights of the Greek Alkemi Xenomavro rose – my favourite wine from the night that I bought an extra bottle of to take home.
Each stop of the wine tour offers snacks as well as the wines, and for Winsome it was a delicate squash dish picked by the chef to compliment our drinks.
Manchester Wine Tours in Winsome
We also sampled a lethally good Terre de Zeus Xinomavro here – it was a good day for Greek wine.
By this point of the tour we’re like a slightly wobbly gaggle of baby birds, scurrying after Kel towards our final spot for the night – Beeswing.
The Kampus bar provided an Austrian Funkstille Zweigelt (ordered an extra glass of this, it was so good) and a The Good Luck Club Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley, plus boards of charcuterie and cheese.
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My brain is like a sieve for wine facts (I’ve written up most of this by looking at the labels), but I guess that just means the Manchester Wine Tour will have a repeat customer.
Kel is an expert at reading the room and deftly tailors her tastings to suit each person’s wine experience. For some it’s just the pleasure of drinking a nice wine (here, have a top-up), for others it’s digging into the history and politics of the drink. Some just wanted to uncover a new bar or restaurant, playing tourist in their own city.
It felt as though all seven of us on our tour took something different away from the exact same experience – and is that not the beauty of good hospitality?
It’s all completely accessible, approachable and very, very fun.
First look inside Social Osteria, Stockport’s buzzy new Italian restaurant
Lydia Mastrolonardo
That’s right Stopfordians – we’re gaining yet another brand new addition to our town’s blooming food and drink scene, as Social Osteria opens its doors at Weir Mill.
It’s safe to say we’re in good hands, with the geniuses behind The Social Trattoria, named best Trattoria at the Italian Awards UK 2025, being the ones to bring this new taste of Italy to South Manchester.
Just because we are no longer experiencing the weather to match an Italian summer, doesn’t mean we can’t continue eating like we’re there.
Social Osteria can now be found overlooking the River Mersey, as a beautiful 2,000 sq ft space within the buzzing new canalside development, fully equipped with the classic exposed red brickwork, vaulted ceilings and even the restored original kiln.
As you approach the restaurant, you are greeted by a sunken courtyard and riverside seating, making for the perfect alfresco dining spot, when the warmer weather finally rolls back around.
With the meaning of Osteria being an Italian tavern, for locals to gather and enjoy each other’s company, good wine and honest, flavourful food – the team have stayed true to the name. You can expect dim, ambient lighting, an open kitchen, fresh small plates, flavourful 48-hour pizzas, and traditional pasta.
Vibrant dishes at Social Osteria in Stockport. Credit: The Manc Group
This glamorous new restaurant is promising a spectacular menu, from cacio e pepe butter beans to guanciale topped pizzas and their very own slow-cooked beef shin and pork shoulder paccheri ragu, you know we’re in the right place.
With Italian food running in the family, the team’s cooking practices are rooted in traditional methods, passed down through the generations and then presented to us, with the freshest of ingredients.
It suits Capital&Centric, who’ve taken the same approach to Weir Mill itself – embracing the character of the historic mill whilst transforming it into a vibrant community, for generations to come.
Inside Social Osteria at Weir Mill. Credit: The Manc Group
Set below Stockport’s iconic viaduct, the £60m neighbourhood is now home to 253 apartments alongside bustling cafés, wine bars and stunning restaurants akin to Social Osteria, accompanied by plenty of outdoor seating, green spaces, and riverside viewpoints.
Where Osteria Social now calls home is part of Stockport’s £1 billion Town Centre West masterplan, adding to the town’s growing reputation as one of the best locations to live in the UK.
Social Osteria will officially open Thursday 22 October, at Weir Mill. Be sure to book your tables early as we fear this one might get a little booked up.
Traitors star and comedian Joe Lycett is putting cash behind the bar at two Manchester pubs
Daisy Jackson
Comedian Joe Lycett is putting money behind the bar at two Manchester pubs this week, as he continues to encourage people to get out and support their local boozers.
The TV favourite – who is also currently one of the stars on The Traitors – announced the news as he bid farewell to his fictional TV pub The Lycett Arms.
On the show, he said: “There are 45,000 pubs in the UK – go and give them some love.”
Joe Lycett then proceeded to list 30 brilliant pubs up and down the country, including two in Manchester, and announced that the drinks are on him this week.
He told audiences: “[This] Friday I’ll be putting a little bit of money behind the bar in all the pubs you’ve just seen. I hope you can have a drink on me.”
The pubs he picked out in Manchester are the iconic old boozer The Peveril of the Peak, and the excellent pub and comedy venue The Old Monkey.
The Peveril of the Peak on Great Bridgewater Street is a real icon in the city centre, with its green tiled exterior and its cosy interiors.
Until recently, it was run by legendary local landlady Nancy Swanick, who died in July at the age of 96.
The Peveril of the Peak pub in ManchesterInside The Pev
Commenting on Joe Lycett’s post about his pub offer, they wrote: “You are all more than welcome at The Pev. Give me a shout and I will sort you out with a pie, Joe.”
The Old Monkey, meanwhile, is famed for its comedy nights run by Trapdoor Comedy Club, and for its open mic sessions, as well as award-winning beers.
The Portland Street pub has also very kindly agreed to match Joe Lycett’s donation, which means double the budget for pints for Mancs.
Daisy Jackson -
21st November 2025 
