A wine truck is set to hit the streets of Manchester next month, and it’s featuring top tier French wines from the Loire Valley.
As part of its ‘Bucket List’ tour, Loire Valley Wines is sending out its wine truck to give people the chance to “discover the region’s finest grape produce varieties alongside the beauties of the main UK’s cities”.
And Manchester is one of the cities on the visiting schedule.
Designed to offer a taste of France’s renowned Loire vineyards, the wine truck will run as part of a wider campaign in which bespoke wine tasting menus, offers, and giveaways will be available to make the most of at bars and restaurants across the UK.
The Little Loire Wine Truck will be at the Manchester Food & Drink Festival (MFDF) on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September from 11.30am – 7pm, with an expert sommelier on hand to take passers-by through free walk-in tastings, with bottles ranging from whites to rosés spanning Muscadet to Touraine.
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Budding wine connoisseurs can also enter a competition to have the wine truck stop off at their own home too.
As well as the wine truck popping up for the weekend at the city’s annual flagship food and drink festival, the Manchester Bucket List also features a handful of carefully-selected places to stop off at throughout September and dip a toe into the wines of the Loire Valley.
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A brand-new discovery route packed with treasures and discoveries has been curated especially for the occasion, with six Manchester bars already signed up to take part.
“The Loire Bucket List is for adventure seekers,” a spokesperson for the event said.
“Our discovery routes take you to the ‘secret’ places in your city, to see exciting and unexpected things, alongside a few carefully curated places to stop off to and explore the wines of the Loire Valley along the way.
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“Our collaborative events offer further opportunities to explore Loire Wines, from free in-store sampling to full guided tastings and of course, visits to our little Wine Truck, which will pop up around the UK.”
The wine truck will run as part of a wider campaign in which bespoke wine tasting menus, offers, and giveaways will be available / Credit: Em Zoode
The venues lined-up to host special wine events in Manchester are:
Manchester Tennis & Racquet Club
Flok
Mr Thomas’ Chop House
Atomeca
Oystercatcher
Man Bites Frog
Grape To Grain
With prices starting from as little as £15, and many still TBC, wines such as Rosé d’Anjou Famille Bougrier 2020, Touraine Sauvignon Domaine Guenault Bougrier 2020, Muscadet Polaris Batard Langelier, Clos La Cariziere, and L’Extra par Langlois Brut NV Crémant de Loire are all on the menu across each of the participating venues for wine enthusiasts to wet their whistle.
Specially-selected ‘wines of the month’, and food and wine pairings will also be available to try.
Specially-selected ‘wines of the month’, and food and wine pairings will also be available to try / Credit: Unsplash
Popular Japanese restaurant Sticks’n’Sushi is coming to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Sticks’n’Sushi is set to open in the North West for the first time, announcing a brand-new restaurant in Manchester.
It’s a Danish brand but a Japanese restaurant, with 16 sites nationwide so far proving its popularity.
Sticks’n’Sushi serves (as if you hadn’t guessed) a menu of sushi dishes as well as grilled meats served on sticks.
They’re set to take over the long-empty Iberica site, right in the heart of Spinningfields, creating 75 new jobs for the city in the process.
The two-storey restaurant space will accommodate 246 guests across a ground floor restaurant and mezzanine level, with a huge L-shaped outdoor terrace.
It’ll be designed by Berlin architects Diener & Diener, who will create a space that blends Japanese architectural influences with Scandinavian aesthetics.
Sticks’n’Sushi is founded by half-Japanese, half-Danish, brothers Jens and Kim Rahbek, and Thor Anderson in Copenhagen.
They have 12 restaurants in and around the Danish capital, as well as three in Berlin, and now Manchester is set to be the 17th UK site for Sticks’n’Sushi.
The menu will feature the brand’s signature sharing dishes of sushi, sashimi, salads and grilled sticks, available à la carte or in generous set menus.
Expect favourites like Ebi Bites (tempura shrimp with miso aioli, lime and chilli) and the Maki Maki selection of four signature rolls.
The sharing side of things includes a premium selection of build-your-own handrolls, maki and sticks, and classic Japanese grills like Shōyu Tebasaki (chicken wings marinated in garlic, ginger, tamari and soy), Gindara No Miso (miso-glazed black cod), and Aka Ebi (shrimp in gochujang and garlic butter).
The drinks menu showcases sake, Japanese teas, cocktails, premium spirits, and beer – including the brand’s own-label yuzu pale ale – alongside a concise wine selection.
Andreas Karlsson, SticksʹnʹSushi Group CEO, said: “Manchester is an important milestone in our UK growth strategy – it’s been on our radar for many years, and we’re delighted to have found the perfect space for us.
“Manchester is a city that celebrates creativity, culture and great food – and that’s exactly the kind of place where SticksʹnʹSushi belongs.
“We’re excited to create new jobs, meet our new neighbours, and introduce our unique blend of Danish design and Japanese dining to the city.”
Sticks’n’sushi is set to open in Spinningfields in Manchester next spring.
Costa unveils 2025 Christmas menu – with NEW festive lattes, sweet treats, and much more
Emily Sergeant
Costa has unveiled its festive food and drink menu for 2025.
Can you believe it’s that time of year yet again? We’ve been noticing the Christmas spirit creeping in for a few weeks now, but it definitely feels like it’s here now.
The popular coffee shop chain is known and loved for its limited-edition seasonal menus each year, and now, with the countdown to the big day officially on, Costa has given fans what they’ve been waiting for as it’s unveiled its festive food and drink offering for 2025 – with a whole host of brand-new treats, as well as some returning fan favourites on the lineup.
It’s absolutely packed full of hearty soul foods and indulgent goodies to get you properly get you in a festive mood.
Costa has unveiled its 2025 Christmas menu / Credit: Costa
The star of this year’s festive drinks is the all-new Butter Pecan Cookie Latte – which is described as being ‘a delicious seasonal twist’ on a normal latte, topped with light whip and butter pecan cookie pieces to transform every coffee break into a little celebration.
Other festive drinks on the menu this year include the comebacks of three absolute Costa Christmas classics – the Gingerbread & Cream Latte, the Terry’s Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate, and the Black Forest Hot Chocolate.
Also returning is last year’s newest addition – the Caramel Nutcracker drinks range, available as a Hot Chocolate, Latte, and Iced Latte.
Loads of new and returning festive drinks are on the lineup / Credit: Costa
If you fancy tucking into a festive feast to go along with your limited-edition drinks, then this year’s food lineup is packed with hearty toasties and irresistible sweet treats.
For lunchtime bits, plenty of festive favourites are returning for 2025, such as the much-loved Turkey & Trimmings Toastie, Pigs & Blankets Toastie, Brie & Cranberry Toastie, Turkey Feast Sandwich, and the Brie, Bacon & Cranberry Panini.
For those with a sweet tooth, there’s some new indulgent cakes and biscuits too.
For those with a sweet tooth, some real fan-favourite treats are also back this year / Credit: Costa
These include the new Dubai Style Pistachio, the new Caramel Nutcracker Cookie Sandwich, and new Festive Spice Muffin, alongside classics like the Iced Penguin Gingerbread Biscuits, Berry Red Velvet Mini Loaf, Chocolate & Caramel Nutcracker Cake, Gingernut Loaf Cake, and the Festive Bakewell Tart.
Oh, and don’t forget both the All Butter Mince Pie and the Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Tarts are already back for another year too, as is the Terry’s Chocolate Orange Muffin.
The 2025 Christmas menu will be available at all Costa branches and Costa self-serve machines nationwide, and will begin its roll-out from this Friday 24th October 2025 – with some items launching in early November.
The Manc -
2nd September 2021 
