Ex-Emmerdale actress makes own wine

We're used to celebrities bringing out their own fashion ranges, perfumes and shoes, but ex-Emmerdale actress Adele Silva has gone one better and created her own wine.

Speaking about how the opportunity came about, she said: "Basically, after Hell's Kitchen, I came out of that having learned so many skills, but I was completely ignorant about wine. If I had a glass of wine, I'd pour lemonade into it to make a spritzer. I wouldn't be able to go into a restaurant and read a wine list - whereas now, I can."

Ms Silva explains: "So I was told the search was on for someone who could bring out their own blends through the Stowells company, with Philip Goodband who's the master of wines for Stowells.

"I described it as the Eliza Dolittle - Professor Higgins thing. He has this massive knowledge about wine, and there was me. He said to me: 'So, what do you drink?' and I said: 'Diet Coke,' and he was thinking: 'Oh my God, I'm so going to have my work cut out for me.'

"So, we went to France and Italy to make the blends, but I also had a lot of homework to do. Learning about different grape varieties and blends and whether they were kept in oak casks and how long they were kept for. There was a lot of information to take on board."

But as the actress reveals, the chance to bottle her own blend of wine was a real treat: "Usually you get offered the chance to bring out your own perfume, but I got the chance to bring our my own blend of wine. So I was like 'I'd love to do that'."

When asked what wines she and Goodband eventually produced, Silva says: "We brought out French Merlot and an Italian Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. I keep pinching myself, it was a really long process, because obviously you can't make wine overnight, but I know I could say to my girlfriends, now 'oh come round and I can crack open a bottle of my wine'."

She has filmed her journey into the world of wine for a new internet series, Mistress of the Vine, and as Silva says: "It starts right from the initial meeting and follows us across France and Italy, to the point where I end up pitching it to Threshers myself. It's not the average celebrity endorsement."

As for anyone keen to get their hands on a bottle, she enthuses: "It's available in all Thresher stores nationwide. It'll be all over the country."