Phillip Schofield’s self-proclaimed wine brand was ditched from shelves within hours after the company he was in contact with was asked about the brand, Web was able to reveal.
In a statement, the wine group said their collaboration with the presenter came to a “natural end” – but When In Rome Wine, the company he worked with, was still selling the wine through its website following the scandal surrounding his employment revealed on ITV.
And only after receiving media questions, Schofield’s wines were abruptly removed from When In Rome Wine’s website last night, before a statement was sent to the media on behalf of the company this afternoon.
It said: “We have been working with Phillip Schofield for three years on his range of Italian craft wines and this collaboration came to a natural conclusion.”
“There are no further plans to continue to fill the Schofield range for future orders.”
Phillip Schofield’s self-proclaimed brand of wine was thrown off the shelves within hours of the company he was in contact with being asked about the brand
When In Rome Wine, the company Schofield worked with, was still selling the wine through their website after the scandal surrounding his ITV employment broke
An industry insider told Web that the timing of the relationship’s “natural” end caused quite a stir in the wine retailing industry.
They said: “It’s bizarre that it’s been up for sale for the last few weeks, up until the day before the press inquiry and now it seems to have come to a natural conclusion.”
“But there’s no doubt that sooner or later it would have happened since Schofield as a brand has become toxic.” To use an industry term, it’s screwed up.’
When in Rome teamed up with the disgraced former This Morning presenter in 2020 to launch two new wines in cases, sold through their website and through shopping giants Waitrose and Amazon.
When CEO and co-founder Rob Malin was in Rome at the time, he proudly said: “Having someone like Phillip on board to support the box wine category shows just how great an opportunity we have in the market to educate consumers about it educate.” Another way to enjoy quality wine that doesn’t have to be bought by the bottle.”
However, hours after our press inquiry yesterday, the company had removed all listings of its product from its website.
When we visited the site just a day ago, it showed Schofield posing with cases of wine and boasted how “wine expert” Phillip “fell in love with When In Rome after drinking it.”
This comes after the fired TV presenter left This Morning and ITV after admitting he lied about his relationship with a young runner he first became friends with when he was 15.
An industry insider told the Mail that the timing of the relationship’s “natural” end caused quite a stir in the wine retailing industry
The packaged wines received mixed reviews on Amazon. One customer, Phil Thompson, called him the “worst Cube he’s ever seen” — a nod to the entertainment show The Cube, which he hosted.
He added, “Not great, unfortunately.” Astringent and slightly vinegary. There are some good citrus notes here and there and the palate felt fresh and appley, but not like a good apple. More like a cooking apple. A chilled cooking apple.
‘Schofe knows his wines so I’m surprised he let his name be used.’ If that were £12 you could get away with it but at the time of review it was well over £20.
“Something to avoid unless heavily discounted, but manageable and maybe even palatable when the price is in the early teens.”
Meanwhile, in another one-star review, P Garside called it “terrible” and lamented that it was “probably the worst wine I’ve ever tasted”. It is bitter, sour and very unpleasant.
“I wouldn’t even use it for cooking.” Most of the contents of the box ended up in the bin. Avoid at all costs.’
But another buyer, Mr B. Dales, gave it five stars, saying it was “not only great value for money but amazing taste” and Emma Scott praised it as “an amazing wine, really dry, full-bodied white wine, very nice”.
And last September, a user named Richard made a joke in his review by making a dig at the infamous incident in which Schofield and co-host Holly Willoughby were accused of using their fame to join the line for the laying out of the to evade the late Queen Elizabeth.
Of the wine, he said, “I’d 100% queue for that.” I have a journalist badge and nothing soothes a rough day like Phil’s wine! I might even take a selfie with BoJo after two or three glasses!’