Soccer moms are fast taking over wine reportage, the erstwhile preserve of bow-tied gurus with forests of exotic ear hair. Sometimes their ears and eyebrows are hairier than their bonces on account of all that wine knowledge pushing out hair follicles from the inside. The Daily Mail embraces the trend and presents Helen McGinn (below), a “knackered mothers’ wine expert”, while carefully retaining the “big hair” motif. McGinn, what a great name for a drinks writer. Make mine a double!

For the Mail, choosing wine is all about “when you’ve got a screaming toddler in tow and dinner to cook, it’s all about getting in and out of there before it ends in tears (yours and theirs). UK wine writers are obsessed with wines priced at under £6 (R100) and Helen of Joy recommends two from SA: a white and a red.

Zalze Shiraz/Mourvedre/Viognier, £5.99, Ocado.
A South African red that brings together three different grapes. Adding the white Viognier grape to a red blend is what the Northern Rhone Valley is famous for. This way, you get to try it out at a fraction of the price.
Food pairing: Sticky ribs.  Forget about vintage and focus on those sticky ribs.

Bellingham Pear Tree White, £5.99, Sainsbury’s.
Another South African bargain, a blend of Chenin Blanc with a dash of Viognier. It’s a peach-filled, bright, sunshiny wine. And the estate behind this wine has been around since 1693, so they know what they’re doing. This would go down well at a party.
Food pairing: Twiglets and nibbles. Once again, vintage is irrelevant when you’ve got twiglets on the menu.