Happy Hour Hacks: Spills, Thrills and Questionable Gadgets

18:34Alan Carr:No, no, but don't... Oh, no, no, hang on. You do this. Yeah, hang on. You've kept the receipt. So it has a gas canister in. There you go. So you do it like that, and then it's got an argon gas, which is inert, meaning it doesn't interact with the wine. So it doesn't actually... Look at that. It's nice wine. So you can have as much as you want. It does mean you put... I'll do a bit. Yeah, do you want me to do a bit? Because I love a gadget. Yeah, go on. It does mean you end up pulling it a little bit slower, but this is what I mean. So if you've got like a really nice bottle of wine sat at home...

19:05Alan Carr:That's so much better than I do that. And you think, oh, actually, what I want to do is I want a glass or two. But you might be going on holiday in a couple of days. And also say, sometimes you've got friends round, I'm just going to say it, and you don't want to give them the good wine because they won't understand it and they won't like it. Watch it there. You know your friends round, they're like... Yeah, I'll have a drink. What kind of friends do you have? I'm not giving you my best wine. Or you might have someone round and you're like, shall we have a quick glass of wine? You don't want to open a real nice bottle.

19:37Alan Carr:No, look, you do that. Coravan means that you don't have to open the bottle. And is that Spanish? Esque? What, this one? Yes. Trouble. Oh, no. Sorry, English isn't my first language. It's really Spanish. No, Coravan. Oh, Coravan. No, no, French. Man. French. So, Trouble, the one we're drinking now, just to segue. Yeah, let's talk about this because people who will be watching the podcast will see the Coravan in action, but they'll also be going, hold on, that wine looks quite cloudy. Well, there's a reason for it. It's because it is a cloudy wine. It's a cloudy wine. And do you know what? I've heard about this.

20:14You can't get this anywhere. So look, you just do that, remove it. And then look, and look at this. The Coravan's out. And it's completely sealed. I know, it's like a magic trick. You're like secret, guys. Cheers. I am. Who? Oh my God, how does that even happen? So it puts the...

20:32Alan Carr:So the cork reseals. Yeah, cork just reseals. So you have to do it with something with a cork. But also they've got one that you can do on this as well. Yes, they've got one with caps and they have a sparkling. But then you'd have to redo the cap. They give you a cap to put on it. Yeah, they do. But still great. But they also have one for sparkling where you can keep sparkling for up to four weeks. And that's great because I don't always like to... It's almost like you work for them. ...drink. Well, no, I don't. I'm just obsessed. The thing is, I am obsessed. When I like something, Rob, I like something.

21:03Alan Carr:I'm getting that. I'm getting that impression. Yeah. I mean, you can't work out. Why would you use a Coravan with a screw top top? Wouldn't you just open it up with a wall? And then you can still pop it on. Because, Alan, what I'm saying is it preserves it for longer. Yeah. Because even with the screw top being slightly loose, the air is getting in and eventually... Put a bit of cling around it. or you can no but it airtight should we talk about this wine as well yeah go on so what's this trouble this is like yeah you got trouble my friend so trouble rose just find a troubleshoot I could not this is this Spanish for trouble yeah that's the Spanish word don't patronise me so this so this is no so this is a cloudy rose which like never heard of it never happens because as you know It's gorgeous, though, isn't it?

21:56Yeah, it's lovely. So this is Syrah, mainly Syrah and 20 % Grenache. So this is French. So south of France. And they just don't filter it. So that's all. They don't filter it. So you've got all that. Usually you want a clear wine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You want something that's clear. I was suspicious when you pulled this. Oh, my God, what's he done now? What's he done now? He slagged me off. He slagged me off. Now he's trying to poison me with unfiltered wine. But it's delicious. And this is called Trouble at Eminence. So this is Trouble 12.5 at Eminence. Quite rare to get, apparently. This is just the latest thing.

22:31And you're going to see loads of copycats now. Because this is like selling hot clothes. Cloudy. They can't keep it on the... Yes, it sounds like I work for them. I don't. But I just think it's a really amazing thing. Because a lot of times, if something sells out and is big on TikTok, I'm really suspicious.

22:46Alan Carr:Do you know what trouble means in French? What do you mean? Trouble means cloudy. No, it doesn't. Cloudy. No, it does not. It does. Are you kidding me? How do you know this? Did you know that? I did not know. Trouble means cloudy in French. Oh, yeah. You just read the back. Says it on the label. That is outrageous. That's outrageous. It does. Yeah. Should I read it? Trouble means cloudy in French. Trouble. So the wine that bites you... C 'est bouté et récyclable. Yeah. And it's organic. It's organic as well. C 'est organic, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we've left that cork in, but you've got a gadget over there, haven't you?

23:24Alan Carr:Which, apparently, it's almost like we planned this. I know. But that is like magic. Do you want to do it? Do you want to do it? Now you've got another magic one. So, you've decided, you know what, we like that so much, we don't need the cork still in, we can take it out. We can take it out. Show us. Well, do you want to do it? Yeah, go on. Because it's super easy. Do you want to do it? I'm scared. This is like the dark arts. I'll do it. So, this is from Peugeot. So, they now make these sorts of gadgets. Peugeot, the car people.

23:53Peugeot, And so you just do the top. So do I put it on? Do I put it on? And then you just press that. I can't believe it. And then it will just... It will just do nothing. That's the best bit. You've not got it on. Hang on, hang on. Let me have a look. Let me have a look. If you want to suck it off, how much do you press with your pot? If you want to what? Hang on, one sec. Okay, talk amongst yourself. Talk amongst yourself. So do you need to set it into a different position? Hang on, should we read the box? Let's read the box. Hang on. passes no i think you need to you need to take this bit off do you want to work i think you need to go back to ann summers and yeah i think i think

24:37okay so we've got um we've got another thing yeah anyone else turned on you know what the good thing is it's now half wedged in there as well Okay, so that didn't work. But it usually does work really well. Oh, it's run out of batteries. It's run out of batteries. Rechargeable, rechargeable. So also, what would... I mean, that's been charging all day, but usually that would just go in and just put it out like a dream. So you're paying 150 quid for that. And it's worth it, because it looks like a pepper grinder as well. But it does work normally. It does normally work. That's great. Yeah. Shall we go on to the sparkling?

25:14Because we've got another one here. We've got another gadget here. Let's move on to, this is like QVC. You know that play that goes, this is the play that could go wrong? Well, listen, this is the podcast that could go wrong. Yeah, exactly. And it does go right. It does. Right, so let's have this. This one I really want to talk to you about.

25:35Alan Carr:You don't need to talk to us about Digby, baby boy. You've had this before, haven't you? We've had Digby before you were born. We love big Digby. Okay. Oh, my God. Okay. Okay, so how... You had one of your first episodes, let me pull your answer. Yeah, maybe the third or fourth. It's English, isn't it? It's English. English, sparkling, Leander. So these guys are... Yeah, Leander. So these guys. So have you been to Henley? I went to Regatta. Yeah, Regatta. So the Royal Regatta, they are the sponsors of the Leander Club, which is the oldest rowing club in the world and the most decorated. Yeah. So they do their wine, so they're made this specifically for them.

26:16This is delicious. Obviously, it's a rose. I'm going to pull myself out some as well. Do, please. You know, so it's a rose. So this is 50 % Pinot Noir. You've got 35 % Chardonnay and 15 % Pinot Meunier. Two years on the yeast leaves. But you know how sparkling wine is made and champagne is made, right? You do, don't you? Schleiber fresh. Please. You should say it. You should say it. Because people at home won't know. Shall I do it? Okay, so... Too busy watching Tipping Point. Yeah. So you're making... That's what we should have called this, Sipping Point.

26:51Alan Carr:That's a shame. I do like that. I think that's the least of our worries when it comes to this podcast. So can I speak? No, I'm joking. Oh, my... Oh, my God. You are outrageous, Rob. You do get catty. You do get... Has anyone else said how catty you get? What star sign are you? Leo. Leo. Classic Leo. Leo, classic Leo. Leo, Aries, Moon. Yeah, Lion. Do you know about this? Yes. Leo the lion, cat, teats and the crab. OK, what's that? Cancer. OK. And that's a nicer, that's more sympathetic. Yeah, it's probably the best of the Star Friends. Yeah, like, nip, nip, nip, nip, nip. Oh, yeah, little jibes.

27:32Here that is. Hello, Lee. You wouldn't even notice. Ah! That is. Oh, my God. Oh my God. Wow. This is outrageous. My hands are sticky because I had lagerita pulled over my head. Wow. Okay, so cheers. Because of your shitty helmet. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Come on, let's have this one. Let's have Leander. So Leander by Digby. I'm just talking to the camera now. No, Rob, we are listening. No, good. No, we are, Rob. Yeah. Hush. Hush your guns. Okay, so Leander is... So I just love it because English wine is massively on the up. So you guys have had a lot. Everyone's saying that. Isn't it?

28:22Alan Carr:It's like we're going to become the place to go for the wine. Oh, my God, this is lovely. Try it. It's so nice. No, I do love Digbit. And I have a little bit more. That is so good. So, yeah, so this has got two years ageing, and it's just like peaches and cream, raspberries, strawberries, And that's what you think of when you go to Henley. It's quintessentially English, isn't it? You have it at Wimbledon, at the races, anything where you want to... It sounds wangy, but you're almost like nostalgic, isn't it? I love that above your head as well. I know, I know. And your hair's sticking up, so it looks like you're having a...

28:55Great, a blue rinse. Yeah. Yeah, but it is, and it's becoming... I never want to say this, because English wine wants to be separate from champagne, so you never want to bring in the C word. But, you know, for people who want to kind of relate the two, you know, it's taking over from champagne, you know, and champagne is now becoming too warm to actually... They're having to plant higher and higher and higher because global warming's high. Oh, my God. So we are becoming champagne sort of 50 years ago. So this is why English wine, this is why you'll see champagne houses buying land over here. You've got, you know, you've got Pomeroy, you've got Tatanger, you've got all these, you know, Bollinger's sniffing around, all these, you know, so they're all doing it.

29:37So it's, yeah.

29:38Alan Carr:So as a wine expert, a wine taster, how much wine do you reckon you taste a week? And do you use the spittoons? Or are you like us, you kind of like to do it organically? You, I mean, look, you have to love organically. But you know, even if you do spit, 7 % of the wine gets into your system. That's why I always swallow. You've got to always swallow. You've got to. What about wine? Oh, hello. If my wife watches this. She'd be very surprised that she was your wife. I know.

30:17Oh, my God. So how much do you taste a week, do you reckon? So I would say probably, well, hundreds. Hundreds? Yeah, because you're going to taste it. And who are you employed by? Just the metro or is it freelance? So metro, but then you're freelance as well. So I work for Digby. I had to disclose that. So as of a month ago, I started working for them as basically their brand ambassador.

30:42Alan Carr:Where's the most amazing place you've travelled to for work with wine? What's the place that you'd love to have gone? And not just wine, actually. Oh, drinks. So drinks. Going to the town of Tequila was pretty cool. I didn't even know there was a town of Tequila. I know, I didn't either. WTF? I know. That's the postcode.

31:05It actually isn't. Yeah, so, yeah, so... I was clearing that up. Yeah, no, I thought I'd clear that up. Hate tequila. But yeah, the town of tequila, and they make this drink called a Batanga, which is half Coke, in a pint glass, half Coke, half tequila. And it gets you, after the first, you are absolutely, and you go into the second, and you're ruined. That sounds dangerous. Ruined, that's it. Yeah, but that was really cool. Going to, where else did I go? Romania? I saw you in Goa having a watermelon, tequila. Were you there? I was there. You were like, I was in. Oh, yeah. Watermelon martini. Martini.

31:46Nice. How do you do on martinis, by the way? Are you good on martinis or bad? I don't like it dirty when it's all just like brine. You like it? Do you like a dirty one? I don't.

31:55Alan Carr:Not too much. I think I'd prefer one with a lemon. Some people have it, don't they? Try a martini. Oh, my God. Also, like, how many can you take before you... Well, I know a very renowned maker, Alessandro Palazzi. Do you know him? Do you know him? At Duke's, yeah. And they refuse to serve you any more than two. Because they're big. Because they're so strong. Is that you or the general public? Everyone else, they're like, you know, have at it. You're 12th one. Here you go, sir. Enjoy. Lee's coming. You know the rules. Two. Please. I've heard on the grapevine, no pull intended, that you know how to, you've got some sort of hack to make a cheap or nasty tasting bottle of red a little bit better.

32:43So, OK, so if you've got like a red wine that's... How can you make it amazing? Tell me. Sounds like witchcraft. Just put it in the Nutribullet. So Nutribullet, because you are, you're turbo aerating it. Or any blender is available. Yeah. We can say Nutribullet. We're not sponsored by them, are we? They might not know what a Nutribullet is, it sounds. Oh, you have a global audience. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. El Nutribullet. Bullet in a Nutri. Troubled. So it just has to be a blender. It has to be a blender. And what does that do? So it's basically just aerating it. It's turbo aerating it. So you are just like...

33:27So usually you would open the... Like, you take the cork out and you decant it. So, yeah, just put it in the Nutribullet or whatever, you know, blender, and then you're aerating it. So it will taste two to three times more expensive. It's such a good hack. Honestly, such a good hack.

33:44Alan Carr:That's what we need to do. Three times more expensive. Yeah, yeah, because I tried one and it was bad. It wasn't a bad wine. It was from Aldi. It's like four quid. And I was like, this is not going to work. Put it in. Nutribullet. Three whizzes. and it's three times the price. So three whizzies,£12, it's tasty. So you're saying this wine could potentially taste from£4.99 to£8 to£9.98. Yeah. Well, that's very specific, but yeah. Well, too tough. Yeah. Well, there you go. I wouldn't be able to do that. Yeah. But no, honestly, that's the one. Harold Vorderman's watching. You, Lee. No, listen, there are so many gadgets available out there.

34:27Alan Carr:I am such a fan of the Coravan. Because you like your gadgets, don't you? I am obsessed with gadgets. I think I got it from my mum. My mum likes a gadget. I've always been a bit gadgety, like anything, yeah, to make it easier. And yet, when you're at my house, you can't seem to find the Hoover. Do you know what I hate? It's these corkscrews with the arms. Why? It's these ones. Because I love them. Oh, they're horrible. It looks like they're doing star jumps. Okay. Well, that aside, I'd say, like, practicality-wise, they're like and then i do cut into my hands and i've got very sensitive skin yeah no it looks like you have um um but like it's like but do you know what i mean like ow but then that this one this one well this one will work actually so this one obviously you know a waiter's friend which is such a good one.

35:23So this one, so easy to use. I mean, you know how to do this, but I'm just showing you anyway. And then just rest it there for anyone who doesn't know. Like that. God, it's almost like we don't need to buy the batteries for the Peugeot. You don't even need to spend£150, but it does look good. Yeah, it's kind of a flex, isn't it? If you really don't have any of those, get a screw. Too easy. Like get a screw and a claw hammer. Oh no, you've gone too far now. Wait, hold on. No, no. Wait, Alan, shush, you might be... People don't want it at a vineyard, you whip out fucking hammer.

35:58Alan Carr:No, you do, like that. So you're... Can we just tone it down slightly with the language? And also say that we have all been in situations before where we've got a bottle of wine and we picked it up, we didn't realise it's... And we picked up a hammer. We didn't realise it's a corkscrew and you can't get it open. What do you use? What do you use? I've been desperate for wine, but I've never grabbed a hammer. So say you're in a festival and you're like, oh, God, we haven't got one of these. Festival? They're going to let you in with bloody... You haven't got one of these. Oh, but I've got this and that.

36:29So then you can go, like, screw it in. You need a Phillips screwdriver as well. Oh, I always pay them to Glastonbury. So you need three things. And then you'll screw it in. This isn't a hack. That. OK, whatever. And then it's like, the other one is like putting it in your shoe.

36:46Alan Carr:Yeah, I've done that before. It works. It works. Put the bottle of wine in the shoe, the base of the wine in the shoe. It's kind of a smart shoe. And bang it against the wall. We won't try it here. But bang it against the wall. All of a sudden, the cork starts to come out. So it actually does work. It works, I swear to God. I've never been able to get it to work. I've done it so many times, so many times. See that, you only need a shoe. This is not a hack. A hack is something simple. A hack is like, oh, I can't open this wine. I've tied the bottle to a fast car Lamborghini and that's driven off.

37:23Oh, yeah, that's so simple. There's so many. I'm taking the piss. Oh, right. I've got another hack as well. I think this is enough now. No, no, no. I've got one more hack. One more hack. One more! But also, you would have read about it in my column. So if you've got a glass of wine like this that isn't great, a pinch of salt. A pinch of salt and then swirl it round brings out all the flavours. That's a hack, though. That's a proper hack. A pinch of salt in anything, but also in cocktails, in... Yeah. You can't take a load of salt to a festival. Not in sparkling, actually, because that will shoot.

37:59Probably next to your screwdriver,

38:01Alan Carr:just in case you can't open your bottle. Rob, honestly, thank you so much for coming along. Sorry it's been chaotic, but this is the podcast, and I'm sure shoot or shot is the same thing. Shoot your shot, yeah. Shoot your shot, sorry. You'll soon find out. We're coming on. Oh, I will come on. I love that. Listen, we love it. But also, as well, I'm just saying, some of these aren't hacks. But no, you will need a Phillips screwdriver and these and that. That's a hack. Yeah, is it? That's not a hack. If you've enjoyed this episode of Bottoms Up, then do please follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

38:37Alan Carr:And also, it really helps. Please do leave us a five-star review. As always, send us your questions and dilemmas to bottomsup at listen.co.uk. Or drop us a DM at Bottoms Up Show on socials. We would love to hear from you. Bottoms Up with Alan Carr and Lee Peer is a platform media production. As always, bottoms up. Oh, God. Can you imagine? Can you imagine?

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