I am neither an expert on Champagne nor have a special preference for it. The odd glass of Champers that I have tasted after it has gone flat, was like a cheap wine, to me.
However, wine in general with a bit of fizz I do find acceptable. So I set about quickly turning some good ordinary wines into the fizzy variety.
Here is how I do it.
Take one ordinary soda siphon. Unscrew the cap and pull off the plastic tube from it that goes down into the fizzy stuff. Tip in your bottle of whatever. Screw the cap back on minus the tube. Insert the contents of a gas cartridge. Give the siphon a good shake to encourage the Co2 to be absorbed. Leave to stand a while, like an hour, or a bit more if you are not yet ready to drink it.
When ready, and keeping the siphon upright, press the leaver to release the gas pressure. No liquid will come out because you removed the tube, didn't you. Have your glasses ready and away you go.
If you want to inspire a party spirit produce some outrageous wine labels, decant into those bottles, and then tell some tale about it and ask for opinions. Later you can come clean. Or not!
Cheers, hic.
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Also, bashed-up Pot Noodle makes great ersatz Bombay Mix, and is well cheaper than the real thing.
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...bashed-up Pot Noodle makes great ersatz Bombay Mix...
Must be a bit soggy, though.
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Nonono Iffy. You bash it up in its dry state and eat it. You don't add water at all.
Last edited by: paulb on Sat 18 Dec 10 at 13:50
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>> paulb are you a student?
>>
Not for a loooong time now. One mustn't forget one's past, though.
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Our eldest will hopefull be off to university in a couple of years and her education is already focussing on that. However she thinks living away will be just like the comforts of home but with freedom! We try to warn her.
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...Nonono Iffy. You bash it up in its dry...
'Twas an attempt at, er, dry humour.
I'm quite partial to a Pot Noodle, there's one in an orange pot that's quite nice.
How's the Mac?
Still well-pleased with mine.
The batteries on the magic mouse don't last that long, but I never turn it off.
Last edited by: Iffy on Sat 18 Dec 10 at 13:56
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>> How's the Mac?
>>
>> Still well-pleased with mine.
It's good. So good, in fact, that we've somehow ended up with a MacBook Air as well. Not quite sure how that happened.
>> The batteries on the magic mouse don't last that long, but I never turn it
>> off.
>>
We found that. Have since upgraded to a Magic Trackpad - very impressed with it. All trackpads should work like that.
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...It's good. So good, in fact, that we've somehow ended up with a MacBook Air as well...
paulb,
Well done, excellent effort at conspicuous Mac consumption, and one I can't match.
Although banking brother bought a MacBook Pro after hearing about mine.
He'd been impressed by a Mac at a mate's house ages ago, and my boring him about how good they are was enough to tip him over the edge.
That, and the opportunity of buying one for £900 rather than £1,000.
So a few weeks ago, off I trundled to the Apple shop in Newcastle to buy the same again.
The assistant wanted to check the MacBook Pro was still available for £900 on the internet.
It turns out my £900 purchase was done under a 'price match' which the Apple shops will do, even though they don't advertise it.
Happily for brother, the £900 price on Amazon was still available, so I was able to get his computer for that price.
Worth bearing in mind for anyone thinking of buying Apple, the shops will price match if you insist.
All the demo computers in the shop are on-line, so you can use one of those to bring up the price you want matched.
Last edited by: Iffy on Sun 19 Dec 10 at 11:17
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Mine was only 850 from Amazon, but perhaps it's the old model. I don't care. It's excellent.
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As a peasant, £900 for a computer - any computer - is about £750 too much...
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...I don't care. It's excellent...
AC,
Didn't realise you'd seen the light.
To me, Macs are just so much more intuitive and therefore easier to use than Windows machines.
I look forward to using my Mac in a way I never did with my old laptop.
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>> I look forward to using my Mac in a way I never did with my
>> old laptop.
Pedantry is the same miserable trait, even if you find different ways to do it.
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...Pedantry is the same miserable trait...
Who mentioned pedantry?
At least I know where my house is.
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>> Well done, excellent effort at conspicuous Mac consumption, and one I can't match.
>>
Thanks - couldn't really afford it, but as Mrs B's laptop had just finally given up the ghost, we had need of a replacement. Mind you, the Air only made sense once we had the iMac first - it acts as a sort of quasi-server for the Air.
One heavily discounted copy of Office 2011 for Mac and I can do work on it. The trackpad seems designed for spreadsheets. The one on my ThinkPad work laptop doesn't even come close for usability, and the current ThinkPads are pretty decent machines.
Appreciate the Apple way of doing things isn't to everyone's taste, but it's perfect for the kind of use we have.
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...Appreciate the Apple way of doing things isn't to everyone's taste...
It would be, if only they knew. :)
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As said earlier its the price of the damn things... sorry but there's no way I could justify the extra cost, no matter how much easier its supposed to be...
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>> no matter how much easier its supposed to be...
I don't find it easier at all. I got it because I needed a laptop and Macs are less susceptible to viruses. And we had some bread at the time.
It's a very good piece of kit with a very fine screen.
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Once in my youth I tried to make champagne by putting Alka Seltzer in Spanish sauternes. It was utterly disgusting even to an untutored palate.
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You normally take the Alka Seltzer afterwards.
John
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Going back to the original idea, I have one word - Sodastream.
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I wonder why I bother. What is the point of contributing to a thread that totally ignores a heading to stuff it with low grade, totally irrelevant utter dribble. The fizz process I described produces a very drinkable result. Totally wasted effort.
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To be perfectly frank with you, I thought it was a joke, particularly as it is possible to buy perfectly drinkable sparkling wine for very low cost - certainly less than would be the case for the Heath Robinsonian process you described.
Evidently I was mistaken, in which case I apologise.
Mods, please delete my contributions if you consider that to be appropriate.
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paulb
Very little is inappropriate here.. It's "non motoring"..
Don't be so humble. No-one else is... :-)
And I think contributing to a thread which implies you are a "peasant" is rather worthy...
Last edited by: madf on Sat 18 Dec 10 at 15:26
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What a complete load of tosh, If you want sparkling wine you buy sparkling wine.
Soda stream.
Pah
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I mean, I read this and thought "Viz Top Tips"....
Never mind.
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>> What a complete load of tosh, If you want sparkling wine you buy sparkling wine.
>>
>>
>> Soda stream.
>>
>> Pah
>>
>>
>>
Ever the master of diplomacy. One of your New Year Resolutions?
(I won't hold my breath.. so boring!)
:-)
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>> And I think contributing to a thread which implies you are a "peasant" is rather
>> worthy...
>>
Never said I wasn't a peasant :-)
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>> >> And I think contributing to a thread which implies you are a "peasant" is
>> rather
>> >> worthy...
>> >>
>>
>> Never said I wasn't a peasant :-)
>>
It's obvious you are being ever so umble..
:-)
Last edited by: madf on Sat 18 Dec 10 at 15:48
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>> Totally wasted effort.
>>
Oh I don't know. Some good self help tips have come out, yours included, and I especially like AC's wheeze of combining the hangover cure with the cause - it just needs a bit more work by the sound of it.
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>>Spanish sauternes.
My introduction to wine when I was a youngster. Quite enjoyable, as I recall.
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>> >>Spanish sauternes.
Of course one bottle is never enough - one good Sauternes deserves another
Coat on, engine running.....
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>>Coat on, engine running.....
Best make it quick...
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Champagne for the Peasants - paulb
