Win! A case of Naked Wine!

On the 6th day of Christmas, Domestic Sluttery gave to me... a case of wine from Naked Wines!

I'll be honest, I don't really know too much about wine. I know what I like (a full-bodied red at the moment, but I'm changeable). But I want to know more about it. I want to have more of a clue about what I'm buying, what I'm drinking and where those grapes are coming from. Of course, then I drink the bottle and get tipsy and forget, but the thought is there and that's good enough for me.

Naked Wines make things a little bit easier. They work with smaller, independent wineries, so you get to try something new. And they've got an Angel scheme so you can help those wineries grow, as well as getting a good deal on your plonk. I'm working my way very successfully through a case at the moment, and everything I've tried has been excellent.

As there's still half a case left in Sluttery HQ (at least there will be until our Christmas Party on Friday), we're giving one of you guys a whole case worth £80! Hurrah! It'll look a little bit like the one in the picture, but maybe not identical. There will be a choice of wine colours though, so you can try all sorts of different tipsy things.

So what do you have to do to win? Just tell us who you'd share your wine with! Would you have a massive party until it was all gone? Or savour each bottle with your other half? Or would yo give the bottles away as presents? Tell us in the comments (just once, no need for extra sneaky entries) before 8pm tonight. We'll draw a winner at random, and announce who has won a whole host of Christmas booze tomorrow.

Good luck everyone!

The small print (yawn): The competition will close at 8pm December 8th. You must be UK based AND 18 or over to enter this one. You'll get a choice of reds, whites, or mixed wines. You must also leave a name as well to make sure we know who you are! If you're anon your entry won't count and if you enter more than once, we'll discount all of your entries (yes, we do check). We're not allowed to enter our own competitions, but Siany would share this with her parents when she goes home for Christmas. We wish we could enter our competitions. Humph.

You're having a carafe

Due to being in the right place at the right time, I got given a rather snazzy voucher to spend at Naked Wines. And spend it I did! So next week, Sluttery HQ is going to look an awful lot like an Oddbins. So I'm going to jazz up my drunken lush wine-buying with some fancy things.

I've ordered a few reds, so I've decided that as the win was free, I can treat myself to a sexy carafe. Y'know, because that helps red wine 'breathe'. Honestly, I don't know enough about wine to understand what that really means, but I do know that this carafe is damn pretty. The coloured ball top is cut so it doesn't roll about the place, but you can also let it nestle in the base of the carafe as well. The carafe itself is mouthblown and it's a perfect shape. It's £75 from Design House Stockholm.

Chemistry Experiment Or Wine Decanter?

Us Sluts love a bit of science every now and then. And it is safe to say that we love wine too. So when we decide to open that second bottle in the name of scientific research, what better way to serve it than in this decanter that looks like it's come straight from a lab?


Now I'll admit, I'm not exactly sure what the point of decanters are other than to look pretty and disguise the fact you bought cheap wine but I love the look of this one by Legnoart. It's elegant but kind of geeky at the same time which is a randomly lovely combination. And there's nothing to stop you using it for other drink based experiments like a cocktail or just plain old H2O.

If you want to conduct your own wine based experiments, it costs £44.99 from Stylish Life

Etsy Pick: Life is a Cabernet Wine Glasses

Ever feel so fannied around by work, friends and the world in general that you fantasise about running away to star in a Berlin vaudeville cabaret? No? Maybe that's just me then, but there are times when slapping on some grease paint and embarking on an adventure into a burlesque circus definitely has its appeal.

But luckily, I find those moments can usually be eased by indulging in some escapism in front of the TV with a large glass of wine to close by. And what better glass than these hand-painted 'Life is a Cabernet' glasses? They're $16USD, by Mimossa Studio on Etsy.

Picnic Time: Hands-Free Glass Holders

We've all been there. You're at a picnic, lazing in your garden or sunning yourself on the beach. You're using one hand to eat that cucumber sandwich, cake, or ice-cream, and the other to caress the muscular chest of that lumberjack-shirted and denim-shorted gardener, park ranger or lifeguard. So what do you do to prevent your flute of chilled champagne spilling all over the grass or sand?

You avail yourself of these picnic glass holders, of course. Made from black powder coated steel, each set contains for glass holders suitable for champagne flutes or wine glasses, and a bottle holder. Designed to float at hand height when seated on a picnic blanket, they'll ensure an uneven ground surface won't result in spilt booze. They're £14 for the set, from the Garden Gift Shop.

Book Review: Keep Calm and Drink Up

At last! A book of advice for these troubled times that Domestic Sluttery can wholeheartedly get behind. Keep Calm and Drink Up is published by Summersdale, and is a solemn plain hardback with a sensible typeface on the front cover. The kind that makes you feel confident about following its advice. Inside however, is a selection of proverbs, quips and quotes from everyone from Plato to Napoleon Bonaparte to Oscar Wilde, showing that there really is wit and wisdom to be found at the bottom of a glass.

Whilst it might seem a strange purchase to buy for yourself, the pocket-book-sized format and the illuminating range of historic figures who've been quoted make it a fun gift for your tipple-loving nearest and dearest. And if you favour a more hysterical response to current affairs than sighing philosophically and having another glass of wine, there's also a sister book, Now Panic and Freak Out, with quotes from similar household names about keeping calm in a crisis, madness and the strange eccentricities and sayings of world leaders. They're £4.99 each, from Amazon.

Cupboard Lust: The Wine Bottle Kit

We may not be wine buffs, but we do love wine. And we know a lot of other ladies and gents who would happily guzzle wine all day long if it weren't for the inevitable impact on life and liver. But what about when you need to get your mitts on a gift for these wine-loving lushes?

This wine bottle kit from Firebox might do the trick. Cunningly disguised as a bottle of wine, it can sit in a wine rack or on a kitchen counter looking like just another bottle of plonk, but in actual fact it's a rather swish accessory case, housing a corkscrew, stopper, pourer, foil cutter and bottle collar, each in its own special compartment. Best of all, it won't break the bank at a reasonable £14.99. Meaning you'll have enough left over for a cheeky bottle of red to try out your new toys on.

Wall Candy: Friends Don't Let Friends Drink White Zinfadel

Now me, I'm not the fussy type when it comes to booze. Give me a sugary, syrupy liqueur of almost any kind, or a bottle of house red, and I'll be happy. And drunk.

But those of you with more discriminating palates might like this wine-themed wall art, by MarleneDesigner on Etsy. It'd make a great tongue-in-cheek present for that friend who you somehow always seem to end up a tad too inebriated with every time you meet up. Or framed in a kitchen or dining room to remind guests what kinds of wine you do and don't like next time they need to bring a bottle.

It's 24.99USD, and there's several different similar designs, so whatever your taste in wine, there's sure to be one to suit you. Unless you're a Lambrini girl. In which case, well, there's not much we can recommend. Except maybe branching out from the bottom shelf at the supermarket.

Etsy Pick: Harry Potter Wine Stopper

I know, I know. I understand I should be embarrassed about being an adult woman and geeking out over Harry Potter. But the worst part is, I'm not ashamed at all. And so I won't feel even slightly sheepish stoppering my half-swigged bottles of wine with this rather handsome Harry Potter stopper, by CoolStoppers on Etsy.

A recent addition from the same genius behind the Darth Vader wine stopper we showed you earlier this year, Harry comes armed with his magic wand and attached to a standard-sized cork, ready to protect your precious booze from not only the air but also any wine-thieving housemates. As long as he doesn't run into Voldermort and need his usual little lie-down, of course.

An ideal present for any Hogwarts enthusiast, he costs 12USD, with shipping to the UK coming in at 9USD.

Picnic Time: Wine Box Tidy

Berry Red reckon that this wine box tidy is one of those things "you didn't know you needed but then wouldn't be without." And although I usually scoff cynically at those types of claims, on this occasion I'm inclined to believe them.

Hopefully, if the weather stays warm, it won't be long until we'll merrily picnicking away at every available opportunity (like the Domestic Sluttery picnic). And let's face it, although we want to watch the purse strings, we don't want to look like tramps swigging Special Brew in the park at 10am. And so, this £35 metal casing in purple or red makes things so much more chic.

Buy your box of wine from the bottom shelf at the supermarket, clip it into the box, then use the handy handle to transport it to the beach, park or wherever you fancy an outdoor tipple or two. It'd even be handy for keeping on a kitchen worktop if you don't want dinner party guests to know what brand of bargain wine you're treating them to! Not that I'd ever give guests anything but the best, of course....

Book Review: Life's Too Short to Drink Bad Wine

Life's Too Short to Drink Bad Wine: 100 Wines for the Discerning Drinker is by Spectator and Guardian columnist Simon Hoggart. With such prestigious wine buff credentials, it was clear that Simon would be an authoritative author of the illustrated hardback, which came out late last year.

And from the very first page, Hoggart's enthusiasm about his subject is both obvious and infectious. He's adamant that wine is “the most delicious, the most complicated, most beguiling and fascinating drink mankind has ever come up with,” and asserts that: “You can guzzle beer to make you drunk, you can knock back half a bottle of whiskey when the one true love of your life says goodbye. But wine is the original elixir of happiness.”

He is a warm, articulate and knowledgeable narrator, and manages to be instructive and informative without ever once stooping to lecturing, patronising or condescension. And to be honest, if Stephen Fry, the cleverest man in the world, likes it (he said that just like the kind of wine it references, “the book leaves you feeling warmer and happier”), then that's enough to convince me that it's well-researched and written.

And much as I found it a fascinating read, that's where I hit a snag with this book. I'll be the first to admit that although I could probably compete in world championships when it comes to wine-guzzling, my knowledge about what makes a good one is almost non-existent. So, much as I'm confident from his history and the praise that's been lavished on Life's Too Short... that Hoggart knows what he's on about, I'm not informed enough to do much other than take his anecdotes, assertions and advice at face value.

Which isn't to say that Life's Too Short... is inaccessible to non-buffs like me. On the contrary, Hoggart is keen to dismiss and ridicule snobbery about wine, although he caveats this instruction thusly: “this is not to say that you should subscribe to the 'I'll drink anything provided it's alcoholic and doesn't taste as if it's meant to unblock drains' school of wine appreciation.”

The A-Z ordering of Hoggart's 100 wines for discerning drinkers makes it easy to navigate, and he manages a difficult combination of describing each one in detail but using language and terminology anyone can understand. It would have benefited from price range key and also context of where it could be bought for each one, as by Hoggart's own admission some are hideously over-expensive, and it would have been helpful to have it indicated which ones these were before I start salivating over his descriptions of them.

Despite that gripe, Hoggart's anecdotes for each of his featured wines will give both buffs and newbies alike a good grasp of why he rates them so highly. Helpfully, Life's Too Short... also includes a series of advice articles, including his top tips on buying wine, what to look for on the labels, which names to trust and when should stock up bargains and when to resist temptation and leave them safely on the shelf.

And the resounding advice he reiterates over and over is to ignore rules and preconceptions, such as the widely-held beliefs about which wines go with which meals, for example, and above all to trust your own tastebuds and personal preferences, whilst appreciating the time, love, attention, care and craft which has gone into each glass.

If all this banter about which wines are the best is making you thirsty, but you've become a bit too befuddled for a confident selection at the supermarket or off licence, then Life's Too Short... could be just what you need. It's published by Quadrille and can be yours for £6.87, from Amazon.

Etsy Pick: Darth Vader Wine Stopper

Ever do that thing where you think you'll easily polish off a bottle of wine, so you chuck the cork away and then fall asleep on the sofa after half of one glass, leaving you with an open bottle and no method of safely stashing it away until wine-thirst next strikes?

Of course you have. If you're anything like me, you probably do it at least once a week.

But have you wished you had easy access to a fearsome dark cyborg and ruler of the Galactic Empire to guard your delicious alcohol and keep it sealed until you're next in need of a large glass? No? Maybe that's just me, then.

Either way, I'm loving this Darth Vader wine stopper, which comes with its own cape, lightsaber, and standard-sized cork, making him perfect for almost all wine bottles. He's 15USD, from Coolstoppers on Etsy.

Wall Candy: A Meal Without Wine Screen Print

This hand-pulled screen print is currently topping the list of my most coveted homewares. And although of course us Domestic Sluts would never forget this sacred rule and serve a meal without wine, it doesn't hurt to remind everyone else of this undeniable truth, first inscribed by 19th Century French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

It's retro without being tacky, it's simple enough to make a statement addition to an otherwise-unfussy dining room or kitchen, and it can be yours unframed for £34.99, from The Contemporary Home.

Whilst I'll definitely be keeping this on my list of gifts for myself and other wine enthusiasts, I also have to confess to heartily concurring with Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's other famous claim: "A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye.”

Although apparently the folks from TCH weren't as impressed with that one, as I've yet to find a screen print of that particular slogan!

Chandelier Time: The French Bedroom Company's Favourite Tipple

Le sigh. The French Bedroom Company really do know how to make me drool. Their furniture, lighting and accessories are always gorgeously opulent, but they somehow manage to combine those traits with elegance and subtlety - something other brands often struggle to get right without straying into the realms of being tacky, or on occasion just downright fugly.

So when I saw this stunning chandelier in their latest collection, I got a bit breathless and couldn't help but envisage it above a suitably magnificent dining table, piled high with food and booze aplenty.

Similar to the teacup chandeliers by Madeleine Boulesteix that we showed you way back in March last year, except with wine glasses instead, The Favourite Tipple Chandelier is brand new for SS10, and will set you back £255 for a small version, or a cool £345 for the larger style.

Domestic Sluttery does Bordello boutique

So, last Thursday, on a dark and dismal November evening in London town, some of the Domestic Sluts scampered into the depths of Shoreditch for a decadent night of wine, chocolate and saucy, sequinned underpants at the opulent Bordello boutique.

Organised by Qype, and with wine donated by the magnificently generous Book Club, we had a wonderful time getting tipsy, chomping so much chocolate that we felt a bit sick, trying on vintage feathered hats and tittering over the erotica and the dizzying range of adult toys and accessories.

We met our rather charming competition winners, who won extra brownie points for having travelled all the way from Portsmouth and Brighton to peruse fancy knickers with us. And Domestic Slut Gail even had a corset-fitting with the intimidatingly talent Kunza, of Corsetorium, a rather dashing Vivienne Westwood-trained corsetier with neon pink hair and a black lace veil.

Gail told me about it later: "I was the first person to have a fitting with Kunza, who's created bespoke garments for films such as The Duchess and Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day. I tried on two, one made from Italian kid leather, and the second was Victorian silk. They were completely unlike any of the off the peg corsets that I've tried before and the different in quality was immediately apparent. They're things of beauty and unsurprisingly have corresponding price tags - about the £600 mark. Like most of the other items Bordello, add them to the lust list..."

Our competition winner, Becs, bought some of these Sailor Jerry-style Bebaroque pop socks. One of Bordello’s glamorous assistants was modelling some similar stockings, and we were all very smitten with them. And although at the time we teased Becs that pop socks just aren’t stylish on anyone other than kitsch little old ladies, now that I’ve seen them out of the packet, I retract that accusation, and would like to publicly assure Miss Becs that I’m sure she’ll look just as debonair in the ones she purchased. If you want to get in on the inevitable pop socks revival, you can bagsy the same ones for £18.

I became a bit obsessed with this pink glitter corset by Velda Lauder, which made me come all over all Moulin Rouge. But, I must admit that my ardour eased when I spotted the £300 price tag. I’m not sure anyone loves me enough to splash that amount of cash on letting me dress up like a glam-spangled circus girl. I might still put it on my Christmas list, though, just in case I manage to bag a rich secret admirer with theatrical tastes in the next few weeks. No harm in hoping, is there?

(First photo by Miss Rachelle Thompson)

Bordello Competition: And the winners are.....

So, after much shuffling through the entries to our ever-so-exciting Bordello competition, we’ve finally selected two lucky winners.

And the lovely ladies who’ll be joining us for chocolate, corsetry, shopping and booze are:

Becs Rivett and Sarah Keegan

We’ve emailed you with your instructions, so check your inboxes, and we’ll look forward to perusing knickers and erotica with you tomorrow. (And we promise we won’t behave as seedy as that makes us sound, or at least not until we’ve had a glass or two!)

If you didn’t win this time, don’t despair! We’ve got lots of other wondrous competitions coming up very soon. Promise. In the meantime, check out the sexy wares over at Bordello and treat yourself.

Cocktail Hour: Mulled Wine

Apparently, some of you don't like rum. Which is shocking. All of our warm cocktails have all been rum-based so far. This classic mulled wine recipe is perfect. And if you don't like wine either, well then you're probably reading the wrong blog. Yes, you can always use one of those mulled wine sachets, but it's so easy to make yourself that you really should give it a try.

You'll need these things:

• Two bottles of red wine. Some people argue that the better the wine the better the mulled wine, but honestly, as long as you spend over a fiver you'll be fine. You should always spend over a fiver on a bottle of wine.
• 2 oranges, sliced
• 2 lemons, sliced
• Cloves - about half a handful should do it
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Make it!

Heat everything on a low heat until warm. Don't boil the wine - you'll burn off the alcohol and then be left with a very rubbish Ribena. You don't want that. Pour into glasses. Best served outside with a cold nose whilst wearing gloves.

Flickr image from L. Lews' photostream.

Food Fortnightly at Sourced Market

How do you make the Domestic Sluts happy? Invite them to an exciting event and give them free food and drink! Yay! Gemma and I popped along to the official opening of Sourced Market in St Pancras International (Not Kings Cross!) and we had all kinds of yummy treats. And we took lots of 'artfully staged' (read awkward) photos!


Look! Look how happy I am! That's because I've just eaten one of those tasty tasty brownies from Flour Power City Bakery. The almond and banana ones are just out of shot, but they were the clear winners of the evening. Here's a close up of the tastiness:


Yumminess!

Here's an awkward photo of Gemma and Chorizo:


We were a very big fan of the Brindisa chorizo. And spent far too much time hanging about this bit. But you could literally jump from trying hams, to trying chorizo, to trying hams to trying chorizo. You see the problem with this? No, we didn't either. We took a rather staged photo of the lovely man behind the ham:


And of course, we drank. A bit of Meantime Beer (made in Domestic Sluttery HQ region of Greenwich by Siany's favourite pub) and a lovely white called Picpoul de Pinet from Les Caves Des Pyrene. We liked this so much that we drank it in a wine bar down the road and got rather tipsy.

Anything else we liked? Well the Pate Moi mushroom pate was yummy (although we wouldn't have called it pate), the Chegworth Valley Apple and Strawberry juice was a winner (much yummier than their apple and rhubarb) and we had some very meaty sausages from Laverstock Park Farm. A special mention needs to go to Stewed's yummy chicken and olive stew, which I might just have to pop back and buy. Some of those names might sound familiar, but this place is literally like a mini farmer's market. Just in a train station. We can get on board with that.

Sourced Market is a great addition to Kings Cross, and if you find yourself nearby after hopping off the Eurostar (very fancy!) then come here and pick up some tasty treats for your tea. It's much better than M&S. They're open until 9 in the evenings too.

Can we have some more chorizo now please?

Sourced Market can be found on street level of St. Pancras International by the UK ticket office - pretty much directly underneath the champagne bar. Or, you could just hunt for the Domestic Sluts by the chorizo stand.

Mocktail Hour: Raspberry and Redcurrant Cordial

This is an easy recipe for a (shock, horror!) non-alcoholic beverage. But, if you want to cheat, you can add sparkling wine to the finished cordial instead of lemonade. There’s no need to be too fancy, anything cheap but bubbly will be fine. This makes around half a litre of cordial, which goes a long way when diluted, so it’s perfect for parties, especially in summer. But, if you do end up having any leftover at the end of the day, make sure it’s kept in a sealed, sterilised bottle, and finish it off within two weeks.

All you need is:

• 400g mixed redcurrants and raspberries
• 150g caster sugar
• 1tbsp lemon juice

All you need to do is:

Blend the fruit until it’s soft and mushy, then decant into a bowl and add 50ml of boiling water. Cover and leave for an hour. Then, sieve the mixture into a bowl, pressing the pulp through using the back of a spoon. Heat your sugar in a pan with 50ml of water until the sugar’s dissolved, then add to your strained juice along with the lemon juice. Give it a good stir, and you’re done! Chill before serving with lemonade (or sparkling wine, if you really can’t resist).

Flickr image from Rodrigo Miguez's photostream.

Who's a pretty boy then? Alessi Parrot Corkscrew

I always lose my corkscrew. Which usually results in me having to get a rubbish plastic one from the shop on the corner of the street. But this one from Alessi is too pretty to lose. I love the parrot design and I imagine after a couple of glasses bottles of wine I'll try and do funny bird impressions. That'll be fun for everyone.