Your chance to slurp with Smithy

We have seen Olly Smith selecting wines on TV’s Saturday Kitchen – now there’s a chance for everyone to share a tasting session with him online.
The man who is masterminding the wine list for P&O’s next cruise ship, Azura, is holding a series of samplings throughout this month, starting at 7.00pm tonight, September 3.
Each week viewers at home will taste along with Olly and can also enter a competition to win a case of wine. On the final week he will host a live webchat, answering questions on the wines and his latest venture at sea.
Participants will enter a prize draw to win places on a trip with Olly to the Settesoli vineyard in Sicily to see how the house wine blend for Azura has been created and to be the first to taste it.
Olly says: “The Glass House wine bar and restaurant on Azura is my most exciting project to date and I hope that each and every passenger on board feels welcome to come and get stuck in. Wine is for sharing, it’s for relaxation and enjoyment. My mission is to make people happy, not mildly amused or satisfied, but utterly delighted and looking forward to coming back.
“These videos will give a sneaky little preview of what we’re going to be offering on board and through the tastings, people will hopefully learn a little bit more about my favourite tipples. I’m looking forward to chatting to people online and meeting the two lucky winners in Sicily later this year. Cheers!”
One white and one red wine will be featured each week. The ‘webisodes’ last approximately five minutes and include information and stories about the wines and vineyards, followed by the tasting of each wine. The full list of wines is available at www.pocruises.co.uk/wine and email reminders will be sent to all those who register their interest. Wines are priced between £5.99 and £8.99 and are available from supermarkets and wine merchants.
The Glass House menu will feature different wines recommended with each course, all served by the glass and expertly matched by Olly, who is acting as consultant in the creation of the drinks menus for Azura’s other bars and restaurants and will travel regularly throughout the year to host light-hearted tasting sessions in his own inimitable style.
One question Olly – should I swallow the wine, or have a bucket ready to spit it out?
Azura will be named in Southampton in April 2010 and depart on her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean on April 12, 2010. The ship will be based in Southampton and offer holidays of between two and 16 nights duration in the Mediterranean, Baltic and to the Canary Isles.