Olly Smith

What sparked your fascination with wine? You have been quoted as saying it was during your time at Edinburgh University that you “learned to drink professionally”!
Yes it was at university, aged 20, that wine really opened my mind to the world of flavour. There was a free wine tasting at a local off-licence and the manager offered me a taste of a white wine – it was like a lightbulb going ‘ping’ inside me. It was a simple bottle – a Terret made by the Lurton brothers from southern France – but the effect was electrifying. I had a girlfriend at the time and, every Saturday, I would go to the tastings, buy some wine and then go to a local deli. I started mixing and matching food and wine to share with this girl who had captured my heart. Fifteen years later, we’re married with two children and discovering thrilling matches for Sophie is still a trea

Many people must think you have the dream job. Do you enjoy it?
I love it. It is thrilling to share something of such profound pleasure with so many people and to have the privilege of their trust. When I recommend a wine and then it sells out nationwide, I have to pinch myself. Plus I am working with some of the world’s greatest chefs, including Atul Kochhar, and I am chuffed beyond words to keep their company.

What’s the most memorable tipple you have ever had?
It was Tokaji Essencia from the vat in Hungary at the Disznoko winery (whose name translates as ‘Rock of the Wild Boar’). It was awesome. The grapes had just come in from the fields – they were desiccated like raisins, so intensely sweet and packed with ‘noble rot’ which gives the grapes an awesome zing – a bit like sweet and sour but with the energy and verve of an Opal Fruit to an eight-year-old. Paradise.

Do you have a favourite wine? Or does it change annually?
It changes daily! I love value – Muscadet from France is inexpensive and underrated, but I also love complexity and wine that keeps me guessing. White wine from Santorini has the verve of a grapefruit and the salty tang of the sea, while Fino from Jerez is nutty and zingy and awesome with green olives or jamon iberico. I guess it really depends on what food I am eating. So, for example, if I’m munching a brace of glorious sausages on a bed of pulses, I might go for a Syrah from France.

Away from work, what are your favourite things to do?
I enjoy nature and I am a huge fan of the British countryside but I also adore travelling. It’s the best way to broaden the mind – think of the people you meet, the new smells and flavours, the different light of the sun around the world. Stick me in the countryside or on the high seas with a dose of wildlife to consider and my wife and kids to splash around with, and I am the happiest man on the planet.

Have you travelled the world a great deal then?
I am very lucky to be travelling all the time. I spent nearly five months filming in South America for a wine series called Cheers From Chile. I was also working for two weeks in South Africa, which is having a wine renaissance, producing more modern, stylish wines. I went cage-diving with great white sharks there, which was terrific! The place I have returned to every year since I was 19 is Greece. It is my favourite part of the world and I have never been to the same place twice. Unspoilt Greece is unbeatable. The ocean, the islands, the huge number of secret local grape varieties producing some truly world class wine, the simple but fantastic organic cooking. Just bliss. I expect you are always on the lookout for a special bottle of something abroad.

Do you bring wine home with you from your travels?
Always. I buy an awful lot of wine and open as many curious bottles as I can when I have friends or family round. Wine is there to be shared and to fuel a sense of wellbeing, closeness and exchanging ideas. I have many oddities in my cellar: wine made by heavy metal rockers Motley Crue, red Saperavi from Georgia (the birthplace of wine), salty white Minella from Mount Etna, fizz from India, reds from China…

As a wine expert and a bit of a foodie, do those things ever come into it when you are deciding where to go for a holiday?
Definitely, I love exploring the food and drink of a country as much as the place and the people. And it needn’t necessarily be wine – think of the tea in India and China, the coffee of Africa, the aromatic ingredients of Thailand. All these have depth of culture, a wealth of history behind them and are a journey in themselves.

You are involved with setting up The Glass House on board Azura. What do you hope the venue will provide for passengers on board?
I hope each and every passenger feels welcome to come and get stuck in. We will tailor your experience. If you just want a simple sip to unwind, come on in. If you’d like to sit down and go through a tasting to learn a bit more, come on in. If you’d like to eat and drink and be merry, I want to be on your table!

You sound as though you are enjoying the project already! Have you taken on a challenge like The Glass House before?
It is the most exciting project of mine to date. I have complete control over the wines and The Glass House will develop its reputation according to the decisions I make, so my reputation is also on the line – and that’s the kind of professional challenge that I relish. I can’t wait to be on board and share my passion for flavour, wine, food and conversation with everyone who steps through the doors. My mission is to make people happy – not mildly amused or satisfied, but utterly delighted and looking forward to coming back to The Glass House. If I can achieve that, I will have fulfilled my ambition.