He’s one of the UK’s leading wine commentators and the star of a spanking new YouTube channel, Olly Smith talks exclusively to Curious Wines.

Olly is a regular of BBC’s Saturday morning kitchen and hosted The F-Word Live, Channel 4′s Taste of London and the BBC’s MasterChef Live.

Last month he launched Olly Smith’s Drink Tank, which you can subscribe to by following this link to YouTube. Episode 5 is embedded at the bottom of this post. It’s fantastically entertaining, funny and educational, so well worth checking out. Here’s the man himself…

1. Olly, you’re a man of many talents. Musically, comically and in the area of wine. Can you name all four Ghostbusters?

Yes absolutely, Pete Venkman, Winston K. Zeddemore, Ray Stansz and Egon Spengler. Funnily enough I watched Ghostbusters 2 last night and it’s far better than I remember but I rather missed the thrill of the original theme tune to remind us all that “bustin’ makes me feel good”. Nothing finer. Ghostbusters 3 is in pre-production as we speak and I would give a bottle of the finest wine in my cellar to the person who gets me a role in the movie.

2. Was there a specific wine drinking experience that got you hooked on the grape juice? When did your passion really begin and how did you make that leap into “celebrity” status?

It was at a free tasting at the Oddbins on South Clerk Street in Edinburgh when the bug really bit me – I tasted a simple French white wine for £3.29 and it tingled from my ears to my toes like an electric eel doing a disco marathon. Fantastic, invigorating and surprising. And affordable! The move into a more professional role happened thanks to a competition called Wine Idol which I managed to win and deploy as a calling card to knock on doors and spread the gospel according to Bacchus.

3. As a man living and breathing wine, is there a particular country or region you believe is delivering best value examples on the market at the minute?

At the minute I’d have to say Chile and right now they need our support in the aftermath of the terrifying earthquake.

4. With your experience on BBC’s Saturday Morning Kitchen, the F-Word Live and Richard and Judy to name a few, you have surely come across some real characters in the industry. Who is the biggest dickhead?

The industry is definitely packed with characters, I’ve not met anyone I’d describe that way but I would say that the person I was most chuffed to meet was Sir Roger Moore who could not have been more charming. I pocketed the box of matches from the table where we met as a souvenir and it’s still on my desk 5 years on. I’m a huge fan of His Rogesty and the work he does for UNICEF.

5. Olly Smith’s Drink Tank – we think it’s a masterpiece. Have you any further plans in store that we should know about regarding your new YouTube channel, or your own future plans?

Thanks for the kind words, glad you like it! I have a new show coming out on Channel 4 called Iron Chef, it broadcasts every day from April 26th at 5pm for 5 weeks. My book ‘Eat & Drink‘ is also released on May 27th which I wrote and illustrated and is a romp around the world of matching the flavours of wine and food as well as some behind the scenes action from Saturday Kitchen and other telly larks.

Sincere thanks to Olly Smith and to Justin and Teodora at Channel Flip.