Big wine-in at Radio Solent

(by peter)

Before I went on the Katie Martin show on BBC Radio Solent, one of the Twitter brethren offered me the following input.

“O you’ll love going to Radio Solent!! They’re like one big family!”

And blow me down if Julie from Hampshire wasn’t spot on. Without getting all cuddly about it, BBC Southampton is an impressive set up (largely, I was informed, because of the presence of the TV arm, which makes South Today).

And everyone is, well, like a big happy family. Rebecca the producer is originally from New Orleans but now firmly settled in the New Forest; Judy seems to be an all-round wonder woman behind the scenes, as well as occasionally doing the traffic news in the early morning.

And Katie is delightful. We spent a charming quarter of an hour discussing wine, Jelly beans and other very important stuff, only occasionally interrupted by Dusty Springfield and the weather.

I love radio. It’s such a personal medium but it can convey so much. I think it’s ideal for wine.

The wine I featured on the show was the Concha y Toro Terrunyo Syrah 2007, 14.5% – an enveloping, inky red with dense, savoury flavours of dark chocolate, mint and cassis.

The 2006 vintage is currently available in Majestic from £10.39 (down from £12.99 when you buy two or more). Not only is it a bargain, it’s also a brilliant heart-warming red for these bitter conditions. Ideal for spicy, hearty winter food. And, as a top tip, stick it in the cold for 20 minutes before you serve it to take the edge of the alcohol.

Katie seemed to enjoy it even though it was served out of a white plastic cup (don’t know why I assumed Radio Solent would have wine glasses, but there you go). And she still had a full three hours to inform and entertain her listeners afterwards, too, so it was a good effort on her part.

Plus, she later informed me that she doesn’t react particularly well to jelly beans (one of which I made her eat during the interview). Apparently, they make her a bit hyper. So apologies to Radio Solent listeners and Katie alike if my jelly beans inadvertantly led to any overly energetic or extreme DJing later on in the show.

Susie is scheduled to grace the very same Solent airwaves on Weds 28th April.

She won’t be taking jelly beans.