WINNERS REVEALED
Which airlines served the best wines on board last year? The marks have been totted up and tallied, and now it’s time to reveal the winners
The results of our airline wine awards
Sublime, that one. Really leads you down the garden path.” “I thought a bit too modified; a lot of adjustment going on.” “I liked the nose, I just thought it was too sweet. Doesn’t really lift your shirt, does it?” “It’s just what you’d want to wake up to on an aeroplane. Are we talking posh Aussie here?” Not quotes from an online dating app, just typical discussions after a morning’s professional wine tasting by some of the best-trained palates in the world, all of them remarkably sober (though the spittoons were full).
The judges were taking part in Cellars in the Sky, a two-day event to identify the best wines currently served by airlines. It couldn’t be fairer; the wine bottles, and the airlines supplying them, are concealed from the impartial experts who taste them all blind (the bottles are hidden inside black bags and identified only by numbers). This year, head judge Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge, was joined by Masters of Wine Sarah Abbott, Tim Atkin, Richard Bampfield and Peter McCombie to taste around 250 wines from 32 airlines.
With labels and even bottle shape hidden, identifying specific wines by taste alone is difficult even for a Master of Wine. The judges could spot styles and regions, but identifying specific producers and vintages is much trickier. With blind tastings, the wines can be judged purely on their performance relative to each other; then whittled down to a consensus of gold, silver and bronze medals. Once the winners are declared, there’s the great reveal as the bags come off.
WHAT TO CHOOSE IN BUSINESS CLASS
The judges had some pertinent observations to make about airline wines in general. “There were one or two shockers but, overall, the standard of the many airline wines we tried was very good,” said Sarah Abbott. “Airlines are now thinking
about the effect of the cabin environment, and picking wines that are fruit forward and quite expressive; not too tannic for the reds, not too high in acidity for the whites.” So this begs the question: which wines should you order on board?
Tim Atkin suggests avoiding reds from Bordeaux (also known as clarets). “They are completely wrong for the air: tannic, too high in acidity and invariably young because the airlines can’t get the older vintages.” But if red is your preference, then order carefully. Richard Bampfield pointed out that the business class reds were particularly tricky, as they are cheaper than the first class reds. “For this purpose, Bordeaux isn’t necessarily the best choice; we had few if any [Bordeaux] getting though to the finals.” So what does work? “In business class reds, the three top wines were all shiraz/syrah,” said Peter McCombie.
So order fruit-forward red grape varieties, such as syrah (the French grape variety that’s called shiraz in Australia, California and elsewhere).
As a general rule in any class of cabin, whites will often work better at high altitude than the reds; while champagnes, if you’re lucky enough to be offered a glass or even two, seem to work well anywhere.
WHAT TO CHOOSE IN FIRST CLASS
Charles Metcalfe summarised the distinctions between the business class and first class wine lists: “First class is more overtly posh – posh clarets, posh white Burgundies. It [first class] tries harder to put on well-known names; it will have well-known classed growths and posh appellations. But having white Burgundy from posh appellations doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get a good wine, because of the paucity of supply. In recent years, they have had some terrible vintages in terms of quantity in Burgundy, so inevitably someone who is looking to get quite a large quantity of wine [such as an airline] is going to have to turn to producers who are perhaps not the crème de la crème, but who have enough quantity to get on board.”
There were quite a few surprises once the bottles were unwrapped – “That’s why it tastes like the illegitimate son of New Zealand and the Loire!” Peter McCombie exclaimed, referring to a Kiwi sauvignon blanc made by a Loire producer. But, for all of us, it was a surprise to see such domination in the white-wine tastings (both business and first class) by one grape variety: chardonnay, with all three winners in first class made from the world’s most popular, and most versatile, grape. It seems that those who have been predicting its demise may have a while to wait before other white grapes are contenders for pole position.
While recognising that the first class reds did much better than the business class reds, Charles Metcalfe still had the caveat: “Red is more difficult. So in first class go for the whites, or for the Rhône grapes,” meaning fruity red blends, particularly those using the syrah grape. But if red it must be, with first class’s greater spend on wine, the choice of “name” Bordeaux reds worked better than in business class. As Charles Metcalfe observed, “There were two Bordeaux reds that came through in the final four – but the others were a northern Rhône and a malbec from Argentina.”
Peter McCombie summed up the business and first class tastings as follows. “Last year we said the airlines could make bolder choices. Maybe they listened.”
HOW WE PICKED WINNERS
Airlines could take part in Cellars in the Sky providing they served wine in business or first class on mid- or long-haul routes. Each could enter two reds, two whites, a sparkling and a fortified or dessert wine from both their business and first class cellars. They could compete in as many categories as they liked, but to be eligible for the Best Cellar awards they had to enter at least one red, white and sparkling wine.
Wines were scored out of 100, with award-winning ones rated between 93 and 97, and anything under 75 deemed unpalatable. The judges did not know which wines were submitted by which airlines; only after the wines were scored and ranked were details revealed.
The wine bottles and the supplying airlines are concealed from the experts who taste all the wines blind
...To calculate the Best First and Business Class Cellar awards, we averaged the marks of an airline’s red, white and sparkling wines. For Best Overall Cellar, we took all scores into account. The Awards were made at a reception on February 19, 2018.
HOW AIRLINES CHOOSE WINES
Different airlines share the same goals in selecting their wine lists – they want consistency, quantity (so supplies don’t run out) and, of course, wines that taste delicious at altitude. However, all the airlines use slightly different methods to select their in-flight wines.
Air France did well in this year’s tasting, winning – among other awards – the silver medal for Best Overall Cellar. Its resident wine experts are Ghislaine Van Branteghem (catering product manager for long haul on Air France) and Paolo Basso (Best Sommelier in the World 2013), and it also works with Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, authors of Le Grand Guide des Vins de France.
“For three years we have worked with them on an upgrade of our wine lists in all cabins, even in economy and premium economy,” says Ciara MacHugh, spokesperson for Air France. “Our selection is based on blind tastings by our experts, then by Paolo’s tasting notes. The final choice depends on three criteria: 1) blind tasting notes; 2) the wine’s reputation; 3) quantity [availability] and price.”
Air France remains the only airline offering free champagne in economy class on long-haul flights, and has an exclusively French list. “In first class [we serve] grands crus or premiers crus, or wines with a very high reputation in Burgundy. For business class, we target well-known French wines and champagne with an international reputation. Bettane and Desseauve have an important role in this aspect. In economy and premium economy, IGP [indication géographique protégée, known as vin de pays in France] mainly from Languedoc region.”
Air France’s buying power is considerable, enough to buy wine en primeur (bulk purchased in the barrel before bottling), but it also buys wine more conventionally, by the case (in multiples of 12 bottles).
“We buy about 50,000 bottles for a two-month cycle for business class and 2,800 bottles for two-months of first class,” says MacHugh. Air France passengers clearly enjoy the wine selection as, during a flight, “the majority drink more than three glasses of wine and champagne.”
Virgin Atlantic’s selection is overseen by Mark Pardoe MW, wine director of the leading UK vintners Berry Bros & Rudd. Wines are selected from BB&R’s extensive cellars – one of the largest selections of quality wines in the UK. Pardoe’s tasting panel is typically six to seven people. Wines for Upper Class are selected four times a year, though champagnes, sparkling wines, port and the offering in Premium Economy and Economy are reviewed annually.
“The wines for Upper Class are not tasted blind,” says Pardoe. “Each tasting has a range of wines of varying styles and at different prices, which are moved in and out of contention according to the evolving make-up and cost of each selection.
“BB&R has supplied Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight wines for more than a decade. In the early days there was an expectation that wines should conform to a style – full-bodied and flavoured, with low acidity and tannins and a high level of ripeness, to compensate for the [aircraft] conditions. However, our empirical feedback has led us to conclude that an intrinsic balance and harmony within the wine is more important in delivering a satisfactory experience than trying to make artificial adjustments within the selection process. This means that a wine with high acidity works well in the air, as long as that acidity is properly woven into the fabric of the wine as part
All the airlines use slightly different methods to select their in-flight wines
of its personality, and balanced by the other components (fruit, body, etc) that are consistent with the wine’s character. The wine will taste different in the air, but it will retain harmony if it has been ‘grown, not made’. The identification of these qualities is possible at ground level; if a wine fulfils those criteria there, it will work in the air too. I would add that [cabin] pressurisation and hydration systems in the air are more sophisticated now (eg on the new 787 Dreamliner) than they were when airline wine selections first became important; the ‘rules’ created then are less important now.”
Malaysia Airlines uses a slightly different approach that focuses on food and wine matching, as its menus often contain spicy Asian dishes. Malaysia Airlines’ senior manager for in-flight and catering operations, Ivy Tan, says: “We tend to look for expressive grape varietals such as sauvignon blanc and viognier. Even our chardonnay veers towards the unoaked or lightly oaked style to complement the wide range of Asian dishes that we offer. We tend to avoid wines that are overly acidic or tannic, much preferring ones with good balance and ripeness, but without excessive levels of alcohol.”
Selecting these wines is a rigorous international process. “Three rounds of tasting are conducted each year,” Tan continues. “The first is at the vineyard, during visits by our Malaysia-based wine merchant. The second is blind tastings conducted by the merchant, from which 150 wines are selected (out of 600). The third is the selection by our Malaysia-based sommeliers, restaurateurs and the Malaysia Airlines food and beverage team.”
It’s been my personal observation, following many flights to and from or within Asia, that westerners tend to drink far more wine than Asian passengers on flights; this anecdotal observation seems to be borne out by Tan. “Flights to London and Australia tend to have higher consumption levels, with passengers enjoying two to three glasses per flight on average. In terms of total consumption per annum, our passengers consume around 300,000 to 400,000 bottles across all three classes.” That’s a lot of expressive grapes to complement the airline’s signature satay sticks (see Tried and Tested, page 72).