Choosing Your Airline By The Quality Of Their Wine Lists

Most of us will have already made our holiday plans, but some of us may still be thinking of flying off to distant shores for a bit of sun, relaxation or a cultural fix, before getting our noses back to the grindstone.

Budget airlines have taken a knock recently, with passengers fed up with being treated with contempt in exchange for a no frills price. As much as we might want dirt cheap fares, we do still want to feel special, so many airlines are starting to look at how they can add value and comfort.

My experience of first class travel has, sadly, been rather limited, but were I able to do so I’d certainly take into account, especially for long haul flights, the standard of food and wine on offer.

The likes of Joan Collins will of course find whatever their little hearts’ desire is provided on tap; for the rest of us an insider’s look at what’s on offer is worth considering.

Whilst safety and comfort are high on our list of priorities, airlines are bending over backwards to up their game by enlisting highly paid Masters of Wine to make the selections that will keep passengers content.

In an effort to select the top wines for SAA, South African wine producers submitted a record entry of 1017 wines for selection, where independent judges spent three days blind tasting.

Many airlines are, rather sensibly, choosing to promote lesser know wines from their own countries but be aware that buyers may have snaffled up a job lot of something less than classy.

Wine drunk at altitude tastes different, due to the dryness of the air and also engine vibration. It is not the wine that changes, more the way you perceive it, tasting less of the fruit, and more of the acidity and tannins. Some of the finest wines just don’t perform at their best at altitude, which is why you tend to find more of the softer, fruity new world wines offered.

Airline wine lists vary wildly but what is consistent is that both Champagne and Port will be offered, particularly for long haul flights. Airlines also tend to offer more reds than white, partly explained by the fact that there tends to be more businessmen than women in first class.

Up for criticism is Air Canada’s business class list. Although the champagne on offer, Drappier, is commendable, other choices lean towards the cheap and cheerful and no vintages are shown, which is unacceptable.

Likewise, BA’s business list is surprisingly short and rather pedestrian. At least first class passengers are offered the glamorous Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Champagne, and a Grand Cru Chablis, although overall they are missing a trick by suggesting two Aussie wines as the only non-European alternatives.

Cathay Pacific is highly rated, both as an airline, and also for their well-balanced wine list with well-established names like Krug Grand Cuvée . NZ’s Central Otago also gets a showing, hardly surprising after William and Kate’s visit to the region on their trip down under. Cathay also pride themselves on their first class Bordeaux.

Emirates offer some lovely wines, but for bubbly lovers in business class the mediocre Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial is disappointing, as is the cheap and cheerful Barossa Valley Shiraz. If you must stick to Moët, at least in first class they have their prestige label, Dom Pérignon, on tap, and more interestingly the rare dry white Bordeaux, Y d'Yquem.

South American airline LAN, in addition the obligatory French champagne, have wines from Chile, Argentina and Portugal, including a white torrentes and a red carménère, and a Croft Late Bottled Vintage Port to ensure an eclectic approach.

Qantas, disappointingly, offers only one champagne, three whites and three reds in first, and only two in business, but they do select from a revolving choice of 45 whites and 65 reds, and quality is assured by top cuvées such as Pol Roger's Sir Winston Churchill and Gosset, one of my personal favourites.

Singapore Airlines greets passengers with Bollinger in business, the more predictable Dom Pérignon in first, along with renowned Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc.

Virgin’s list tends to focus on small producers, including some interesting biodynamic gems, and in business class passengers can kick off with reliable Lanson champagne.

Despite evidence of the attention that United Airlines pays to its wine selection on domestic flights, most airlines sadly continue to serve the sort of generic, bland wines found in chain pubs, so my advice for short domestic flights would be to avoid what’s on offer.

Preferably stick to travelling first class round the world; a thirsty person could save a considerable amount of money on their alcohol consumption during an 18 hour flight.