High-flying wines

Sitting in economy on a long-haul flight recently,I had, as everyone does, the suspicion that someone very close by was having a much better time of it. Were the business and first class passengers further forward sipping the finest Champagne with a selection of hors d’oeuvres prior to enjoying a four-course meal and then being tucked into a comfy bed? Meanwhile I was eating very average food before spending the following eight hours tossing and turning on a cramped uncomfortable seat.

In my very limited experience (the Australian Wine Board plus a lucky bump-up) the answer is yes. Flying business class is expensive, and first class even more so. The airlines therefore go to great lengths to provide these passengers with extras that help justify the premium. This includes good wine. It is not an easy job; wine can taste different at 35,000 feet. The dry atmosphere makes it difficult to smell, and accentuates the dry tannins in red wines as well as alcohol and acidity.

The standard advice is to go for full-bodied wines with low acid and plenty of ripe fruit. Champagne and other sparkling wines taste better, as the bubbles stimulate our senses (although they also increase the speed at which we ingest alcohol). According to Joost Heymeije, senior vice-president of catering at Emirates Airlines, cabin pressure is less an issue today. ‘We used to take this into account but the technology in our new aricraft cannot compare to a 747 from 20 years ago. Humidity has improved greatly – in our new aircraft it’s like drinking wine in the French Alps.’

Airlines from wine-producing countries often take great pride in selecting their finest indigenous wines to serve on board. Three wine experts taste hundreds of wines to select those Australian airline Qantas serves on business and first class. Qantas holds the annual Business Traveller best cellar award in the Cellar in the Sky competition, followed closely by Emirates. “We no longer go out to tender,’ says Heymeijer, “which meant working with a limited number of wines, and instead began investing heavily in wine. We now buy the best wine in big or small parcels. I finished a tasting yesterday of wines that will feature from 2018-2021.”

Emirates has 1.2 million bottles maturing in its cellars in France. Given that it serves almost 10 million bottles a year, this is hardly surprising. Bordeaux accounts for 57 per cent of wine consumed on board, a pattern reflected with other airlines. “There is always an awful lot of red Bordeaux submitted to our blind tastings,’ says Charles Metcalfe, chair of the Business Traveller awards. “A great many people seem to think they aren’t getting a great experience if they don’t drink Bordeaux.” Champagne is also very popular.

“We work closely with wine importer Febvre,’ says Micheal Gannon of Aer Lingus, “and put a lot of effort into matching the wines to the food we serve.” Aer Lingus will roll out its new business class in March – “we are trying to re-interpret Irish heritage, and will have new seats [designed in Northern Ireland] and a new look and feel to the cabins.” This will be alongside a new menu, which will have a strong Irish element, created with the help of consultant Hugo Arnold. The wine list is short – five wines – but very well chosen.

But what about the poor economy class traveller? Might not airlines be better served ensuring they provide decent wine further down the airplane? Recently I was served a very indifferent white and red wine on a long-haul Air France flight. Perhaps this great wine-producing nation pulls out all the stops further forward, but surely they source a few really well made inexpensive wines to serve in steerage? In economy, Emirates serves just two wines but, says Heymeijer, “given that sometimes 80 per cent of wine is consumed in economy class, we spend and enourmous amount of time selecting the wines”.

Then again, it might be a good idea to avoid alcohol on flights altogether. Cabin air dehydrates as does alcohol and both contribute to jetlag.