Airlines That Give Best Wines To Sip In Flights

Long-haul flight - one of the very few situations where it’s socially acceptable to day-drink without witnessing the eye rolls. You have just spent some time getting huddled, strip-searched, and stressed out at the airport. You get on-board and have got hours to kill with nothing to do. A glass of wine is exactly what you deserve. 

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Let us talk about 10 airlines that have proven to serve delicious inflight wines.

Air France

The French airline bagged “Best Airline Wine List in the World” by British publication “The World of Fine Wine” in September 2018. It was because Air France, along with access to its home country’s fabulous vineyards also collaborated with Paolo Basso, who was voted world’s best sommelier in 2013 by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale. Air France is devoted to great domestic wines across all classes; it is a commitment that includes free Champagne in long-haul Economy.

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand poured nearly eight million glasses in 2017, and the airline only serves its country’s wines. The supplies of different labels for the airline’s lounges, Economy, and Premium Economy cabins come from Villa Maria. In Business Premier, Air New Zealand strategizes a selection which rotates every two months with servings from the annual Fine Wines of New Zealand list.

All Nippon Airways

Since September 2018, ANA has started serving custom red and white wine blends created with wine consultant Ned Goodwin MW. The Japanese carrier also added 54 wines and two sakes to its lounges and onboard wine list. Complimentary champagne is served to passengers traveling in Premium Economy class on domestic routes, while Krug, Château Léoville and Vasse Felix are poured on international First Class routes.

Emirates

Investing $700 million on beverage programs across all cabins, Emirates takes wine earnestly. The carrier storage for Emirates is of seven million bottles in a temperature-controlled warehouse in Burgundy. With some 70 wines offered across the network, Emirates airline has six wine lists - one for each region they operate in. Apart from six different wine lists, the mainstays that make the appearances are - Dom Pérignon and Château d’Yquem. Emirates also considered bigger glasses and decanters into its cabin design.

Finnair

The largest airline of Finland, Finnair overshoots the competition with a devoted wine list well stocked with brand bios. It serves California Chardonnay, GermanPinot Noir, Margaux, Port, and several more global choices. Bonus Alert: They let you sip Champagne from iconic Iittala glasses evocative of melting ice in Lapland.

JetBlue Mint

JetBlue Mint’s wine program is most offbeat and exciting - with a wine expert, Jon Bonné, the esteemed wine expert. Bonné is also the Wine Editor at “The San Francisco Chronicle” and author of the award-winning book “The New California Wine.” Bonné specifically picks the wines to be served onboard JetBlue Mint. JetBlue was the first U.S. carrier to serve rosé, and Bonné has scored allocations from California producers like Matthiasson, Failla, Sandhi, and Lioco. He expanded domestic selections to include Oregon and Washington, and international bottles ranging from grower Champagne to German Riesling.

Deutsche Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa, commonly known as Lufthansa is the largest airline from Germany. It creates interesting business and first class wine lists with the help of Markus Del Monego MW. The economy passengers in Lufthansa are served Riesling too. Monego and a panel of other professionals pick wines from Germany via a 20-point, blind tasting system. The panel selects the wines with lower perceived acidity and tannins and higher residual sweetness due to changes in customers’ inflight palates.

Qantas Airways

Australia’s Qantas airlines are the third-largest buyer of Aussie wines, and its focus is to show off the country’s best regions via the wines they serve. Their selections range from Margaret River and Yarra Valley to Tasmania and Barossa Valley. Qantas Airways serves four selections in the Business class which are route dependent, and the wine list rotates throughout the year. Bonus for the first class passengers - they get to enjoy pre-selected pairings with each course at meal service. The flight attendants at Qantas can also pour a tasting flight on request. 

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines can be counted among the first carriers to have a dedicated wine panel, and it has seized many awards for its efforts too. In the First class/ Suites levels, the airline serves iconic wines like Dom Pérignon, grand cru Burgundy, and cru classé Bordeaux. In Business class, they pour a selection of high-quality, trendy or emerging icons from around the globe, and Economy class pours value-driven fruity reds and whites.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic’s wine selection program is overseen by Mark Pardoe MW, the wine director of noted UK firm Berry Bros. & Rudd. A panel of professionals come together four times per year to select top wines for Upper Class, while it meets once a year for Premium and Economy Delight, Classic and Light. Pardoe expanded the selections and threw old rules out, with the help of science. For example, better humidity and cabin-pressurization systems found on the Dreamliner 787 make the higher-acid wines taste more balanced on the flight.

Having some wine while flying is simply a way to add some extra fun to their travels - especially if the drinks are complimentary. Having said that, according to WineSpectator, the combined diuretic effects of alcohol and the loss of fluids from the cabin’s dry air may make you dehydrated after sipping some wine in the clouds. 

"If you combine alcohol plus altitude's effects on your hydration status, it will absolutely impact how you feel the next day," says Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. 

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