Is American First Class catering better than Cathay’s? At least for wine? It's a nearly Buzzfeed-worthy question, but this is one of only several heresies (at least for longtime readers of this blog) that I’ll discuss in this post. 😉 First, a few caveats 1. Wine is an inherently subjective activity.
Continue reading: Introduction: One Merlot At A Time
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
This happens to me all the time with Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle! I'll drink a pre departure glass of it on BA and I love it, but after take-off, the same glass is absolutely revolting and I can't get it down! Luckily, I can drink Krug both on the ground and in the air.
"It’s a nearly Buzzfeed-worthy question"
It's definitely has the taste of click-bait, whether on the ground or at 35,000 feet...
Your final point of "wasted" great bottles bears out your earlier point about knowing the price point heavily influences the quality judgment of the consumer. I totally agree.
In your caveat #1, "everyone has a different palette": you mean "palate". Palettes are used by artists to mix paint.
I may be banned from OMAAT for life for saying this but...
All wines and champagnes (is champagne considered to be wine?) taste like swill to me.
Just keep the premium vodka flowing and I'll be happy.
Over-ripe high alcohol fruit bombs appeal to some but not all. I think they suck, others love them.
So what if they suck less at altitude. They still suck (in my opinion).
An interesting and balanced introduction IMHO and I'm looking forward to future installments.
I should add that I appreciate Andrews acknowledgement of the subjectivity in his first point.
Really interesting idea for a series! Can't wait to read your posts. I hope this becomes a regular feature on this blog!
This is spot-on, based on my own experience. Dom Perignon at at 6 miles up tastes bland and uninteresting. You need something robust to withstand the thin, dry air up there. One of the best wines I ever had in the sky was an Argentinian Malbec in UA business class. It really surprised me - it was subtle and complex; did United pay a lot of money for this? No, it retails for $10, and on the ground it was practically undrinkable.
@Imperator see point 1: drink what you like 🙂
@colleen - good catch. Some days my typing is better than others.
@snic, Jack Buck It is bizarre how wines can go from undrinkable to tasty up in the air and vice versa.
@beachfan I'm generally not a fan of fruit bombs on the ground either (of course I won't say no if someone gives me a bottle of Silver Oak). That said, for me, some structured fruit bombs probably do better than unstructured one note wonders at altitude. That's what I usually go for on flights.
But, to each their own - there are never any right answers for wine, only personal preferences.
I've got a CX F LAX-HKG Tuesday, I hope the CX article posts earlier than that!
So much of it is mind over matter. I've had stunning Bordeaux in the company of boring business types and couldn't appreciate it. And I've had two buck chuck with great friends on a whim and it hit the spot.
Interesting comments, my thoughts are that the altitude exaggerates the nuances of whatever wine you are drinking. We are California wine lovers and have had hundreds of Bordeaux vs. California Cabernet or Cab blend comparisons over the years and at 37K feet, even the best Bordeaux will never stand up to the "fruit bombs" from California. The real question is what happens to any wine stored on a jet with the constant vibration, altitude and temperature changes. The answer is nothing good at all because these are the worst enemies of wine - and you need to think beyond Silver Oak! This Cab blend is often the first wine discovered by novices but there are hundreds of better Napa & Sonoma red wines!
@Ken It doesn't look like it will but as a sneak peak, I highly recommend trying the Rhone special addition wines.
@pavel Definitely. I'll take cheap wine with my friends than an expensive Bordeaux drunk in a Burger King by myself any day of the week.
@JD VanHoose Interesting. For me, the sensation is definitely dulled. If I get 3-4 flavor notes on the ground, I'll only get 1-2 in the air. But I'm hardly a super taster, just an enthusiast and of course everyone's experience is different. I originally come from Oregon so I'm partial to cool climate wines and thus more knowledgeable about Pinots/Burgundies/New Zealand wines but there are, as you note, loads of good Napa wine. On my list to drink my way through the region at some point 😉
@ Andrew M: nice article.
However, as a native French speaker, please note that 'Bordeaux' and 'Burgundy' are invariable names, so no 's' at the end.
"Champagne: possibly the raison d’être of this blog?"
Truer words have never been typed here.
SQ serves Tiger and Carlsberg in First. No Bud.
(washing down my disappointment about sloppy journalism with a glass of Krug)... 😉
I found drinking on the flight to be a bizarre experience. I actually think we should put some heavy beers on the menu to see if they would hold up better than most wines. I think the wines either taste sickly sweet or vapid, with the occasional odd success in a category I don't usually prefer. Looking forward to this interpretation. Perhaps everyone should have a preference list: on the ground favorites and in the air favorites.
1) This is relevant to my interests.
2) A while back, I saw a pic of an Emirates first class wine menu on this blog, and said menu featured Northstar Merlot. I loved seeing a premium airline offering an affordable Washington wine in first class.
I find most wines on flights are served way too cold, even whites. A few minutes in the glass before gulping makes a difference. Though the palate is duller at altitude especially if ones sinus is playing up with the pressure.