Emirates is known for its top notch first class product, which is among the best in the world. While there are lots of things people enjoy about the experience (like the A380 first class shower), in this post, I’d like to focus on Emirates’ massive investment in wine, as Emirates is in a league of…
Continue reading: Not A Whine: Emirates’ Unbelievable First Class Wines
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I didn't realize Emirates went so above and beyond with their wine selection. That's actually really impressive.
I'm far from being an oenophile, but I have to say that EK never fails to impress, and that they go so far out of their way to procure the best wines possible is yet another reason I make it a point to fly EK first over other offerings (LH, LX) when flying to South Africa. For Australia, it's always a bit of a tossup between EK and SQ, and for Asia it's between EK, SQ, and AF.
Considering that AF is, well, FRENCH, one would think/hope they would up their wine game in La Première.
…. and the U.S. airlines wonder why they will never be considered as World Class airlines …. they simply cannot compete on the world stage.
Far too many travellers believe that EK is for the fur coat and no knickers brigade. Put off by the bling and because it is ME owned, they overlook the substance behind the show.
Ben - as you said, it's not about the price (and for that matter, there are better and cheaper Champagne than Dom Perignon...), but:
- Puligny-Montrachet is probably amongst the best which White Burgundy has to offer
- Fargues is also amongst the best sweet White Bordeaux (and more reasonably priced than Chateau Yquem - the family running Fargues actually used to owe Chateau Yquem)
Impressive indeed. I'm sure Air France even does this. And I won't comment on BA/LH/KL's shameful selection of tasteless Australia/Chilean/Spanish wines (apparently some of the BA cabin crew think anything sparkling can be called "Champaine"...)
However, for someone flying economy most of the time it's noteworthy that AF offers decent wines in economy, including Champagne 🙂
No offense, but last time I flew from the US, the gentleman in front of me asked the AF stewart to pour orange juice in his Champagne (which he refused, as in France this is punishable by imprisonment).
Ben,
Maybe I am showing my ignorance (or lack of refining) - and someone please correct me - but on the headline picture of the Opus 1 - the glass has bubbles in it....I thought that was a sign of residual soap in the glass as wine should not have than many bubbles? that seems like a lot of bubbles for a red?
Nice one GR, thank you for the grin …. 🙂
If the chap was a Brit, then chances are he must have been an influencer or a reality show ‘performer’.
or that there is something odd with the fermentation process?
not something I would expect from an Opus 1?
They do a great job with their wines.
Wish I could say the same thing with Delta. D1 international still is subpar. Something you would not expect from a “premium” airline. Domestic first class is nearly undrinkable.
They brag about their somm Andrea Robinson picking great wines for the airline. I think they give her a max retail/bottle of $10
I'm not really sure why you would call it an "investment". To me wine is almost purely $ burnt up in the air, and not likely leading to people actively choosing an airline on the basis of the wine selection or paying higher fares. It is a pure conceit, an airline spending that much money on it. It isn't an investment.
I think that's why even the general set of best airlines buy wine that is approximately of the class to be expected, and not much more. It becomes a pure cost center and decrease to profits to go above and beyond. It's being drunk excessively by people who just want the novelty and won't fly again, or drunk minimally by people who aren't going to stop flying if you changed to a slightly lesser priced wine.
Lefteris, surely expecting any U.S. airline to serve a half decent bottle of wine is like hoping to be sold a beef wellington in MacD’s …. only joking …. 🙂
The only reason I consider paying up for EL F is the wine list. Everything else is overrated.
You already have a direct contradiction in TravelinWilly's comment earlier. And I know this is a logical fallacy, but considering Emirates has done this for many years now they must see some kind of return on this investment so I'd trust that over your armchair intuition with no inside knowledge (that was not an insult at all :)).
Didnt know mimosas are illegal in France (which btw was invented in hotel Ritz Paris) 🙂
Must be nice to have a 100% pure flow through of government money to purchase your onboard products.
Since we live in Phoenix, we have only had the pleasure of flying Emirates a few times but totally agree on the quality and selection of wines. Regrettably our main transAtlantic airline is BA whose selection and quality of wines is terrible. Even their "bubbly" is British.
I wonder about the return on investment in such a case and if it really contributes to people flying Emirates because of it.
in the glass in the picture at the top of the article.....
Eskimo - I just drink right out of the bottle or a styrofoam cup, hence the question
It’s their best in-flight differentiator in my opinion. Opus fan here - fingers crossed it’s stocked on one of my future flights.
Rationale for the use of the term “investment”:
I just flew AF La Premiere and had the bottle grand siècle all to myself as the other 3 passengers were not drinking champagne. At the end of the flight after a long sleep there was just a little bit left in the bottle and the flight attendant happily poured me a mimosa to finish of the bottle for breakfast 🙂
Haha, but United actually has a decent wine program in Polaris. AA and Delta are both terrible.