Not A Whine: Emirates’ Unbelievable First Class Wines

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 its own in that regard.

It’s rare you see an airline run circles around the competition with any one aspect of the experience, but that’s exactly what Emirates is doing.

Emirates’ unparalleled investment in wine

In 2014, Emirates announced that it would invest $500 million in its wine program, which is obviously an unheard of amount for an airline to invest in one element of the soft product. While there are several top airlines offering good wine in premium cabins (in particular, champagne in first class), Emirates’ investment in wine is on a completely different level.

The Dubai-based airline made a long-term investment in its wine program in order to procure the best vintages up to a decade before they’re ready to be consumed. In many cases, the airline is investing in wines before they’re even bottled and released to market. The airline even has its own cellar in France, which back in 2014 had over a million bottles of wine in it, many of which haven’t even been released.

Fundamentally, Emirates’ approach to wine is completely different than you’ll find with any other airline, since it’s not just about going to suppliers and seeing what the best value is at any given point. Instead, it’s about developing a long term, cohesive strategy, and investing accordingly. Admittedly it helps when your shareholder is the government of Dubai.

An example of Emirates’ first class wine selection

Emirates is known in premium travel circles for consistently serving Dom Perignon champagne in first class (the vintage changes over time), which is of course lovely. The airline even upgrades that sometimes, serving Dom Perignon Rose or Dom Perignon P2, both of which retail for significantly more.

But beyond that, Emirates’ wine selection is more or less a “surprise and delight” situation, and evolves over time. If you’re flying Emirates first class, you can look up the wine list prior to the flight, though note that last minute changes are always possible. The closer to departure you are, the more finalized the wine list is.

Just how good is the selection? Just take a look at an Emirates flight from Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG) in a few days, which is one of the carrier’s fifth freedom flights from the United States. Below is the first class wine list.

Just to highlight some of the most expensive options (and this says nothing of Hennessy Paradis Cognac, which retails for ~$1,300 per bottle):

• Dom Perignon Vintage 2015 (retails for ~$300 per bottle)
• Dom Perignon Rose 2009 (retails for ~$500 per bottle)
• Chateau Angelus 2006 (retails for ~$550 per bottle)
• Opus One 2016 (retails for ~$400 per bottle)

Meanwhile many of the other wines are in the ~$100 retail range, which is still way more than most other airlines spend on their first class wine.

What I personally find most intriguing about Emirates’ wine selection is the “surprise and delight” element to it. The airline doesn’t make a big deal of its amazing wines, and you really wouldn’t know about how exceptional some of the choices were, unless you’re a wine expert or do some research. I sort of love the casual elegance of it all, which is otherwise very un-Emirates.

Now, let me acknowledge that I’m not a huge wine snob, and price is not entirely indicative of quality. My point with sharing this is twofold:

• I’m fascinated by this from the perspective of the general investment that Emirates is making in its passenger experience, which should be commended
• In many (though not all) cases, especially when they’re thoughtfully chosen, more expensive wines actually do taste better; I remember the first red wine I ever enjoyed in my life was Opus One in Emirates first class, and red wine has grown on me progressively since

The Emirates first class lounge wine safari

Emirates’ best first class wines are typically found inflight. However, if you’re visiting the Emirates first class lounge Dubai (there are three locations — the A Concourse location is the biggest), keep your eyes peeled on the wine selection there as well.

The basic wines on display are typically nothing that impressive. However, you can go on a little bit of a “wine safari” in the lounge, and if you go to the various drink stations, you may very well find some of the the same exceptional wines served onboard in the lounge. You can even ask employees, because sometimes they keep them a little hidden.

Why are these wines sometimes available in the lounges, but not always? It’s because Emirates places some of the excess wine from onboard in the lounge. This is worth mentioning because it’s much easier to get into Emirates’ most premium lounges than it is to get into Emirates first class (Skywards Platinum members get access, and you can also buy access at a relatively reasonable cost).

For those who have some time to kill while connecting, walk around one of Emirates’ most premium lounges in Dubai, and take note of the wines (whether you have knowledge off the top of your head, or need to Google).

Bottom line

Emirates has invested more than any other airline in the world in wine. When most people hear that, they probably think of the Dom Perignon champagne that the airline is famous for serving, but that’s probably the least interesting aspect of Emirates’ first class wine selection.

What’s most intriguing is how the airline consistently serves some incredible red wines in first class (and sometimes white wines), which often retail for $400-600 per bottle. I’d honestly be fascinated to know how Emirates justifies such a big wine investment, in terms of the impact the airline believes this has on demand. Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted, it’s just rare to see an airline outpace the competition so much.

Admittedly Emirates has continued to make it harder to book first class with miles. You now need Skywards elite status to redeem in first class, which says nothing of the high redemption rates. On the plus side, you can still upgrade day of departure with miles, which is probably the best deal.

Anyone else find Emirates’ wine investment as fascinating as I do?