Tag: British Airways

Global Traveler, a premier luxury business and travel magazine, has released the results of its ninth annual Wines on the Wing Airline Wine Competition.

The competition was held in the spring at The Westin, New York Grand Central – I participated, along with twenty-four judges in a blind tasting of Business Class and First Class Wines; here are the final results, along with the judge’s bios and a link The Global Traveler article.

TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS WINES ON THE WING
1. British Airways
2. All Nippon Airlines
3. Jet Airways
4. China Airlines
5. American Airlines

TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS WINES ON THE WING
1. Brussels Airlines
2. All Nippon Airlines
3. Delta Air Lines
4. United
5. TAM

TOP FIVE CHAMPAGNES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS
1. G.H. Mumm Brut, NV – Hainan Airlines
2. Pol Roger Extra Cuvée de Réserve 2000 – China Airlines
3. Laurent-Perrier Grande Siècle, NV – British Airways
4. Castelnau Blanc de Blancs 1999 – United
5. Drappier Grande Sendrée 2005 – TAM

TOP FIVE CHAMPAGNES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
1. Laurent-Perrier Brut, NV – Brussels Airlines
2. Montaudon Réserve Première Brut, NV – All Nippon Airways
3. G.H. Mumm Brut, NV – Hainan Airlines
4. Tie — Jacquart Brut Mosaïque, NV – Delta Air Lines and
Jacquart Brut Mosaïque, NV – Etihad Airways
Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Réserve, NV – United
5. Billecart-Salmon Brut, NV – Jet Airways

TOP FIVE WHITE WINES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS
1. Louis Jadot Puligny- Montrachet 2010, France – Jet Airways
2. Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis 2009, Grand Cru, France – Jet Airways
3. Henri Darnat Meursault Clos du Domaine 2010, France – American Airlines
4. August Kesseler Riesling 2008, Germany – All Nippon Airways
5. A. Schmitt Riesling 2009, Germany – China Airlines

TOP FIVE WHITE WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
1. Albert Bichot Saint- Véran 2011, France – All Nippon Airways
2. Ridgeback Sauvignon Blanc 2012, South Africa – South African Airways
3. Joseph Drouhin Saint- Véran 2011, France – Delta Air Lines
4. Dreissigacker Silvaner & Chardonnay 2012, Germany – airberlin
5. Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay 2011, California – United

TOP FIVE RED WINES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS
1. Torres Sangre de Toro 2011, Spain – Hainan Airlines
2. Château Larrivet-Haut Brion 2005, France – British Airways
3. Château Malescot Saint- Exupéry 2008, France – All Nippon Airways
4. Tie — Château Langoa- Barton 1997, France – China Airlines and
Aquamarine Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Israel – EL AL Israel Airlines
5. Wairau Hills Pinot Noir 2011, New Zealand – Etihad Airways

TOP FIVE RED WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
1. Torres Sangre de Toro 2011, Spain – Hainan Airlines
2. Abadia Retuerta 2009, Spain – TAM
3. Zuccardi Zeta 2008, Argentina – LAN
4. Barón Ladrón de Guevara 2010, Spain – Air Berlin
5. Château Laroque 2003, France – Etihad Airways

TOP NORTH AMERICAN FIRST CLASS/BUSINESS CLASS
TOP NORTH AMERICAN WINES ON THE WING
Delta Air Lines

TOP NORTH AMERICAN SPARKLING WINE
Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut, NV, California – American Airlines

TOP NORTH AMERICAN WHITE WINE
Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc 2011, California – Delta Air Lines

TOP NORTH AMERICAN RED WINE
Fantesca Estate & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, California – Virgin America

TOP AIRLINE ALLIANCE
SkyTeam
Represented by China Airlines and Delta Air Lines

JUDGES’ BIOS

Colman Andrews is the editorial director of TheDailyMeal.com. He was the co-founder of Saveur Magazine and, earlier, the wine columnist for Los Angeles Magazine. He is the winner of eight James Beard awards including one for Best Writing on Wine and Spirits.

Manos Angelakis is the senior wine and food writer for Luxury Web Magazine and the author of the semi-monthly Oenophile Blog. As a writer, critic and experienced judge, he travels extensively throughout the world’s wine regions.

Cesar Baeza is an enologist, consultant and educator for the wine industry. A native of Chile, he studied winemaking there and in France, Spain and California and worked in many wineries. For 20 years, he was wine master and coowner of Brotherhood Winery, New York State.

Philip di Belardino is director of fine wine development at Banfi Vintners and Excelsior Wines, a frequent wine lecturer at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and the Culinary Institute of America, and a speaker at wine dinners. He has been in the wine business since 1973.

Lisa Donneson is proprietor of Bouké and Bouquet wines, produced on Long Island, New York. She is a graduate of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust and a member of the Institute of Wines & Spirits and Long Island Wine Council.

Carl Etcheverry is the sommelier at the Union League of Philadelphia, where he also hosts private wine functions in its Cellar 62. Before 2010, he was manager of a 26,000-bottle wine cellar at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and sommelier at its 5-star Lautrec restaurant.

John Fanning is partner and general manager of SD26, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan. He has been general manager and/or wine director at Accademia di Vino, Il Trulli, Beppe, Felidia, Coco Pazzo, Le Madri and Palio in New York; and at Bramante and San Michelle in Rome.

Fred Ferretti is a wine and food writer whose articles appear in many national publications, and the Asian food authority for Food Arts magazine. Formerly a New York Times reporter, he was also a columnist for Gourmet magazine.

Xavier Flouret is the founder and CEO of Cognac One, a wine importing company based in New York. He is the creator of the Xavier Flouret label, a worldwide selection of wines, and importer of Champagne Lenoble, Château de Malengin and Cave de Tain, among other wines.

David Frieser is president of Beekman Liquors, Inc., a 56-year-old wine shop in Manhattan, and a frequent wine lecturer for clients. He has been professionally involved in wine for 30 years.
Curtis Green is president and founder of TenFolks Enterprises, a wine education and marketing company created to broaden interest in wine among African Americans through tastings, seminars and other events.

David Gross works with Sherbrooke Cellars, a wholesaler of small, highquality family-owned wineries. He has been in the wine trade for more than 20 years as a restaurant wine specialist with Southern Wine & Spirits and, earlier, as a caterer.

Harriet Lembeck is president of the Wine and Spirits Program where, for 30 years, she has taught consumers and wine trade personnel. She is the author of the sixth and seventh editions of Grossman’s Guide to Wine, Beers and Spirits and writes for Beverage Dynamics magazine.

Gilles Martin is the winemaker and director of operations at Sparkling Pointe winery on New York’s Long Island. French-born, he studied winemaking at Montpelier and worked at Roederer Estate and Delas Frères.

John McClement is wine and spirits director of All Weather Management, a restaurant group that includes Keens Chop House, NoHo Star, Temple Bar and Elephant & Castle in New York; Eccolo in California; and Elephant & Castle in Ireland.

Katherine Moore is general manager of Union Square Wine & Spirits, a large retail shop in Manhattan.

Elizabeth Palmer is a wine writer based in Toronto, Canada. Her articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, China Wine News and other publications. She is currently writing three books about Champagne. One, The Woman’s Guide to Champagne, launches this fall.

Fred Price is New York metro sales manager for Maximum Wine Co., an importer/distributor specializing in family-owned artisanal estates. Previously, he was senior vice president at Noble House Wines. He has also been a sommelier and wine director in several restaurants.

Arno Schmidt has been the executive chef at New York’s The Waldorf Astoria, The Plaza and other famous hotels, where he organized numerous wine and food events. A native of Austria, he has worked in hospitality since 1946.

Robert Shack is owner of HB Wine Merchants/R.Shack Selections and of Clos Robert Winery in Sonoma, Calif. Earlier, he was vice president and manager of the Premiere Wine Merchants Division of Rémy Martin Amerique for 20 years.

John Sheldon is wine representative for Artisan and Pas Mal, two fine wine importers and distributors; founder and director of the 40-year-old New York Wine Tasting School; and wine consultant to restaurants and private clubs.

Peter Sichel is a fourth-generation wine grower and négociant and a leading authority on German and Bordeaux wines. He is the former chairman of H. Sichel Söhne which imported Blue Nun, former owner of Château Fourcas-Hosten in Bordeaux and author of two wine books.

Darrin Siegfried is owner of Il Gallo Giallo Wine Bar in New Paltz, N.Y., and president of the Sommelier Society of America. He has managed a number of restaurants in New York and created the Brooklyn wine shop Red, White and Bubbly.

Mary Taylor is the French wine portfolio manager for Sherbrooke Cellars and the founder of the Thoreau Wine Society. Previously, she worked in fine wines at Sotheby’s and at Acker Merrall & Condit. Her experience covers retail and distribution.

Cristian Vasquez is food and beverage director of The Westin New York Grand Central. Previously, he held the same position at the Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, N.M. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, he has worked in hotel restaurant management since 1995.

Full article – Global Traveler, August, 2013:

Wines On The Wing 2013

I want to specially thank Air Canada for upgrading my from flight from Toronto to New York and return, to Business Class.

Liz Palmer