Airplanes are made for flying, not for tasting wine.\u00a0 Nonetheless, they serve wine on (some) airlines, so why not taste it?\u00a0 Well, for one thing, most of it is pretty awful.\u00a0 In economy, they have those little 187 ml. bottles that have labels like Chateau de Somewhere or Turkey Neck Cellars.\u00a0 Yes, it\u2019s liquid, contains alcohol and is either red or white.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s fair to say they make it from grapes.\u00a0 Beyond that, you\u2019re taking your chances.<\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re fortunate enough to be flying in Business Class or (gasp!) First Class, they often have some pretty good wine available.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done a lot of international business travel which has given us quite a few such opportunities.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had Dom Perignon, Penfold\u2019s St. Henri, and Chateau Beychevelle, among some of the more notable wines, while aloft.\u00a0 If you\u2019re flying overseas, why not avail yourself of a tasting based on the wine list the airline offers?\u00a0 Tell the flight attendant that that\u2019s what you\u2019re trying to do and he or she will often be happy to give you two glasses so that you can compare, say, a California Cabernet versus a French Bordeaux.\u00a0 Or ask for a white before your meal (pretty much only on overseas flights only) and then red wine with it.<\/p>\n
If you would like to experiment in this way while flying, there are a few things you ought to think about.<\/p>\n
Airplane cabins are not ideal locations for wine tasting.<\/strong>\u00a0 The air is pressurized and recirculating.\u00a0 The light is not in a good place to appreciate the color.\u00a0 And your senses are not the same as they are on the ground.\u00a0 As a general rule, powerful wines come across better in the air than lighter ones because they overcome the natural dulling of your smell and taste that are the result of airplane conditions.\u00a0 As a result, what you might fall in love with in the air may taste overpowering when you order later, in a restaurant or shop.\u00a0 Steve once discovered a Cambria Syrah only to find he really didn\u2019t like it when he tasted it in California\u2019s Central Coast.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget that wine is alcohol.<\/strong>\u00a0 And you\u2019re going to feel it sooner and harder.\u00a0 So the general rule that you should sip not drink if you\u2019re wine tasting goes double up in the air.\u00a0 But it\u2019s soooo easy to forget.\u00a0 The movie is playing and the attendant keeps filling your glass, so why not have a little more, and a little more and\u2026<\/p>\n Once, Steve was flying home from Japan and asked the steward for one of those forms that you can use for comments.\u00a0 JAL had had to do a lot of maneuvering to get him on the plane and upgraded and he wanted to thank them.\u00a0 The steward must have broken protocol and read the comments, because he reappeared with a broad smile and a bottle of champagne.\u00a0 For the rest of the flight, he wouldn\u2019t let Steve\u2019s glass become empty, to the point that Steve had to fake sleeping in order to get him to stop.\u00a0 Or maybe he wasn\u2019t faking?<\/p>\n Airplanes bounce.<\/strong>\u00a0 If your flight is long enough, you\u2019re bound to hit some turbulence somewhere.\u00a0 And, lo and behold, wine will slosh.\u00a0 You could have a long way to go with red wine all over your pants.\u00a0 That\u2019s why airlines don\u2019t use stemware, so that their glasses, especially when filled, will have a lower center of gravity.\u00a0 So try not to have your glass filled to the top.\u00a0 Of course, you could drink quickly so there isn\u2019t much in the glass.\u00a0 Bad idea.\u00a0 Or you can ask the attendant not to pour too much, which also has its drawbacks.\u00a0 The flight attendants like to show the airlines\u2019 generosity to their higher-paying customers and so give you a lot and come back to give you more.\u00a0 However, they never seem to be there just when you\u2019d like another drop or two.\u00a0 For some of the more expensive wines, they may not have a lot of bottles on board, so if you don\u2019t take these fine wines when offered, they may not be there when you want them.\u00a0 Still, restraint is always a good approach.<\/p>\n All the above sounds like we\u2019re discouraging you from sipping wine in the air.\u00a0 Not so.\u00a0 We just hope that you do what you would do if you were on a tasting visit to Wine Country.\u00a0 Think about what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0 Use discretion.\u00a0 And then open your taste buds and your mind and taste what may prove to be something wonderful.\u00a0 Have a good time.\u00a0 And bon voyage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Airplanes are made for flying, not for tasting wine.\u00a0 Nonetheless, they serve wine on (some) airlines, so why not taste it?\u00a0 Well, for one thing, most of it is pretty awful.\u00a0 In economy, they have those little 187 ml. bottles that have labels like Chateau de Somewhere or Turkey Neck Cellars.\u00a0 Yes, it\u2019s liquid, contains … Continue reading Tasting at 35,000 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