BOTTLE SERVICE: How Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson curates the perfect wines for Delta Air Lines

DELTA WINE consultant and Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson samples thousands of wines each year to winnow down the final selections for the airline's in-flight experience. Her palate is legendary, but wine is not where her career began.

- KATIE KELLY BELL

Robinson started as an investment banker in New York City at Morgan Stanley. "It turned out to be the perfect job," she tells Business Traveler, "because you could attend classes for free at Mary Ewing-Mulligan's International Wine Center and Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World." After she completed the analyst program at Morgan Stanley, Robinson's growing passion for wine led her to pivot and head to Bordeaux to work the wine harvest. She later returned to New York to work in the industry—a career change that ultimately led her to become the fourth woman in the world to earn the title of Master Sommelier.

She's also a former dean of the French Culinary Institute, winner of three James Beard Awards, author of four top-selling books, and designer of a stemware line, The One. In 2007, a decade after earning her Master Sommelier title, Delta came calling. Says Robinson, "They were rebranding the international premium cabin as Business Elite, and they wanted to bring a personality to the wine program that fit the pedigree."

More importantly, Robinson notes that she and Delta wanted the experience to be about hospitality, wine education and wine connection. "To me," says Robinson, "the thing that truly aligns with the allure of travel is the food and beverage."

A domestic First Class dinner service on Delta Air Lines; a few of the in-flight wines; Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier

Robinson became the fourth woman to earn the title of Master Sommelier.