TOP-FLIGHT VINTAGES
Business Traveller UK|March 2020
Who serves the best onboard wine, and which bottles should you choose?
HANNAH BRANDLER
TOP-FLIGHT VINTAGES

Over two busy days at the end of November, some of the world’s finest wine experts assembled to select the best bottles served by airlines in business and first class in 2019. Our judges – masters of wine Sarah Abbott, Tim Atkin and Peter McCombie, journalist and wine writer Kathryn McWhirter and head judge Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge – took up residence at London’s Amba Hotel Grosvenor in Victoria to conduct extensive tastings.

Business Traveller’s Cellars in the Sky awards has been running since 1985. This year, 35 airlines entered, with judges sampling more than 250 bottles to find the winners. The competition is open to any carrier that serves wine in business or first class on mid- or long-haul routes, with each airline invited to enter two reds, two whites, a rosé (a new category), a sparkling, and a fortified or dessert wine from both cabins. Although they can compete in as many categories as they like, to be eligible for the overall award of Best Cellar they had to enter at least one red, white and sparkling wine.

All of the tasting is done blind, meaning the judges are not aware of the wine make or the airline that entered it. Given their extensive knowledge, “blind tasting is the only way to do it properly”, Metcalfe said. To ensure their anonymity, bottles were encased in black plastic bags labelled simply with a letter and two numbers. I watched, for example, as the judges silently filled their glasses with the first flight of first class white wines – or, as they had come to be known, FC1 (followed by an additional number to differentiate each entry).

This story is from the March 2020 edition of Business Traveller UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2020 edition of Business Traveller UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BUSINESS TRAVELLER UKView All
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
Business Traveller UK

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills

A highlight is the rooftop pool, which is a tropical oasis for post-meeting R&R

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
The Peninsula London
Business Traveller UK

The Peninsula London

The design is all about natural light, greenery and open-plan spaces

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Raffles London at The OWO
Business Traveller UK

Raffles London at The OWO

A stay at Raffles London at The OWO is bucket-list worthy

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 business class HO CHI MINH CITY-LONDON
Business Traveller UK

Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 business class HO CHI MINH CITY-LONDON

The bedding was nice - with pre-attached seat protector plus soft pillow and silky duvet

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 business class CASABLANCA-LONDON GATWICK
Business Traveller UK

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 business class CASABLANCA-LONDON GATWICK

The service was great throughout the flight and the cabin crew were very friendly

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Istanbul
Business Traveller UK

Istanbul

Mosques, subterranean reservoirs and waterside attractions in the cosmopolitan Turkish city

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Barking mad
Business Traveller UK

Barking mad

Hoteliers worldwide are reaching for their dog bowls to meet the increasing demand of business travellers bringing their pets

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
BANGKOK RENAISSANCE
Business Traveller UK

BANGKOK RENAISSANCE

Whether it's extended metro lines, the huge number of new hotels or the parks springing up in the heart of the city, Thailand's capital is so much more than a stopover destination

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2024
GRAPE EXPECTATIONS
Business Traveller UK

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS

Discover the best wines available in the sky - and why you should avoid bold tannins inflight

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
RISKY BUSINESS
Business Traveller UK

RISKY BUSINESS

Business travellers need their wits about them more than ever these days with strategies in place should the worst happen

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2024