Aviation: High-Flying Tipples

We peek into the cellars of some international airlines to understand the selection process of their premium wines

- Sanchita Nambiar

As George Ettiyil, senior director sales, south asia, Lufthansa Group Airlines explains, while serving meals and beverages onboard, the biggest element to be considered is the change in the sensory perception at a high altitude. Especially, when it comes to selecting still and sparkling wines like champagne, the airlines must take into account several factors to ensure that the beverage tastes almost the same at an altitude of 30,000 feet as it does at sea-level. Although, taste is quite subjective, as it is our palates that experience a shift and not the wine served up while flying. Airlines now work with notable sommeliers or/and an entire expert team to choose an array of grape varietals that would please all kinds of palates.

Giving insights on the criteria for selecting wine on Cathay Pacific’s inflight F&B programme, Mark Sutch, the airline’s regional general manager, south Asia, Middle East and Africa says, “When selecting them, we consciously remind ourselves of the changes that occur to our taste buds during flights due to the lack of humidity, lower air pressure and background noise. Research indicates that the sensitivity of our taste buds reduces by up to 30 per cent when in air, so we choose wines that work especially well at a high altitude. Fruity wines with low acidity and low tannins are such examples, and this is one of the reasons we serve Beaujolais, a French wine.”

MASTER WINE CURATORS