Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Iced Red Wine -- Last Attempt

I have been yelled at in this forum for bringing this up again already, and I promise this is the last time I try:

Cathay, why the hell do you believe red wine has to be served ice cold?

I only fly out of FRA and out of HKG, but each and every time the wine is ice cold because it is stored in the same box as the white wine. This is nothing new, it is the same for at least ten years when I first complained about it.

Why can most other airlines store their wines seperately? It is especially a shame as your wines, dear Cathay, are of great quality and you invest a lot in them - and by this treatment you just kill them.

I saw cabin crew putting red wine in the oven after take off, but that cannot be the real cure.

I am sure there is someone at CX who can take this minor decision just with one command to his people -- but who is this? The person in charge of beverage service is for sure a guy who either never drank red wine in his life -- or -- never actually flew his own airline.

Especially on late flights, you get in, want some red wine, and sleep -- and do not want to wait for five hours until it is up to temperature. Plus, the temperature shock is sure not good for the wine.

I am somebody who pays full fare on CX F all the time, and also drinks fine wine at own cost -- I am actually starting to bring wine from duty free into CX if this does not change.

Please, CX forum, help me to find out who can finally decide this. I am not demanding new aircraft, better lounges etc, just something that CX can probably achieve for free.

Thanks for reading, and I will keep quiet about this topic after this thread is finished.

OP - Mind if I ask, in your experience, did any airlines doing that in the right way?

That's strange. I fly JFK/HKG, and never had this issue with their red wine. It's always served at room temperature. That being said I've only flown J and Y, not F (although a bit counter-intuitive to think wine in F gets treated worse than those in J/Y). Could it be a crew issue or different galley setup between different aircraft?

You are not allowed to bring your own wine on board to drink. Experienced one F pax trying to do that and captain had to get involved.

You are not allowed to bring your own wine on board to drink. Experienced one F pax trying to do that and captain had to get involved.

True in rules, but in reality depends on the crew. Back when the lounge in SFO was still BA and they served Sierra Nevada, I would frequently bring beer on the plane with me into J and F. Usually the crew was happy to oblige if I asked nicely.

You are not allowed to bring your own wine on board to drink. Experienced one F pax trying to do that and captain had to get involved.

did that on LH, CA, KA, SZ so far. never tried on CX.

OP - Mind if I ask, in your experience, did any airlines doing that in the right way?

hi gary,

yes, no issues with this so far at least on LH and EK

I've also had red wine served at too cold a temperature in CX F. Not all the time, but often enough to be noticeable.

This isn't only a CX issue. I've had wine served iced cold on a few AA flights as well.

Perhaps the wine was kept along with the Hagan Daaz ice cream which is usually hard as a rock.

http://www.vinography.com/archives/2011/04/airline_wine_nearly_everything.html

(UA's sommelier...)

Doug Frost wrote:04.04.11 at 8:02 AM
Benito - I'm very convinced that altitude and especially lack of humidity in the cabin has an impact upon the wines. Wines at 30,000 feet have less oomph to them, if nothing else is measurable. So that's why I really focus upon making sure there is lots of fresh fruit. It would probably be ideal to choose wines that have some residual sugar for the same reasons, but I'm sure that would turn off a significant number of customers.

Scott - I don't think those wines suck; I really don't. I'll admit that they are (or can be) boring, simple, fruity and little else. But I've put Hayes Ranch Chardonnay (we serve that) in blind tastings and had smart people tell me it's high quality California Chardonnay. Reds at those price levels and in those little bottles tend towards even more simplicity, I suppose. But the biggest complaint I hear is that the red wine is cold. Yep, busted. We load them with the other drinks and they're chilled. But I'd rather my wine is too cold than too hot.

All the wine gets stored together in special areas to prevent duty being charged. And that means everything gets chilled...

I dont have much experience on CX but do find it interesting that when red wine is served at a correct temperature it is schoffed at by some because it is slightly cool. Red wine served too warm bothers me more to be honest as its not so easy to cool it down but too cold then I can just wait a bit and it will be at a preferred temp.

If you dont like ice cold red wine do not go to a local Thai restaurant in Thailand. They always keep the red wine int the fridge.

I am somebody who pays full fare on CX F all the time, and also drinks fine wine at own cost -- I am actually starting to bring wine from duty free into CX if this does not change.




So you will continue to pay Cathay a lot of money, and cost them less by bringing your own beverage? Sounds like a win for Cathay, you'd think they'd love it.:D

I usually find the reverse happens.

The champagne that is served is usually warmer than it should be.

At least with red it can warm to room temperature in your glass. With warm champas, it will only get warmer :D