Originally Posted by
STBCypriot
On a recent TATL flight, the woman sitting next to me asked for white wine and I was surprised that she was accomodated - in the past the preflight service for TATL flights included only champagne, orange juice, mimosas, or water. They generally don't want to open up a lot of different bottle of things before departure and they don't want to cut fruit for some reason (I must have a lime in my vodka and tonic).
My understanding is that they can't open a lot of the alcohol. An FA once explained that the alcohol is duty free and, accordingly, can only be served when outside a customs area.