Originally Posted by
j2simpso
Great to hear an expert's opinion on the matter. Out of curiosity, do Canadian wines cost more than globally sourced ones? In particular, can you get a decent Canadian wine at the kind of price points AC is paying? In other words, is AC even get the best available wine for the limited dollars they invest or are they just being lazy here? Perhaps we should keep track of the booze offered on board (incl cabin and routes) to get a better understanding of where "on the map" the various booze options are.
Looking at the on-board
menus I could find (fellow FTers please point out other wine options offered), the BoB options seemed to be a choice of a selection of Paul Mas wines, Bottega Gold for the sparkling wine along with a selection of "Premium wines". On the booze side it seems limited Moloson-Coors for the domestic and Heineken for the INTL with Mill Street and Granville Island being the hipster options. Spirits seems to be your usual bottom shelf options (Smirnoff, Canadian Club, Baileys, etc.)
As for myself, I'm not much of a wine person more of a gin n' tonic person. Sadly, AC no longer accepts my UA/CO drink coupons for redeeming those on flights so will need to stick with the reds. I'm somewhat curious why AC doesn't have a
Water Sommelier. I suspect there are many passengers with a discriminating palate towards the mouth feel and other characteristics of water (sparkling or still). At 38,000 feet a refreshing glass of the clear stuff can make all the difference!
Safe Travels,
James
For economy, I'd have to say it's almost certainly beyond what AC is willing to pay. From what I've seen most of the wines (Paul Mas) are from southern France (Languedoc region) which are known for bulk wine production more than quality. There is quality wine from there, but it's not going to be cheap. Bottega is low end prosecco (sparkling). That's why it's often used to make mimosa's and bellini's. But hey, to the general public, sparkles = champagne, which is not the case. Sparkles also = pop...
The reality is that Canada makes little wine in terms of global numbers. Part of it, is lack of vineyard acreage planted and the higher cost of labour. We're also a young wine growing region, even younger when it comes to growing real noble grapes (vitis vinifera) and not the baby duck junk.
Another factor (not to do with price so much) is that we as Canadians have a hard time supporting our own, until we have "acceptance" by others. This isn't exclusive to wines, but for MANY industries.
$30 gets you a great Canadian sparkling wine, $30 won't even get you Champagne here (yes, I know taxes), but with the quality of our sparkling getting better and better, who cares? And yes I love Champagne. Nice region, Excellent wines. Go to $50 and you're getting notes that start to rival vintage Champagne at a 1/3 of the price. Benjamin Bridge and Henry of Pelham's Cuvee Catherine Carte Blanche immediately come to mind.
Maybe I should do a trip report about my trip there in Oct...
Originally Posted by
Cozmo456
@
iceblueshoes I think that Pearl Morrissette is outside their price range and PM may not be handle to volume needed.
Tantalus is great. I had some out west two weeks ago.
My comment about the Rieslings was the absolute bad quality of Rieslings served. These are $7 bottles.
I'd not expect AC (or any airline) to serve PM, I merely meant it as an example of an excellent Canadian wine. I do agree that they likely wouldn't be able to provide the #'s needed even if they increased the budget.
But there are other wineries that offer mid to higher range offerings with higher production #'s. Start small with just a few routes and/or select locations. Then go from there.