Stranger

I saw the French wine (Corbieres, Bertrand) at Costco today. $15.00.

BenSenise

is that before or after tax? here in BC it's $20 + 15% at BC Liquor Stores.

Stranger

Probably before. So add 0.10 bottle plus 5%, end up with $15.85.

But remember, for international flights, not only do they not pay taxes, also not custom duties, so probably quite a bit less.

mapleg

Either way no matter where you are a 15 to 20 buck bottle at retail. May as well just drink the champagne.

Stranger

Sure. But I also like a glass of red wine. Anyway, I would be ashamed serving wines at that price point to hosts at home.

AleEat

Although I enjoy a Corbieres I'd be more likely to serve it in a casual context, say, with cold cuts and cheese or a hearty stew - it's hardly a wine that is consistent with an "executive/first" experience and looks totally out of place next to even a modest Champagne.

I don't fly International often but when I do, I find the AC wines to be decidedly underwhelming (hence I drain a number of glasses of the Champagne.)

At the risk of raising the ire of the mods (although I do think the information to be relevant in helping to establish a reasonable expectation of what AC could/should offer), what are some examples of wines served on other lines?

songsc

ANA and EVA post their menus online. You can find the wine list from there.

Stranger

They are not as good as they used to be. This said, price point is still at least twice the AC one, possibly more.

BenSenise

Wow, what a bunch of wine snobs!

what does the price of a bottle have to do with whether you would serve it to company or not? i've bought bottles of bordeaux here that were $50 and absolutely foul. So foul that I could not drink them and I poured them down the drain. Should I serve those anyway or a great tasting $20-25 bottle of wine?

I find it hard to believe that people could judge what should or shouldn't be served in AC J solely by its price. There are many great wines that are inexpensive and loads of lousy wines that are expensive.

AleEat

All true. But your guests at home are not paying customers.

Stranger

Obviously it's not solely by price. This said, I don't find that there is a better indicator of quality than price. To start with, there is a definite significant connection between production cost and quality. Yield being an important factor. Soil too.

Obviously exceptions happen, and there are better and worse wines at comparable prices, but only within reason. But if a $50 bottle is absolutely foul, then the issue is likely with that particular bottle, not the wine itself.

What can happen is that for similar prices, wines from a less known region end up better. But that's clearly not the issue here. Already factored in, and the AC selection is actually not bad for the price, not bad at all. But that does not make it acceptable.

Bottom line: I would not have taken the job of AC sommelier given their budget.

BenSenise

I think it would be a wonderful challange. i'm all about value; finding the gem for cheap.

AleEat

It's certainly fun in the context of home use or for a small restaurant. Finding "gems" in the quantities required by an airline however adds a less fun dimension to the challenge.

BenSenise

Good point. I started thinking about AC doing a Canadian wine promotion but then I realized that the entire production from a single vinyard wouldn't be enough.

Does anyone have any idea of how many bottles of a particular wine AC buys? Any wild guesses?

ACfly