BA Wine tasting in F
Mar 6, 2019, 11:48 am
#31
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BA should certainly not be endorsing these new world wines until they are fully tested and accepted by grandees of the likes of the STWC et al. Whilst the Grover does have a bronze award by Decantor for the region it certainly wouldn't match up to those in more developed wine regions in the world.
As for wine list for me is a reasonable offering at the bottom end of the scale although I would make the exception for the Haut-Bergey. All in all, I would never drink alcohol with a curry...period. A nice chilled glass of salted lassi or a fresh lime soda
The food looked very good and wholesome but perhaps better served in smaller bowls or a thali?
As for wine list for me is a reasonable offering at the bottom end of the scale although I would make the exception for the Haut-Bergey. All in all, I would never drink alcohol with a curry...period. A nice chilled glass of salted lassi or a fresh lime soda
The food looked very good and wholesome but perhaps better served in smaller bowls or a thali?
Mar 6, 2019, 12:20 pm
#32
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i think that calling Georgia ‘up and coming’ for wine is a bit odd. They have credible claims as the region with the oldest evidence of wine making and have been consistently (and successfully) keeping up with that tradition ever since. Georgia and Moldavia were consistently the two regions producing luxury wines throughout the history of the Russian empire and then Soviet Union. I agree with you on India and China.
PS: the very old Georgian wine making tradition also comes with a pretty lethal toasting tradition that makes it hard to go through a Georgian dinner without getting drunk and spending 3+ hours at the table!!
Mar 6, 2019, 12:36 pm
#33
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Mar 6, 2019, 2:42 pm
#34
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This was explained on another thread a few weeks ago where a an FT journalist used to be in charge of the wine selection for BA and left after Walsh took over the firm and put cuts everywhere.
Mar 6, 2019, 3:01 pm
#35
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Once the F product gets revamped I imagine the price/quality of the wine will match the higher cost those in the F cabin will be paying. Only then will the wine aficionados have cause to complain if the wine quality continues to be as bad as some make it out to be. I personally haven't a clue about wine so my F wine tasting experiences have all been a case of 'through the teeth, past the gums look out stomach here it comes'.
Mar 6, 2019, 3:12 pm
#36
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EK certainly have a way better wine selection than BA, which is why I'm planning an long adventure based on QF coded, EK operated A class....
Having said that, I had an (unadvertised) Grand Puy Lacoste 2006 (Pauillac, Bordeaux) in BA F a few weeks ago on LHR-JFK which was on par with EK's current "standard" F claret offering of Pontet Canet 2006 (Pauillac, Bordeaux) [Haut Brion 2004 is obviously in a much higher echelon but is only offered on a few flights]
Having said that, I had an (unadvertised) Grand Puy Lacoste 2006 (Pauillac, Bordeaux) in BA F a few weeks ago on LHR-JFK which was on par with EK's current "standard" F claret offering of Pontet Canet 2006 (Pauillac, Bordeaux) [Haut Brion 2004 is obviously in a much higher echelon but is only offered on a few flights]
Mar 7, 2019, 5:28 am
#37
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So basically, our taste buds are a bit "numbed" because of the air pressure onboard and we get the tastes less distinctly. This affects some of the fundamental taste functions (e.g. salty) more than others (e.g. bitter, sweet).
That's for the easy and well known part. And now the reasons why things are not so simple.
First, when it comes to taste as with anything human, individuals differ. Some will keep better distinctive capacities than others.
And of course, also as with everything human, "training" matters. If you have never left sea level and you suddenly find yourself on a 5,000 metres high trail in the Andes, you will likely find it very hard to walk without being exhausted. At the same time, if you happen to go to that 5000 metre high trail every week, your body will adapt and get much better at coping. It's pretty much the same with taste buds, if you fly a lot, you may have already realised that your taste buds are now better at discerning tastes than when you were a very rare flyer.
Then of course, some of the most modern planes, such as the 787 and 350 series have a much better air quality than, say, a 777 or a 747, and with better air quality comes better tasting.
Lastly, whilst we know that taste buds are not as effective high up, this is pretty much true for anything we eat or drink, not just wine, but bread and water, meat and fish, whisky and gin, fruit and veg. I'm yet to see anyone on FT suggesting that BA might as well offer rubbish gin, basic whisky or bad tomatoes because our taste buds don't perform as well in the air. I have been close enough to the expert wine world in the past to know that there can be a lot of snobbery as well as a lot of perfectionism about tasting procedures, and thus I can imagine some of the wine critics (or indeed of the wine producers) being a lot more vocal about the problems with tasting wine in the air compared to, say, crisps critics or tomato producers. It does not necessarily make the situation with wine any worse than with crisps, burgers, or tomatoes.
In fact, to a large extent, if you are among the people who think that you can taste the difference between a good fruit and a bad fruit and between a good whisky and a bad whisky at 30,000 ft, then there is really no reason why you should doubt your ability to distinguish between outstanding, good, and mediocre wines at the same altitude. Indeed, the endless discussions on Champagne on this board, including the frequently positive feedback on Grand Siecle should lead to people being just as demanding on other wines, of which Champagne is only one very distinctive type.
Last edited by orbitmic; Mar 7, 2019 at 3:18 pm Reason: Forgot a "not"
Mar 7, 2019, 3:03 pm
#38
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Indeed, the fact that taste buds do not work as well in the air and that this affects some of the fundamental tastes more than others is fairly well known on those pages, but whilst entirely true, it is a fact that can also easily be very over-simplified.
So basically, our taste buds are a bit "numbed" because of the air pressure onboard and we get the tastes less distinctly. This affects some of the fundamental taste functions (e.g. salty) less than others (e.g. bitter, sweet).
That's for the easy and well known part. And now the reasons why things are so simple.
First, when it comes to taste as with anything human, individuals differ. Some will keep better distinctive capacities than others.
And of course, also as with everything human, "training" matters. If you have never left sea level and you suddenly find yourself on a 5,000 metres high trail in the Andes, you will likely find it very hard to walk without being exhausted. At the same time, if you happen to go to that 5000 metre high trail every week, your body will adapt and get much better at coping. It's pretty much the same with taste buds, if you fly a lot, you may have already realised that your taste buds are now better at discerning tastes than when you were a very rare flyer.
Then of course, some of the most modern planes, such as the 787 and 350 series have a much better air quality than, say, a 777 or a 747, and with better air quality comes better tasting.
Lastly, whilst we know that taste buds are not as effective high up, this is pretty much true for anything we eat or drink, not just wine, but bread and water, meat and fish, whisky and gin, fruit and veg. I'm yet to see anyone on FT suggesting that BA might as well offer rubbish gin, basic whisky or bad tomatoes because our taste buds don't perform as well in the air. I have been close enough to the expert wine world in the past to know that there can be a lot of snobbery as well as a lot of perfectionism about tasting procedures, and thus I can imagine some of the wine critics (or indeed of the wine producers) being a lot more vocal about the problems with tasting wine in the air compared to, say, crisps critics or tomato producers. It does not necessarily make the situation with wine any worse than with crisps, burgers, or tomatoes.
In fact, to a large extent, if you are among the ones who think that you can taste the difference between a good fruit and a bad fruit and between a good whisky and a bad whisky at 30,000 ft, then there is really no reason why you should doubt your ability to distinguish between outstanding, good, and mediocre wines at the same altitude. Indeed, the endless discussions on Champagne on this board, including the frequently positive feedback on Grand Siecle should lead to people being just as demanding on other wines, of which Champagne is only one very distinctive type.
So basically, our taste buds are a bit "numbed" because of the air pressure onboard and we get the tastes less distinctly. This affects some of the fundamental taste functions (e.g. salty) less than others (e.g. bitter, sweet).
That's for the easy and well known part. And now the reasons why things are so simple.
First, when it comes to taste as with anything human, individuals differ. Some will keep better distinctive capacities than others.
And of course, also as with everything human, "training" matters. If you have never left sea level and you suddenly find yourself on a 5,000 metres high trail in the Andes, you will likely find it very hard to walk without being exhausted. At the same time, if you happen to go to that 5000 metre high trail every week, your body will adapt and get much better at coping. It's pretty much the same with taste buds, if you fly a lot, you may have already realised that your taste buds are now better at discerning tastes than when you were a very rare flyer.
Then of course, some of the most modern planes, such as the 787 and 350 series have a much better air quality than, say, a 777 or a 747, and with better air quality comes better tasting.
Lastly, whilst we know that taste buds are not as effective high up, this is pretty much true for anything we eat or drink, not just wine, but bread and water, meat and fish, whisky and gin, fruit and veg. I'm yet to see anyone on FT suggesting that BA might as well offer rubbish gin, basic whisky or bad tomatoes because our taste buds don't perform as well in the air. I have been close enough to the expert wine world in the past to know that there can be a lot of snobbery as well as a lot of perfectionism about tasting procedures, and thus I can imagine some of the wine critics (or indeed of the wine producers) being a lot more vocal about the problems with tasting wine in the air compared to, say, crisps critics or tomato producers. It does not necessarily make the situation with wine any worse than with crisps, burgers, or tomatoes.
In fact, to a large extent, if you are among the ones who think that you can taste the difference between a good fruit and a bad fruit and between a good whisky and a bad whisky at 30,000 ft, then there is really no reason why you should doubt your ability to distinguish between outstanding, good, and mediocre wines at the same altitude. Indeed, the endless discussions on Champagne on this board, including the frequently positive feedback on Grand Siecle should lead to people being just as demanding on other wines, of which Champagne is only one very distinctive type.
Last edited by icegirl; Mar 7, 2019 at 3:08 pm