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"champagne" in delta one between jfk and zrh

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"champagne" in delta one between jfk and zrh

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Old Jun 4, 2019, 9:14 am
  #1  
nrr
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"champagne" in delta one between jfk and zrh

Per the menu the "champagne" has an apple flavor which IMHO is awful, hence the "" marks. [I've had the same issue on AA.]
Flying in D1 they should offer "superior" champagne (I'm not expecting Dom P) but something without "flavoring",
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 9:31 am
  #2  
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Did you see the bottle?

The airlines (at least the US3) sometimes do the sneaky thing of pouring the sparkling crap they opened on the ground (so they can pay taxes on a cheaper bottle) to you in the air instead of opening up a new bottle of the better stuff like they are supposed to do
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 9:40 am
  #3  
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I always stress that I want the real French champagne, from the Champagne region of France. Some FAs will still try to serve me the prosecco or moscato during the flight, and sometimes when I point it out (yes, I can indeed recognize the difference), they claim that they didn't know it was different. When I get a refill, I always ask to see the bottle.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 9:42 am
  #4  
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Just because you didn’t like the taste does not mean it suddenly isn’t champagne.

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Old Jun 4, 2019, 10:23 am
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Plenty of Champagnes like your "superior" brand Dom Pérignon have apple notes.
Of course they don't serve 400EUR Champagne in Delta One but no complaints here about awful apple flavors last month on my AMS-MSP-AMS trip when the FA's served me Delta's cooled Champagne Gardet Premier Cru with 'vibrant sweet apple and red fruit notes in the nose and palate'.
If you don't like flavors may i suggest their San Pellegrino.

If any of you ever fly to/have a stop at CDG; within one hour you are in the Champagne area. Plenty of smaller Champagne houses/farmers who sell good Champagne at a great price-quality ratio.

Last edited by Grouchy; Jun 4, 2019 at 10:56 am
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 11:04 am
  #6  
 
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Delta’s champagne - usually Lanson or Charles
Heidsieck - is pretty credible stuff, and the price per bottle and quality is competitive with other airlines in J.

The catch is that the predeparture beverage is poured as cheap cava or Prosecco. If you’re judging the champagne based on that glass, that’s why you’re unhappy. Best to skip the predeparture beverage and instead order the champagne off the cart once aloft.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 11:22 am
  #7  
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I think the OP is saying the menu describes the champagne on offer as having notes of apple. That is different from having a flavored sparkling beverage (or the cheap PDB stuff).

To the OP: lots of fancy wines and champagnes are described by wine enthusiasts of "having notes of" or "tastes of" various things -- different fruits, spices, even things like smoke or leather. These are all natural byproducts of the winemaking process and don't mean anything has been added or flavored in the wine. Delta's D1 international champagne -- once up at altitude, not the cheaper stuff served pre-departure -- is a perfectly respectable champagne offering for international business class.

Last edited by bgriff; Jun 4, 2019 at 11:47 am
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 11:45 am
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Well the OP is out of luck when flying Delta . Last month they still served the Champagne Gardet Premier Cru; A really gorgeous, balanced, elegant Champagne with vibrant sweet apple and red fruit notes in the nose and palate. Beautifully integrated and subtle, with a toasty-biscuity finish.

That one has been replaced this month in the summer menu (at least for AMS) with Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne; A classic French Champagne, yeasty, toasty, baked apple.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 12:02 pm
  #9  
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Over a 50 year period I've visited Reims and Epernay many times and visited many of the "big" champagne producers, at the end of the tour you get to sample (for a fee) some nice champagne--I'm certain none of these had apple under/over tones.
Yes, what I was served in flight was (as noted in #8 ) Gardet.
What is most annoying (to me) is that AA in their Flagship lounge and DL in the SC serves some nice champagne, yet on the plane they serve stuff of lesser quality.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 12:14 pm
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I always wonder why people care so much about the wine or champagne they have in flight.

Even if it’s some rare and pricey Grand Cru or Dom or whatever, your olfactory senses do so not detect the full flavor profile of the product in an 8000ft cabin vs. on the ground. So save that experience for a true tasting room or winery.

I’d rather just take a Sweetwater beer or Woodford and call it a night.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 12:15 pm
  #11  
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Not to pile in on, but the OP seems to have confused the flavors present with flavorings.

I shudder to think what they might think about a wine with “barnyard” aromas.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 12:18 pm
  #12  
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Originally Posted by nrr
Over a 50 year period I've visited Reims and Epernay many times and visited many of the "big" champagne producers, at the end of the tour you get to sample (for a fee) some nice champagne--I'm certain none of these had apple under/over tones.
Yes, what I was served in flight was (as noted in #8 ) Gardet.
What is most annoying (to me) is that AA in their Flagship lounge and DL in the SC serves some nice champagne, yet on the plane they serve stuff of lesser quality.
Given that Dom has notes of guava and grapefruit, I truly don’t understand why you think apple notes indicate lesser quality.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 12:21 pm
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Originally Posted by nrr
Over a 50 year period I've visited Reims and Epernay many times and visited many of the "big" champagne producers, at the end of the tour you get to sample (for a fee) some nice champagne--I'm certain none of these had apple under/over tones.
Yes, what I was served in flight was (as noted in #8 ) Gardet.
What is most annoying (to me) is that AA in their Flagship lounge and DL in the SC serves some nice champagne, yet on the plane they serve stuff of lesser quality.
I think you are 100% justified in your complaint. The quality of DL catering has been deteriorating at a rapid pace. My first overseas J flight on DL, which was only a couple years ago, the retail price of wines was $25-$30. Now it is down to $10-$12. Domestic F is even worse for wine. Food is also going downhill quickly. I think I do have realistic expectations...perhaps a $20-$25 retail wine in intl J and $10 retail wine in domestic F. Most of my flights are on my own dime...and although I do not specifically book the flights I do for food or wine, it is part of the overall experience, and when a part of the experience becomes cheap...then the whole experience becomes perceived as cheap. Therefore, I do not buy F/J unless it is REALLY cheap...like the experience I receive.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 1:01 pm
  #14  
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I wish people focussed on the taste of the wine rather than the price.

I've had expensive wines that have tasted awful and cheap wines that have been phenomenal.
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Old Jun 4, 2019, 1:04 pm
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Got this profile once from one of the smaller Champagne houses where i sometimes stop by to get my Champagne.
A. Apple/fruity notes shouldn't come at a surprise.
B. Don't indicate lesser quality;

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