Great airlines have figured it out. One of the best meals I've ever enjoyed, on the ground or in the air, was a 7 course Georges Blanc dinner ZRH-SIN on SQ.

Quite true

I don't think this was an issue at all although a non-revenue flight for the airline typically doesn't generate miles for one's acct.

No irony icon?

How does one get this job?!? You realize of course that you must be in the air AND flying to/from the region where the wine was produced. Wouldn't be a meaningful test otherwise.

eponymous_coward

the groups were unidentified. maybe all skid row drunks. maybe all beer drinkers. neither chicago nor cal tech are renown for their research purity.

should also like to point out that the industry does not think that price points to quality. i see all these puppies who do not know cab from toilet water from md 20-20 dicussing their luv for cristal or dom, or some such that they have had for 10 years?????

None. I quite prefer UA's filet mignon to the lottery that is LH C or LX C. As I mentioned, I'm not much of an haute diner, so I'd rather go for the meat-and-potatoes approach.

And I've never had a really bad red wine to go with it. Mediocre, yes. But given that I can't tell a $10 and a $100 botte of wine apart, I'm easy to please with the basics.

I have had most fun with wines in LX F and NZ C. Both presented wines that were not famous but were thoroughly excellent and wonderful advertisements for their countries of origin. The biggest disappointment has been TG F where the wines have been consistently poor.

+1

I've also taken a big liking to the Filet Mignon coupled with the Malbec. ^ The porto afterwards is also not bad, but the malbec and beef has almost become comfort food for me when flying trans-pacific.

not sure if it's the same malbec but the 2008 callia alta being served in domestic f is great ^

Wines tasted are not the wines served
 

I think you're right, but what's even worse is that the wines on the plane are not the ones on the menu. That is, the wine list says one thing, but many times, they are not even serving those wines.

So the wines this guy tasted may be nice, but you're not getting these wines up in the air at all. Instead, you're usually getting some cheaper, lower quality, substitute, even if that printed wine list says that they're serving something else. Next time, check the label and see if it matches with the wine list; many times, it does not.

I constantly experienced that with United in C and F, whether domestic or international. It was actually pretty comical to ask for the one or two good wines on the list knowing that there was almost no way those wines were on board.

That conditioning got me into trouble the one time I flew LH F and I asked the FA which of the wines on the list were on board. With a touch of indignation, she scolded me, "All of them, of course!" So I had a lovely premier cru burgundy with my guinea hen. This was also the flight in which I heard the most wonderful words I have ever heard from a flight attendant: "I will leave the cart here for when you want more caviar." :D!!

:eek: (though I admit that until I made the boast here a few years ago,
I had uniformly good luck with steaks on UA. Now, it's a lottery, but
one that I do occasionally win.

I have twice been served a perfectly fine mediumish filet while my
seatmate got a horrid one - one as incinerated as you are allowed to
do on a plane, the other so putrefied I could smell it from away away.

OMG...

Wine in UA C is no better than 2 Buck Chuck. And the food is Army MRE quality. Nasty. I refuse to even eat UA's First offering. As for the Filet mignon on UA, the over cooked questionable meat is not even worthy enough to call it steak. Outback has better food (and their food is not edible either). As for the wines most on UA flights, (even First) the wine is not drinkable.

Long haul SQ First, different story.

Wow.

FC wine report August 2010
 

We flew AA FC from AUS-FRA recently. We were given a special wine menu which was in celebration of 25 years of something. The wines were picked by a group of big wigs and were supposed to be really good. I can honestly say that they were among the worst wines I've ever had. The house reds at a dumpy bar would taste better. Now, we only paid $ 9000.00 for C class seats, then used VIP upgrades for the FC seats.....but I would think that we would get a decent glass of vino for nine grand.

On our return from Budapest, we arrived at the airport to find our BA flight to London canceled due to the French ( of course ) air traffic controllers striking because they didn't want to work to 62 before retirement! We were re-booked on LH from FRA-IAH. This was my first time on a LH flight. The wines, along with the food and service were impeccable.

AA has lost my business for now on when going international.

One does not fly domestic airlines (or most airlines, really) for the wine. I'd say the only airlines you'd fly for the wine are Singapore and perhaps some of the Japanese carriers. And maybe Air France.