The sky is one of the few places you don’t have to worry about wine—ordering the right one, or adhering to norms about what and when to drink. Even in business class, where the wine list might include rarer vintages and food pairing suggestions, comfort is the operating principle.
On a recent United Polaris flight to Tokyo, I had nearly fourteen hours to work my way through a wine list without heeding the conventions I’d ordinarily follow on land.
Pair the full-bodied, beef-friendly Shafer Vineyards TD-9 Stag’s Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon with my light vegetarian entree of roasted cauliflower and ricotta white bean purée? Absolutely. Enjoy a duo of Whispering Angel rosé and Diet Coke with my ice cream sundae? There was no one to stop me (or judge). Along with breakfast the next morning, or whatever time it was, I tasted the Taylor Fladgate Porto, just because I had a few more hours to kill and I was curious.
It takes a lot of work to create an experience that feels so casually, luxuriously carefree. On the airline side, crafting a business class wine list requires not only the expertise you need to make one on land, but also an intimate knowledge of how well wines “fly.”
How Altitude Impacts How We Taste
“In an airplane, the dry atmosphere can dull the olfactory senses, muting aromas and flavors,” says sommelier Lisa Redwine, who selects the wines for private jet charter operator Schubach Aviation. “Additionally, the reduced air pressure alters the way we perceive the structure of wines, often skewing the perception of tannins and acidity, which can make some wines taste overly harsh or astringent.”
Research shows that even cues as subtle as cutlery and glassware impact our flavor perception of food and drink. But wrapped in a fluffy Saks Fifth Avenue duvet and almost fully reclined on a lie-flat seat, I probably would have enjoyed just about anything. (How else to explain my fascination with the flight map, which I watched like an action film for the majority of the journey?) Still, the facts matter.
“The emerging science of gastrophysics is increasingly starting to help some of the more progressive airlines to nudge their food offering toward a better place,” observed Oxford researcher Charles Spence in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. “This is an important, if little-studied topic, given that a billion meals are served on airplanes every year.”
Thankfully, in recent years, a number of airlines have seriously upgraded their wine offerings, often by tapping award-winning somms and critics to curate their menus.
In May, Air France announced that Xavier Thuizat, head sommelier at Hôtel de Crillon, would oversee the wine, Champagne and spirits list in all the travel cabins, including economy.
Impressively, the newer, business-class-only boutique carrier La Compagnie serves a menu of exclusively organic wines, which French wine critics Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve curate monthly.
Some airlines, like Qantas and Emirates, have begun offering education classes to staff.
Others have even begun serving their own wines: All Nippon Airlines serves custom red and white blends crafted specifically to hold up well at 30,000+ feet, and Air New Zealand just announced its own label, Thirteen Forty Five, in partnership with NZ wine producer Villa Maria.
Emirates has a cellar of rare, aged wines in Bordeaux, with some bottles matured up to 15 years, to offer business class passengers.
The Wines That Perform Best Surprise the Pros
For longtime United wine and beverage consultant Doug Frost, one of just a small handful of individuals to simultaneously hold the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier titles, figuring out which wines would do best in the air was a whole new education.
Over two decades ago, when he began curating wines for United, Frost had the idea to avoid higher alcohol wines, given what we know about altitude and tipsiness. He quickly had to abandon this. “As my understanding of how wines present in the air evolved,” says Frost. “I realized that my avoidance of higher alcohol wines was at odds with my need to select wines with distinct and overt expression.”
Frost notes that most wines are muted in the sky, due to a range of environmental factors from cabin air dryness and pressure. “There have been wines that we have tried on the ground that you think, oh, this is really nice, a really nice light, wonderful Pinot Noir that I would have at home,” says Aaron McMillan, managing director of hospitality programs at United. “And then Doug will say, ‘It’s not going to fly.’”
McMillan, who refers to the airlines’ food and beverage program as “the largest restaurant you’ve never heard of,” notes that in order to fill one Polaris wine slot for a three-month period, which is how the wine list is typically rotated, the airline needs roughly 6,000 cases.
The latest research in gastrophysics, a growing area of study concerned with the physics of taste, is starting to explain why some wines “fly” better than others. Not only does our olfactory functioning become less sensitive in the low pressure environment of an airplane cabin, to the point that our perception of saltiness is decreased 30% and sweetness 20%, but even factors like the roar of the engine and general stress of air travel mess with our taste.
For example: Around a quarter of people who order a Bloody Mary on the plane never order one on land.
“It's salty, flavourful and really wakes up your taste buds,” says Ryan Sullivan, an airline pilot and CAPS-certified sommelier who takes the sky drinking experience very seriously when he flies as a leisure passenger. “This is why it's so important to not sip overly tannic wines or wines that are delicate and nuanced, one would overpower any fruit component and the other, simply missed.”
How to Order In-Flight Wine Like A Pro
To make the most of your inflight drinking experience, we asked wine experts about what to look for when ordering a glass.
Favor Fruit-Forward Wines
Airlines have been found to consistently favor fruitier varietals with low acid and low tannins. In general, when Sullivan is traveling as a leisure passenger, he avoids tannic or “nuanced, earthy wines” and goes for youthful fruit-forward ones.
“Wines with serious structure like a young Left Bank Bordeaux or a young Super Tuscan would have too much tannin and acidity with not enough ‘fruit’ flavors coming through due your dulled senses,” says Sullivan. “I find wines that are softer in structure and more fruit-forward tend to be more enjoyable.”
Jeannie Cho Lee MW, a wine consultant for Singapore Air, put it to us like this: “Our physical condition changes during flights: Red wines taste more tannic, and white wines more acidic. Thus, we opt for wines that lean towards clear flavors and fruit definition.”
While red wines can be challenging due to their tannic structure, Redwine has found plenty of lighter reds that work great in the sky. “California Pinot Noir is an excellent choice, as its bright acidity, lower tannin content and red fruit aromas combat the challenges of the drier environment,” she says. “Another great option is a California Merlot dominant blend, or an interesting blend that consists of Zinfandel or Grenache. These varietals provide the perfect amount of structure while retaining a juicy fruit character.”
Taste that Champagne After Takeoff, not Before
The Champagne that’s served in the sky (and listed on your business class wine list) is a different one than the Champagne passed out when you take your seat. “My biggest recommendation is that people ask to try the Champagne after the flight takes off,” says Frost, because more often than not, the bubbles listed on your wine list—a juicy, round Champagne Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut on my recent flight—will be a superior one.
That said, most Champagnes have a high likelihood of tasting excellent in the sky. “To me, ultimately, the most enjoyable in-flight offering is sparkling wine,” says Redwine. “The effervescence and texture of the wine is magnified in the dry environment of the flying experience.”
Higher Alcohol Wines Are Generally a Good Bet
Higher alcohol wines “most often have greater volume of flavor and aroma,” says Frost, and are “more likely to be expressive in the low volatility environment of a plane cabin at 30,000 feet.”
Order Mini Pours to Experience the Most Variety
Frost also recommends that business class passengers order small tastes of a range of wines before committing to a full glass. You might worry about bothering the flight attendants, but “they like to see passengers have fun with the wine and enjoy it,” Frost says.
The Polaris wine list, for example, typically rotates every three months, though the rosé and Champagne bottles remain longer because they are so popular. Iberia rotates its wine list quarterly, while Emirates updates its wines as frequently as every two weeks.
“We can only put so much wine on the airplane, and we want to make sure that we have a good variety,” says McMillan, who notes that the standard offering is two whites, three reds, a rose and a Champagne. “We encourage passengers to get a small pour and try different things.”
Remain Open to Surprises (Like Red Burgundy)
Even as our gastrophysical understanding of airline drinking grows more sophisticated, it can still be unpredictable.
“It stands to reason that lighter-styled, subtler wines handle that suppression less well than bigger, bombastic wines,” says Frost. “But there are surprises, and red Burgundy has definitely been one of them. Even though I have been apprehensive with wines like Savigny-lès-Beaunes, for instance, those wines have performed well in the sky. I have no idea why.”
That’s what keeps the work interesting—and enjoyable while flying, too. “Like with so much about wine, you keep an open mind and try to observe what is happening rather than fixate on what you think is supposed to happen,” he adds.
More Travel Coverage
- Ten expert-recommended travel hacks for your next wine trip.
- The airport bars where drink pros spend their layovers.
- How to pack wine in your suitcase, according to experienced pros.
- How to master the art of the in-flight cocktail.
- The best wine festivals in America, according to drink pros.
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Published: November 18, 2024
