New in-flight wine cellar: Emirates focuses on France and forgets Italian wines
Emirates is the airline with the largest in-flight wine cellar ever. With the introduction of the cabin [...]
Emirates
DXB
United Arab Emirates
Emirates is the airline that boasts the largest on-board wine cellar in the world. With The introduction of the premium economy cabin, which the carrier is gradually installing on its Airbus A380s, the varieties of wine served on board have grown further, and Today there are a total of 36 whites, reds, rosés, sparkling wines and champagnes.
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Of course, not all 36 labels are found on board all planes and on all flights. Also because, in First and Business Class, Dubai-based airline adopts different in-flight cellars by geographic area, with the aim of meeting as far as possible the tastes of its clientele, which change from one region of the world to another. To this end, he divided the planet, and consequently its network, in six different areas: the United Kingdom and the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia, and Asia.
It is not only the label numbers but also the investments in the industry that are impressive: it is estimated that Emirates has invested about $1 billion since 2006. To set up his on-board wine cellars. Ben 47 million dollars last year alone. Money that goes into the purchase of tens of millions of bottles, but also in dedicated facilities, especially in France, which house about 6 million bottles, some of which will not be served in flight before 2037.
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The company has in recent days presented a new wine list. That, writes the Red Prawn, favors French wines and effectively forgets Italian ones. 57% of the red wines drunk in First and Business Class come from the Bordeaux region.
The new on-board wine cellar moves into that groove: in the coming months Emirates will introduce a selection of red wines from Burgundy, mainly Grand Crus such as Échezeaux, Clos Vougeot and Chambertin, but also some prestigious whites always from the same region such as Montrachet 2011, Chevalier-Montrachet 2013 and Corton-Charlemagne 2014, and also plans to introduce several Bordeaux First Growths in the coming years from the renowned estates of Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, Château Cheval Blanc and Château d'Yquem.
Among the criteria for selecting the labels to be served in the different classes, aging is decisive: thus, Bordeaux wines destined for business class are subjected to a period of minimum aging of 8-10 years, while those intended for First Class receive a minimum aging of 12-15 years.
In other classes of service you look less at this aspect: in Economy Class, Emirates offers one red and one white wine, and recent additions include AOP and biodynamic wines from M. Chapoutier, Domaines Baron de Rothschild, a South African Sauvignon Blanc from the Gabb family, and the red wine Antinori Santa Cristina, the only Italian to be mentioned.
In Premium Economy, Emirates serves sparkling vintage wine, premium red wine, and premium white wine. Some examples are Château La Garde 2011, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and Domaine Chandon 2016 (a sparkling wine) produced exclusively for the airline. Cheers!
