I will never forget the day in 1998 my mother (Swiss) told me about the wonderful swiss wines they serve on SwissAir. Guess what…Cotes du Rhone!! Yup, she wrote to the president and complained!!
The AA Admirals Club in Tokyo (NRT) last month had the crappiest wines I have ever seen in a paid airline lounge. Must have been $5 wines of which I have never heard. REALLY disappointing!
I wonder how this business model works. Instead of charging rock bottom prices and installing pay toilets, these people have decided that people will pay more for luxuries…does this pencil out?? I have no idea. One thing I see is that in coach everyone eats their meals and drinks. In business class, a lot of people forego the meals and drinks in order to work or sleep
A friend flew from Paris to Australia on Singapore…he downed a bottle of Krug, then a DP, took a shower, went to work. His company paid. Not many flyers that day he said…Nobody to share the Champagne with.
In NRT your best bet is the JAL First Lounge. They have a sushi station which included chu toro, several junmai daiginjo sake, and some Japanese whisky. The wine selection wasn’t much better though.
Dug out my notes. Flyertalk people are more geeky than I am about this type of thing but wines on HKG-SFO F were:
Krug NV, Tesseron Lot 76 XO Cognac
Whites: 2011 Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte, 2012 Ch Bouscaut, 2013 Dom. Gobelsburg Kamptal Gruner Veltliner, 2010 V. Girardin Pul. Montrachet VV
Reds: 2005 Chateau Haut-Bergey, 2009 Ch. Olivier, 2012, Dom. Chevalier, 2011 Akarua PN Bannockburn Otago, 2011 Hahn Meritage.
Had the Krug, Tesseron, Bergey, Akarua on the flight, all quite decent.
Interesting. Can you point me to those threads please? I’m on flyertalk albeit almost exlusively in the AMEX forum. Thanks.
What is the corkage fee?
I’ve flown Emirates First a couple times. The last time they served 96 Lynch Bages in First Class, plus a Grand Cru Burgundy (I believe it was a Charmes Chambertin, don’t recall the producer). The time before it was a 98 Pontet Canet. They also had a Hermitage La Chapelle. I felt bad because one of the times I was the only person in First Class drinking, and they told me they have to dump whatever is left in the bottle at the end of the flight.
But the real treasure was in the Emirates First Class lounge in Dubai. They were pouring 89 Leoville Las Cases, self serve. It was amazing.
Each of the airline sub-forums will almost always have a “2017 First Class FC menus” and “2017 Business Class C Menus” threads.
Not permissible to bring aboard such sizable liquid amounts, as carry-on property.
What you’ve “disproven” has actually been verified by multiple studies. Your brain might be really good at filling in the gaps. Foods and beverages taste different on airplanes in a few ways for various reasons. Singapore Airlines has a pressurized cabin on the ground to trial new recipes, and Lufthansa uses one for both food and wine.
The news that a giant corporation with all the sovereign wealth of the UAE behind it is spending half a billion dollars to take millions of bottles of my favorite wines off the market so that first class travelers to the ME can drink them in suboptimal conditions is really, um, interesting.
As if that wasn’t enough they ended with this:
“People have written off the 2012 and 2014,” he said, “but I’ve tasted some of them in the last few months, and the right chateaus have made some beautiful wines.” As for the 2015 vintage? “I’m very excited,” he said. “Not as good as 2010, but in Saint Emilion, Passat, and Margaux, it will be very good, probably better than the 2010.”
THOSE WERE GOING TO BE MY BARGAIN VINTAGES, ASSHOLE!
[quoteJohn Glas wrote:
What is the corkage fee?
Not permissible to bring aboard such sizable liquid amounts, as carry-on property.][/quote]
Can’t we by pass the rules and give a sample pour to the pilots? 
I believe those travelling from, as well as to the Middle East will enjoy them. 
You can, if you are going through duty free prior to boarding.
Yes but you can’t consume them on the flight.
Self-serve!?! Yeah…Pretty sure I would have missed my flight that day
“honey, bad news. Looks like I’m going to have to catch the flight home tomorrow”
Recently have seen 1998 Dom P2 and 04 Rose on EK-F (pics)
As well as 1986 Ducru and vintage Climens.
I got to the EY lounge at the crack of dawn, lounge was empty, and they were already out of Paradis.
[quoteRecently have seen 1998 Dom P2 and 04 Rose on EK-F (pics)
As well as 1986 Ducru and vintage Climens.
I got to the EY lounge at the crack of dawn, lounge was empty, and they were already out of Paradis.][/quote]
Can’t roll in that section on my teacher’s salary!
EK had Haut Brion & Opus One late last year. I asked them to decant when I boarded and tried some on the ground, it was amazing even for off-vintage. And they had Hennessy Paradis Imperial as well. I was very very happy for 16 hours.
On another trip, Au Sommet was the flagship red. It was so so. I had a lot of cab at the $100 price point that were better.
Figeac, Lalande, SHL are available in the lounge.