CITY WINERY is exactly what its name implies: a working winery located in the middle of New York City. Founded in 2009 by wine enthusiast Michael Dorf, City Winery gives urban wine lovers the rare opportunity to make their own wine using grapes hand-selected by chief winemaker David Lecomte from California, New York state, Oregon and Argentina. Guests can bottle their wines, design custom labels, and participate in a wide range of educational and social events, including wine-and-food courses, tastings, seminars and dinners. Evenings at City Winery often include live music in the adjoining social space, creating a lively blend of wine culture and entertainment.
The concept has proven successful enough that Dorf has expanded City Winery to Chicago, Nashville and Atlanta, with a Boston location scheduled to open.
Given that setting, City Winery was a fitting venue for Global Traveler’s 13th annual Wines on the Wing International Airline Wine Competition. Surrounded by tanks and winemaking equipment, 21 professional judges evaluated wines representing 25 countries and three U.S. states — California, New York and Washington. The competition sampled wines currently served in first- and business-class cabins on international routes, plus a North American category limited to flights beginning and ending in North America.
Judges received coded glasses and were told only the general grape type — for example, Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc. They assessed each wine by sight, aroma and taste, then scored them using their professional judgment and experience. If a wine was suspected of being flawed, a reserve bottle was opened for confirmation. Professional assistants served the flights and GT staff monitored the process.
When scores were tallied, Asiana Airlines emerged as the winner of Best International First-Class Wines on the Wing, with strong showings across several categories. Asiana’s Chardonnay and both red entries earned top honors, and its Barons de Rothschild Blanc de Blancs placed well among Champagnes.
“We’re proud to be the 2017 winner of the Wines on the Wing First Class category,” said Ja-Joon Goo, executive vice president of Asiana Airlines. He emphasized the carrier’s dedication to offering passengers high-quality service and a wine program that reflects global tastes, selecting wines from classic regions in Europe as well as the Americas, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Asiana pours roughly 210,000 bottles annually on international first- and business-class flights, including nearly 45,000 bottles of Champagne, and it serves about twice as many red wines as whites across those cabins. The airline, founded in 1988, flies to 65 cities in 23 countries.
British Airways won silver in the international first-class category and United took bronze, with Singapore Airlines and American Airlines also earning top scores.
Air Canada claimed gold for International Business-Class Wines. “We’re thrilled our business-class wines scored highly,” said Andrew Yiu, managing director of product design at Air Canada. Alongside sommelier Véronique Rivest, Air Canada curates wines chosen for balance and food friendliness. The carrier opens about 360,000 bottles annually in international business class and rotates its business-class selection every three months. Air Canada, originally founded in 1937 as Trans-Canada Air Lines and renamed in 1964, now serves 200 airports on six continents and carries some 41 million passengers each year.
Brussels Airlines earned silver and TAP Portugal bronze in the international business-class competition. Airberlin and Aeroflot rounded out the top five.
In the North American category, American Airlines took gold for Best North American First Class/Business Class Wines on the Wing for the second consecutive year. American’s wines also placed individually, with selections appearing among the top international performers. Other North American medalists included JetBlue (silver) and Delta Air Lines (bronze).
Standout entries across the international awards included a variety of notable Champagnes, white wines and reds: Joseph Perrier Brut Cuvée Royale 2004 (United) won top Champagne honors in first class, while selections such as Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Singapore Airlines) and Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir (Singapore Airlines) were among high-scoring whites and reds. In business class, top performers included Jurtschitsch Grüner Veltliner (Air Canada), Drumheller Cabernet Sauvignon (All Nippon Airways) and Luis Pato Blanc de Blancs (TAP Portugal).
Of the 24 participating airlines, most belong to global alliances. This year the oneworld alliance — represented by airberlin, American Airlines and British Airways — had the highest average score among alliance members.
As Shakespeare wrote in his comedy, “All’s well that ends well.” That sentiment captures the spirit of Global Traveler’s 13th annual Wines on the Wing competition: a celebration of wine service at altitude and the care airlines take to enhance the inflight dining experience.
JUDGING PROCESS
Airlines operating long-haul international first- and/or business-class service are invited to submit two white wines, two red wines and one Champagne or sparkling wine that are currently on their wine lists, along with the lists themselves. Submissions are coded and grouped into flights by type — for example, Rioja reds together or New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs together. Judges taste from code-marked glasses and are informed only of the wine type. If a wine appears flawed, a reserve bottle is opened. Each wine is judged on a modified Davis 20-point scale; individual scores are averaged, and an airline’s averaged scores are totaled to determine awards.
WINNERS’ CIRCLE
TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL FIRST-CLASS WINES ON THE WING
Gold Asiana Airlines
Silver British Airways
Bronze United Airlines
4. Singapore Airlines
5. American Airlines
TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS-CLASS WINES ON THE WING
Gold Air Canada
Silver Brussels Airlines
Bronze TAP Portugal
4. airberlin
5. Aeroflot
TOP FIVE CHAMPAGNES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS
Gold Joseph Perrier Brut Cuvée Royale 2004 (United Airlines)
Silver Taittinger Brut Millésime 2008 (American Airlines)
Bronze Dom Perignon 2006 (Singapore Airlines)
4. Barons de Rothschild Blanc de Blancs, NV (Asiana Airlines)
5. Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle, Grande Cuvée, NV (British Airways)
TOP FIVE CHAMPAGNES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
Gold Ayala Brut Majeur, NV (Aeroflot)
Silver Collet Brut Art Déco, NV (All Nippon Airways)
Bronze Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve, NV (Delta Air Lines)
4. Laurent-Perrier Brut, NV (Brussels Airlines) / Leventre-Dedieu Grand Cru, NV (Hainan Airlines)
5. Louis d’Or Brut Special Edition (airberlin)
TOP FIVE SPARKLING WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
Gold Luis Pato Blanc de Blancs, NV (TAP Portugal)
Silver Ferrari Maximum Brut, NV (Alitalia)
Bronze Flor Prosecco, NV (Hawaiian Airlines)
TOP FIVE WHITE WINES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS
Gold Vitkin Winery Grenache Blanc 2015, Israel (EL AL Israel Airlines)
Silver R de Rieussec Bordeaux Blanc 2015, France (All Nippon Airways) / Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Reserve 2014, California (Asiana Airlines)
Bronze Domaine Thibault Pouilly-Fumé 2015, France (British Airways)
4. Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2015, New Zealand (Singapore Airlines) / Louis Robin Chablis 2014, Vosgros, 1er Cru, France (American Airlines)
5. Joseph Mellot Domaine de Bellecours Sancerre 2015, France (American Airlines)
TOP FIVE WHITE WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
Gold Jurtschitsch Grüner Veltliner 2016, Austria (Air Canada) / Steininger Grüner Veltliner 2015, Austria (Brussels Airlines)
Silver Radovanović Chardonnay 2013, Serbia (Air Serbia)
Bronze Weingut Robert Weil Riesling 2014, Germany (United Airlines)
4. Selbach Riesling Kabinett 2014, Germany (Singapore Airlines)
5. Paulo Laureano Reserve Bianco 2015, Portugal (TAP Portugal)
TOP FIVE RED WINES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS
Gold Gran Claustro 2011, Spain (Asiana Airlines)
Silver Château Fleur Cardinale 2011, St. Emilion, France (Asiana Airlines)
Bronze Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2014, New Zealand (Singapore Airlines)
4. Esprit de Valandraud 2014, St. Emilion, France (United Airlines)
5. Château La Dominique 2008, St. Emilion, France (British Airways)
TOP FIVE RED WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS
Gold Drumheller Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Washington (All Nippon Airways)
Silver Cono Sur Single Vineyard Syrah 2016, Chile (American Airlines)
Bronze Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Chile (Aeromexico)
4. Dona Maria 2014, Alentejo, Portugal (TAP Portugal)
5. Château Malescasse 2012, Bordeaux, France (Brussels Airlines)
BEST NORTH AMERICAN FIRST CLASS/BUSINESS WINES ON THE WING
Gold American Airlines
Silver JetBlue
Bronze Delta Air Lines
BEST NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPAGNE/SPARKLING WINE
Gold Flor Prosecco, NV, Italy (Hawaiian Airlines)
Silver Mito Ca Di Rajo, Italy (Delta Air Lines) / Roederer Estate Brut, NV, California (JetBlue)
Bronze Bottega Prosecco, NV, Italy (Virgin America)
BEST NORTH AMERICAN RED WINE
Gold La Ferme du Monte du Côtes du Rhône 2014, France (American Airlines)
Silver Bedrock Wine Co. Old Vine Zinfandel 2014, California (JetBlue)
Bronze Trefethen Merlot 2013, California (Delta Air Lines)
BEST NORTH AMERICAN WHITE WINE
Gold Domaine de la Chaise Sauvignon 2016, France (American Airlines)
Silver Heredad de Emina Verdejo 2015, Spain (United Airlines)
Bronze Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard Dry Riesling 2015, New York (JetBlue)
BEST ALLIANCE WINES ON THE WING
Gold oneworld
Silver Star Alliance
Bronze SkyTeam
JUDGES’ BIOS
SCOTT CARNEY, MS, is dean of wine studies at the International Culinary Center, with campuses in New York City and Silicon Valley, California.
JOSEPH DELISSIO has been wine director of the River Café in Brooklyn for 37 years. He is the author of The River Café Wine Primer and a frequent consultant and lecturer.
JOHN FANNING is general manager of The Lambs Club in New York and has held wine director and management roles at several notable restaurants in New York and Rome.
FRED FERRETTI is a wine and food writer whose work has appeared in many national publications. A former New York Times reporter, he was a longtime columnist for Gourmet magazine.
XAVIER FLOURET owns Cognac One, LLC, a national wine importer and New York wholesaler focused on sustainable, small estate wines.
DAVID FRIESER is president of Beekman Liquors, a long-established Manhattan wine shop, and a frequent wine lecturer with more than 30 years in the trade.
CODY GOLDSTEIN is a veteran wine director and founder of Muddling Memories, a beverage and branding management firm. He is the author of Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist.
FRANK JOHNSON is chairman and CEO of Frank Johnson Selections, an international wine brokerage with four decades of industry experience.
KAREN KING is director of on-premise development at Winebow and has served as wine director at several top New York restaurants and taught at The French Culinary Institute.
DAVID LECOMTE is chief winemaker at City Winery. Born in France’s Rhône Valley, he trained in viticulture and winemaking and has worked internationally before crafting wine in Manhattan.
GILLES MARTIN is winemaker and operations director at Sparkling Pointe on Long Island and a consultant to other regional wineries, with training and experience in France and the U.S.
DAVID MILLIGAN is president of David Milligan Selections, representing fine French producers after more than 40 years in the wine trade.
KATHERINE MOORE, FWS, is general manager of Union Square Wine & Spirits, a major Manhattan retail shop.
JOHANNES NECKERMANN is a wine consultant who has worked as a sommelier at Champagne Taittinger and taught wine in SUNY’s adult program.
CAMILLE PARSON directs operations at Norwood, a private arts club in New York City, overseeing its cellar, tastings and wine programming.
JUDY RUNDEL has worked at Heights Chateau wine shop in Brooklyn Heights for more than 20 years, handling buying, a Wine of the Month Club and public programming.
ARNO SCHMIDT is a veteran executive chef who organized wine-and-food events at famed New York hotels and has worked in hospitality since the mid-20th century.
BOB SHACK leads HB Wine Merchants/R. Shack Selections and owns Clos Robert Winery in Sonoma, with long experience in wine distribution and importing.
WILLIAM SHORT is regional manager for Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., a fine-wine importer, and one of the company’s longest-serving salespeople.
TIM SOMERS has nearly three decades in wine and spirits, has helped launch wineries globally, and serves as vice president of commercial capabilities at Pernod Ricard.
PAMELA WITTMANN is principal of Millissime, Ltd., a PR and marketing firm helping foreign wineries enter the U.S. market; she has degrees in oenology and business and winery experience.
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