Photos by Christopher P. Ottaunick
Since it opened in 2007, Accademia di Vino has steadily earned a reputation for authentic regional Italian cuisine, inventive dishes, attentive service and an impressive wine list of more than 800 labels, nearly 40 of them available by the glass. Owner Anthony Mazzola set out to recreate the sensibility he admired in Italy — a visible celebration of food and wine — and has succeeded in bringing a distinctly Italian dining experience to New York.
Descending from the street-level bar into the dining room on Third Avenue, guests enter a space that feels like a refined, comfortable wine cellar with a touch of rustic warmth. With a strong focus on food-and-wine pairings, the restaurant has become a destination for wine lovers, hosting winemaker dinners, tasting classes and private events that complement its regular service.
That environment made Accademia di Vino an apt venue for Global Traveler’s 2011 Wines on the Wing airline wine competition. This year 28 airlines from around the globe submitted 136 wines drawn from their current international business-class, international first-class and North America lists. Thirty-one professional judges blind-tasted and rated the entries. OpenSkies earned the highest total score among international business-class competitors, while Asiana Airlines topped the international first-class field.
The competition was tight: OpenSkies claimed first place by just 0.51 points over Qatar Airways, while Asiana led the first-class standings by 3.58 points over TAM.
“We are extremely proud to be recognized by Global Traveler’s expert panel of judges,” said David Erich, commercial and marketing director of OpenSkies. “We try to find the best wines we can. We choose them through a blind tasting of about 100 wines and Champagnes. We change our wine list on board twice a year and often have other special onboard wine events.”
At Asiana Airlines, executive vice president Tae Keun Han described their process: “Three world-renowned sommeliers search for wines to satisfy the palates of our ethnically diverse passengers and then hold blind tastings of about 300 wines. They check sight, smell and taste and consider how well each wine will complement our foods. New wines are selected every two or three years, while a smaller-scale tasting is held annually to retest wines in service.”
Champagne from 1999 stood out this year. V Australia won the International Business Champagne category with Lanson Gold Label Brut 1999, praised by judges as rich, complex and flavorful. “We carefully select our Champagne and all our wines with an independent wine panel that meets four times a year,” said Alison Chalmer, general manager, product, for Virgin Australia group. In choosing Champagne, the panel even measures bubble persistence and spiral time; the airline updates its Champagne selection annually.
In International First Class Champagne judging, Asiana took top honors with Comtes de Taittinger Blanc de Blancs 1999, described as elegant, with balanced acidity and a mix of delicate citrus and toasty notes.
Among sparkling wines in the International Business category, South African Airways’ Philip Jonker Entheos Brut, NV, stood out. South African Airways selects its wines via an annual three-day blind tasting.
The standout white in International First Class was EL AL Israel Airlines’ Carmel Winery Gewürztraminer, lauded as spicy and expressive; several judges mistook it for an Alsace wine. EL AL chooses its selections at a tasting held every two years.
Etihad Airways won the International Business Class best-white category with Dr. Fischer Riesling from Germany, which was praised for its tangy profile and abundant fine fruit. Etihad’s wine program director Chamil Liyanage oversees a selection committee that uses research, tasting panels and price comparisons to find interesting, good-value wines. “We look for wines that are not common and that offer great value,” Liyanage said, “and we rotate the wines on board every three to six months.”
The top red in International First Class resulted in a tie. Asiana’s Château Gruaud Larose drew praise for structure, complexity and aging potential, while Lufthansa’s Astrales Ribera del Duero impressed judges with smooth, juicy fruit and balanced structure.
Lufthansa maintains an extensive wine program, pouring some 3.5 million liters annually across classes. “We change wines in international first class every two months and in business class every four months,” said Martin Riecken, director of corporate communications, the Americas. Wines are chosen worldwide and evaluated by a master sommelier, with preference for styles that perform well in the air — often lower-acid, lower-tannin wines, or slightly sweeter or higher-alcohol selections to compensate for diminished taste perception at altitude.
In International Business Class, TAP Air Portugal won with Casa de Santa Dão Reserva, a Portuguese red described as complex, well balanced and savory.
How much do winning wines cost airlines? While many carriers keep pricing private, some provided figures: Asiana spends roughly $2 million annually for about 140,000 bottles across business and first class. Etihad’s wine budget totals approximately $6 million a year for all classes. OpenSkies says wine is a priority area for their spending, and EL AL summarized its investment simply as “a lot.”
Among this year’s entries, 13 wines came from airlines in the three major alliances — oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance. SkyTeam, represented by Alitalia and Delta Air Lines, posted the highest aggregate scores among alliances.
In the North America category, which covers first- and business-class service within the continent, American Airlines again led the field. Its Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut was judged the top sparkling wine, and its Pellegrini Family Blend won best red. US Airways claimed top white with De Bortoli Willowglen Chardonnay from Australia.
Wine has often been celebrated for elevating everyday life; as writer André Simon observed, it makes “every day more civilized.” After Wines on the Wing 2011, the panel of 31 judges concluded a very civilized day of tasting and evaluation.
TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS1. OpenSkies
TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS1. Asiana Airlines
TOP NORTH AMERICA FIRST CLASS/BUSINESS CLASSTOP NORTH AMERICA AIRLINE TOP NORTH AMERICA AIRLINE SPARKLING WINE TOP NORTH AMERICA AIRLINE RED WINE TOP AIRLINE ALLIANCESkyTeam Alliance, TOP FIVE CHAMPAGNES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS1. Lanson Gold Label Brut 1999 — V Australia 5. TIE Jacquart Brut Mosaïque, NV — Delta Air Lines TOP FIVE SPARKLING WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS*1. Philip Jonker Entheos Brut, NV, South Africa — South African Airways 2. TIE Alta Langa Brut 2005, Italy — Alitalia 3. Espumante Luis Pato 2010, Portugal — TAP Air Portugal
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TOP FIVE CHAMPAGNES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS1. Comtes de Taittinger Blanc de Blancs 1999 — Asiana Airlines TOP FIVE WHITE WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS1. Dr. Fischer Riesling 2008, Germany — Etihad Airways TOP FIVE WHITE WINES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS1. Carmel Winery Gewürztraminer 2009, Israel — EL AL Israel Airlines TOP FIVE RED WINES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS1. Casa de Santa Dão Reserva 2007, Portugal — TAP Air Portugal TOP FIVE RED WINES INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS1. TIE Château Gruaud Larose 2006, France — Asiana Airlines *A total of five sparkling wines were submitted for judging in this category. With the tie at No. 2, rankings are one through four. |
JUDGING PROCESS
Airlines offering long-haul international business- and first-class service were invited to submit two white wines, two red wines and one Champagne or sparkling wine currently on their business- or first-class lists, along with their wine lists. The same rules applied to the North America category for carriers with domestic first- or business-class service.
Submissions were coded and organized into flights by type and origin — for example, New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs were grouped together, as were Argentina Malbecs — and poured into coded glasses. Judges were informed only of the wine type, origin and vintage when relevant. If a bottle appeared flawed, a reserve bottle was poured. The tasting was overseen by Global Traveler staff and five professional assistants.
Each wine was evaluated on a modified Davis 20-point scale. Judges’ individual scores were added and averaged; an airline’s averaged scores across its submissions were totaled. The airlines with the highest totals received the Wines on the Wing awards.
PARTICIPATING AIRLINES
Air Canada
Air New Zealand
Alitalia
American Airlines
American Airlines – North America
Asiana Airlines
Delta Air Lines
EL AL Israel Airlines
Etihad Airways
Iberia Airlines
Jet Airways
LAN Airlines
Lufthansa
OpenSkies
Qatar Airways
South African Airways
TAM
TAP Air Portugal
US Airways
US Airways – North America
V Australia
Virgin America – North America
JUDGES
Melissa Sutherland Amado is director of marketing at 67 Wine & Spirits in Manhattan and brand strategist at New York Wine Salon.
Manos Angelakis is senior wine and food writer for Luxury Web Magazine and author of the semi-monthly Oenophile Blog. He travels widely through the world’s wine regions as a writer, critic and judge.
Jim Clarke is wine director at Megu in Manhattan and contributes wine writing to Forbes.com, StarChefs.com and Santé.
Joseph DeLissio, wine director of The River Café in Brooklyn for 34 years, is the author of The River Café’s Wine Primer and a frequent lecturer and consultant.
Michael Doctor is wine director of Accademia di Vino, where he has built a list featuring selections from every Italian winemaking region.
Lisa Donneson is proprietor of Bouké and Bouquet wines in Long Island, graduate of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust and member of the Institute of Wines & Spirits and Long Island Wine Council.
John Fanning is general manager of Accademia di Vino and has held wine leadership roles at several notable New York and Rome restaurants.
Fred Ferretti is a wine and food writer appearing in national publications and a former New York Times reporter and Gourmet columnist.
Xavier Flouret is founder and CEO of Cognac-One, a New York wine importer with several prominent labels.
David Frieser is president of Beekman Liquors, a long-established Manhattan wine shop, and a frequent wine lecturer.
Curtis Green is founder of TenFolks Enterprises, a wine education and marketing company focused on engaging African-American wine consumers.
David Gross is a wine industry consultant with more than 20 years’ experience in restaurant wine sales and distribution.
Karen King is sales manager at Winebow and former wine director at Union Square Café; she has taught at the French Culinary Institute.
Mariko Kobayashi is affiliated with Maslow 6 in Manhattan and has served as sommelier and wine director at several institutions.
Harriet Lembeck heads the Wine and Spirits Program and authored editions of Grossman’s Guide to Wine, Beers and Spirits. Peter Martin runs Peter Martin Associates, a wine consultancy with two decades of industry experience.
John McClement is wine and spirits director for All Weather Management, overseeing restaurants including Keens Chop House and others.
David Milligan is president of David Milligan Selections, representing fine French producers and with more than 40 years’ wine experience.
Katherine Moore is general manager of Union Square Wines & Spirits in Manhattan.
Peter Morales is founder of 57 Main Street Imports and leads philanthropic wine initiatives supporting South African schools.
Robin Kelley O’Connor heads Wine, Americas at Christie’s International Wine Department and has extensive trade experience.
Roman Roth is winemaker and general manager of Wölffer Estate on Long Island and trained in Germany.
Alie Shaper is founder and winemaker at Brooklyn Oenology, an urban winery producing Long Island wines.
Arno Schmidt is an executive chef with a long career organizing wine and food events at major hotels.
Robert Shack owns HB Wine Merchants/R. Shack Selections and Clos Robert Winery in Sonoma, with extensive industry leadership experience.
John Sheldon represents Artisan and Pas Mal, founded the New York Wine Tasting School and consults for restaurants and clubs.
Felicia Sherbert is author of The Unofficial Guide to Selecting Wine and president of What’s My Wine? LLC, a wine and hospitality consulting firm.
Darrin Siegfried is president and director of education of the Sommelier Society of America and an experienced restaurateur and educator.
Mary Taylor is managing partner of Langdon Shiverick wine importers in the Northeast and writes for The Thoreau Wine Society.
Eric White manages The Winery in Manhattan and specializes in wine consulting and tastings.
Eric Ziller is wine director of Gotham Bar & Grill and formerly wine director at Alto and sommelier at Veritas.