Qantas has been voted as having the best on-board wine, scooping the top honours during a worldwide airline competition.
Qantas took out Best First Class Cellar and Best Business Class Cellar at the 2010 “Cellars in the Sky Awards” in London.
Run by Business Traveller magazine, a record number of airlines took part in the awards this year, which celebrate the best wines served in Business and First Class flights.
Collecting a total of six awards out of 15, Qantas dominated the competition, winning awards for Consistency of Wines Across Business and First Class, Best First Class White (the Wigan Eden Valley Riesling 2004), First Class Red (Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2006) and First Class Sparkling (Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1999).
Qantas first class on an Airbus A380
They tied with Al Nippon Airways for Best Business Class Fortified/Sweet.
Other winners include Air New Zealand, which won two awards for Best Business Class Red and Best-presented Wine List, and American Airlines, which won an award for Best Business Class White.
This year, 36 airlines entered the awards, which have been running since 1985. Each airline has to submit at least one red, one white and a bubbly to be eligible for testing.
Five judges took part in blind taste tests over two days to score the wines and determine the best offerings in both First Class and Business Class.
Qantas invests over AUS$25 million in the Australian wine industry every year through the Qantas Wine Program. According to the Melbourne-based Herald Sun newspaper, the airline goes to extraordinary lengths to educate cabin crew about what they are serving with the Qantas Sommeliers in the Sky program and it provides passengers with detailed information about what they are drinking with the Qantas In-flight Guide to Wine.
Scott Snowden
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