Qantas scooped the pool at the Cellars in the Sky Awards held in London overnight with five gold medals for inflight wine.
Three of the trophies recognised the airline's entire collection of wines with Best First Class Cellar, Best Business Class Cellar and the coveted Best Overall Wine Cellar award.
In the individual wine categories Qantas was awarded first place in Best First Class White Wine for Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2009 and first place in Best First Class Sparkling wine for Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000.
Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand were the winners of the Best-Presented First Class and Business Class Wine List awards respectively.
Here's how the winners lined up.
Best first class red
- Gold Medal: Emirates – Clarendon Hills Shiraz 2005, McLaren Vale, Australia
- Silver Medal: British Airways – Napanook 2007, Napa Valley, California
- Bronze Medal: Emirates – Château Cos d’Estournel 2000, Saint-Estèphe, France
Best first class white
- Gold Medal: Qantas – Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, 2009, Margaret River, Australia
- Silver Medal: TAM Airlines – Dr Bürklin-Wolf Pechstein Grand Cru 2009, Pfalz, Germany
- Bronze Medal (JOINT): El-Al – Yarden Viognier 2011, Galilee, Golan Heights, Israel; Malaysia Airlines – Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2011, Mosel, Germany
Best first class sparkling
- Gold Medal: Qantas – Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, 2000, France
- Silver Medal (JOINT): Korean Air – Champagne Laurent-Perrier Alexandra Rosé 1998, France; Singapore Airlines – Champagne Dom Pérignon 2004, France
- Bronze Medal: American Airlines – Champagne Gosset Grande Réserve NV, France
Best first class fortified/dessert
- Gold Medal: El-Al – Yarden Heights Gewurztraminer Late Harvest 2011, Golan Heights, Galilee, Israel
- Silver Medal: Qantas – Seppeltsfield Paramount Rare Tokay NV, Australia
- Bronze Medal (JOINT): All Nippon Airways – WJ Graham’s 30 Years Tawny Port, Portugal; TAM Airlines – Croft Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005, Portugal
Best first class cellar
- Gold Medal: Qantas
- Silver Medal: All Nippon Airways
- Bronze Medal: British Airways
Best-presented first class wine list
- Gold Medal: Qatar Airways
- Silver Medal: Qantas
- Bronze Medal: Singapore Airlines
Best business class red
- Gold Medal: Cathay Pacific – Murray Street White Label Barossa Shiraz, 2008, Australia
- Silver Medal: Qantas – Best’s Great Western Bin One Shiraz, 2011, Victoria, Australia
- Bronze Medal (JOINT): Etihad Airways – Jim Barry, the Lodge Hill Shiraz, Clare Valley 2010, Australia; Finnair – Atteca Vieilles Vignes 2012, Calatayud, Spain
Best business class white
- Gold Medal: Eva Air – Vincent Girardin Chassagne Montrachet Vieilles Vignes, 2010, Burgundy, France
- Silver Medal: Cathay Pacific – Taylors Clare Valley Chardonnay 2009, Australia
- Bronze Medal: Air Canada – Peter Yealands Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Marlborough, New Zealand
Best business class sparkling
- Gold Medal: Eva Air – Champagne Dom Pérignon, 2004, France
- Silver Medal (JOINT): All Nippon Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines – Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV, France; Emirates – Champagne Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2004, France
- Bronze Medal: American Airlines – Champagne Moutard Vintage 2008, France
Best business class red fortified/dessert
- Gold Medal: Emirates – Graham's 20 Year-Old Tawny Port, Portugal
- Silver Medal: Qantas – Lillypilly Noble Blend Family Reserve 2008, New South Wales, Australia
- Bronze Medal: Austrian Airlines – Kracher Cuvée Beerenauslese 2010, Neusiedlersee, Austria
Best business class cellar
- Gold Medal: Qantas
- Silver Medal: Etihad Airways
- Bronze Medal: Cathay Pacific
Best-presented business class wine list
- Gold Medal: Air New Zealand
- Silver Medal: Qatar Airways
- Bronze Medal: Finnair
Best overall wine cellar
- Gold Medal: Qantas
- Silver Medal: Emirates
- Bronze Medal (JOINT): El-Al, Cathay Pacific
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 76
Its good to see some good news about QANTAS, they are still a really good airline that many people dismiss (mostly Aussies!)
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1564
Definitely not me. I would fly only Qantas if they would fly more destinations and fly cheap enough – currently they one of the most expensive carriers that force me to use inconvenient Dubai hub to fly Europe. But our recent trip to Europe by BA was included MEL-SIN by Qantas and let me tell you QF biz is better then BA and came dangerously close to BA First, especially in crew department. YMMV.
02 Dec 2011
Total posts 47
Great to see many Aussie wines. Off to epiqure to buy wine now :)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
It's painful that the category is called "Best Fist Class Sparkling" when they list such wonderful champagnes. The title is more befitting for a United Airlines Veuve de Vernay, rather than the excellent Taittinger Comte de Champagne Blanc de Blanc.
I am surprised that TG and EK are not in the list, they serve the Dom Perignon 2003.
Also in the other categories there are some surprises, I would rate the Yara Yering No 2 Red which EK serves higher than the Clarendon Shiraz for instance. Goes to show that a lot comes down to personal preference / taste.
All in all well deserved recognition for QF though!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2011
Total posts 359
Impressed that Eva Air serve Dom in Business Class.
Qantas - QFF Platinum
20 Mar 2012
Total posts 211
The last few times I was in F on QF I had Pol Roger SWC which, while very nice, is completely overshadowed by the excellence of the Taittinger.
Hopefully next time
10 Mar 2011
Total posts 526
Well deserved... The one thing Qantas definitely does do well is pick good wines!
QantasFF Platinum
16 Feb 2012
Total posts 152
Looks like they need a hand getting a decent red wine to be awarded for!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
01 Oct 2013
Total posts 92
They do have some fantastic drops which I enjoy oh so much (who could say no to Tattinger?) - if only they were just a bit more consistent in serving them at the right temps!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Feb 2014
Total posts 2
Not surprised by the awards. The last time I flew Qantas (SYD to LHR return) the wine was amazing!
22 Jun 2013
Total posts 95
Absolutely no qualms with the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs taking out the Gold medal for 'Best First Class Sparkling.' It is sensational, second to none. However, my gripe is that it should be the one and only Champagne served in First onboard Qantas. And if they are going to have an inferior offering, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill, which is good but simply not in the same ballpark at the Taittinger, then at least give the choice rather than only serving Pol Roger. If Qantas wishes to cut costs, absolutely fine, but then maybe First Class fares should see a proportionate decrease as well. It if were a one-off I wouldn't have an issue, however, it cannot be coincidence that I've encountered this issue three times in the last year on flights between London and Australia. I know two other people who have reported the same thing.
To conclude, absolutely no problem with the Taittinger taking out the Gold, in fact I'm all for it. It just seems a bit cheeky, 1. for Qantas to nominate the Taittinger to represent them in this category at the awards, 2. for Qantas to win and get all the plaudits when perhaps it's not all that indicative of the true Qantas First experience.
This is not Qantas bashing. As a proud Qantas Platinum I have a lot of love for Qantas and I would love for people to prove me wrong and share their experiences.
Trevor
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 69
I must say that while the singapore Airlines Business Class seats and service are fantastic, the wines they serve in Biz are really substandard
For example I once had a Tatachilla Shiraz ,a reasonable wine for economy but not for the Biz cabin. It sells for around 15 dollars!
Singapore airlines needs to realize that they should serve at least a 60 dollar Shiraz and Pinot Noir in Biz class , after all the Biz traveller is usually forking out around 6 or 7 Grand. Hope you pass this on to them.
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