How the wine menu is planned for flights

A wine you enjoy at home will taste completely different on a flight because the low air pressure and low humidity of high altitudes suppress the perception of taste and smell. So, it requires science and thought to curate the perfect wine menu suitable for higher altitudes. Tim Jackson, British Airways’ first full-time master of wine, speaks to Lounge about designing a menu for a pleasurable in-flight wine experience. Edited excerpts:

What determines the selection of wines for a flight?
I pay the most attention to two things: aromatic intensity and balance. Ninety per cent of taste is determined by smell and aromatic intensity is essential. The second is balance and I will explain this in the context of red wines. In a red, there are structural elements like alcohol, acidity, body and tannins. On a flight, your perception of these remains unchanged more or less, but taste and smell get suppressed. (It means if you tasted and smelled notes of ripe cherries at ground level, they will be subdued on the flight). This then changes the wine’s balance. It just becomes tannic, rather than a pleasurable whole. The flavour intensity wraps around the tannin, alcohol and acidity for a balanced wine experience.

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Is Malbec a good choice because of its bold flavours?
It is a great varietal conducive to tannic wines. Argentina produces Malbecs with a lot of fruit intensity. Even though it might have quite a bit of tannins, the fruit intensity is good and at altitude, it works well. But you do have to take care with it, and there are some which don’t quite go that way. Generally speaking, Malbec should be a pretty good option.

What are the other bottles you’d recommend?
There are a few that we have as standing categories. Both in business and first class, you’ll always find a Sauvignon Blanc in the white category, because it’s quite bright and aromatic, and works well at high altitudes. It tends to be quite a crowd pleaser, a lot of people appreciate its bright, fruity and crunchy style.

In reds, we have a standing category of Pinot Noir. It is not just aromatic, you get the fruit notes and it tends to be quite light in tannins. It’s a wine which is likely to perform well on a flight, because the balance between fruit and tannins works well. No matter what wine we pick—be it Zinfandel, Shiraz or a Rhone blend—it goes through the filter of whether it will perform at higher altitude.

What measures do you take to combat climate change?
In my case, it’s about things like putting a limit on the weight of the bottles and each should be no more than 600g. I won’t accept heavier bottles, because it’s not just the extra weight we have to carry that then adds to our carbon emissions, but also making a glass bottle is an energy-intensive process. The more glass you put in your bottle as a winemaker, the bigger your carbon footprint. In fact, the biggest component for a winery’s carbon footprint is the packaging. So, I try and do my little bit to encourage our suppliers to reduce the weight of their bottles.

How many glasses of wine should one drink on a flight?
A tricky question. It depends on you, isn’t it? Height, weight what time you catch the flight and what you would do at the other end. My personal recommendation is to have a couple of glasses of different styles and enjoy them.

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