Fine Wine Is Coming to First Class

U.S. airlines have spent the past few years making improvements to their first- and business-class cabins, from reclining seats that become plush beds to restaurant-quality meals. Despite those changes, one important area of upscale travel has lagged behind: the quality of the wine.

The reds and whites served by major U.S. airlines to first-class and business travelers have, until recently, been only marginally better than the lowbrow swill served in the main cabin. That's now changing, with legacy airlines (plus JetBlue Airways and Virgin America) spending heavily—and more strategically—to find wines that work in the harsh gustatory environment of a dry, pressurized cabin at 35,000 feet. “If you’re in our first class or business class, I just assume you’re a joie de vivre-type person, and you travel a lot, and you love food and wine, and I want to give you the best adventure,” says Ken Chase, American Airlines’ wine consultant. JetBlue, which launched its Mint premium cabin in 2014, serves five California wines that include a counoise, a rare varietal made from a grape native to the south of France. Delta has recently served an Elouan pinot noir from Oregon, a state noted for its luxuriantly silky, and increasingly pricey, pinot noir. And pinot grigio has been virtually eliminated from premium cabins because it doesn’t “show” well in flight, wine experts say. “If a wine has problems they will be magnified at altitude,” Jon Bonné, JetBlue's wine consultant, said on April 7 at an event to unveil the airline's spring menu.