Very rarely do I get an opportunity to combine my two passions of aviation and wine and write about it.

A very special thanks to the In-flight Supervisor on a recent Singapore Airlines flight who went in to the first class cellar and served me a superlative Chateau Leoville Poyferre, St. Julien, Bordeaux. Even at 35,000ft, it was one the best airborne wine experiences I had.

Recently Business Traveller magazine, judged and presented its "Cellars in the Sky" awards to various airlines.

A special congratulations to the folks at Jet Airways at making the grade.

What did surprise me is that while many wines from producing powerhouses like France, Italy, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, and Chile, made the grade, the airlines from these respective countries did not. Also missing were producers and airlines from the United States.

Cellars in the Sky: Results for 2008

Business class

Business class sparkling

1. Charles Heidsieck (Mis en Bouteille 2008), Champagne, France. Joint winners: KLM, Singapore Airlines
2. Henriot Souverain NV, Champagne, France. Joint winners: Emirates, LAN
3. Charles Heidsieck (Mis en Bouteille 2007), Champagne, France. Joint winners: Asiana, British Airways, Qantas
4. Piper-Hiedsieck NV, Champagne, France. Korean Air
5. Dom Pérignon 2000, Champagne, France. Jet Airways
   

Business class white

1. Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Kabinett 2005, Mosel, Germany. Qatar Airways
2. Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 2006, Yarra Valley, Australia. Qantas
3. Highfield Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Marlborough, New Zealand. Air New Zealand
4. Bernhard Ott Fass 4 Gruner Veltliner 2007, Wagram, Austria. Austrian Airlines
5. Anakena Ona 2007, Alto Cachapoal, Chile. LAN

Business class red

1. Palliser Estate Martinborough Pinot Noir 2005, Wellington, New Zealand. Cathay Pacific
2. Cline Cellars Cool Climate Syrah 2005, Sonoma Coast, California. British Airways
3. Luis Canas Reserva 2002, Rioja, Spain. Iberia
4. Corbières Gerard Bertrand 2006, Languedoc, France. Lufthansa
5. Casa Silva Los Lingues Gran Reserva Carmenère 2005, Colchagua, Chile. KLM

Business class fortified / dessert

1. Forrest Estate Botrytised Riesling 2007, Marlborough, New Zealand. Air New Zealand
2. Niepoort Late Bottled Vintage Port 2004, Douro, Portugal. Lufthansa
3. Baileys of Glenrowan Founder Series Liqueur Muscat NV, Glenrowan, Australia. Qantas
4. Taylor’s 20-year-old Tawny Port NV, Douro, Portugal. Qatar Airways
5. Jurancon Prestige Cave de Gran Jurancon NV, Jurancon, France. Delta

Best business class cellar

1. KLM
2. Qantas
3. Air New Zealand
4. LAN
5. Qatar Airways

First class

First class sparkling

1. Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Rare NV, Champagne, France. Lufthansa
2. Krug Grande Cuvée, Champagne, France. Joint winners: ANA, Jet Airways
   
3. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1998, Champagne, France. Joint winners: LAN, Asiana
4. Charles Heidsieck 1995, Champagne, France. Qantas
5. Salon Blanc de Blancs 1997, Champagne, France. JAL

First class white

1. Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay 2005, Monterey, California. Lufthansa
2. Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2006, Yarra Valley, Australia. Qantas
3. Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Marlborough, New Zealand. American Airlines
4. Joint winners: Selbach-Oster Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2004, Mosel, Germany. TAM; Wegeler Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Spatlese 2005, Mosel, Germany. American Airlines
5. Manz Riesling Auslese Trocken 2005, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany. Korean Air
   

First class red

1. Morton Estate Pinot Noir 2005, Marlborough, New Zealand. Qatar Airways
2. Shotfire Shiraz 2005, Barossa, Australia. Lufthansa
3. Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2005, Rhône. France, Air France
4. Mungo Park Shiraz 2008, Barossa, Australia. Emirates
5. Pyrenees Ridge Reserve Shiraz 2005, Victoria, Australia. ANA

First class fortified / dessert

1. Morris of Rutherglen Old Premium Liqueur Tokay Muscat, NV, Rutherglen, Australia. Qantas
2. Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003, Douro, Portugal. Singapore Airlines
3. Weingut Neef-Emmich Bacchus Beerenauslese 2007, Rheinhessen, Germany. Lufthansa
4. Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, NV, Andalusia, Spain. Korean Air
5. Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira Porto Ten Anos NV, Porto, Portugal. Cathay Pacific

Best first class cellar

1. Lufthansa
2. Qantas
3. TAM
4. Emirates
5. Qatar

To locate these wines, I recommend wine-searcher.com.

I have written a book entitled Wines Demystified. Please download your free copy in Adobe Acrobat format here.

Read more about the programme including judging procedures here.

Image : Wikipedia

WINE PRICES IN BANGALORE HEADED INTO THE STRATOSPHERE !

You might be surprised at a wine article in my aviation blog, but wine is a subject close to my heart.

The convoluted alcoholic beverages policy in India, makes each state, akin to another country, each with their own cumbersome taxes and regulations. The recent collapse of the Doha round of trade talks was not the only failure last month. A trade war is growing between the three wine producing states in India, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa, and it is going to send prices of Indian wines up by 46% ~ 100%, in Karnataka. Unfortunately, unlike the world which has the World Trade Organisation, India has no mechanism for settling economic wars between states.

Bangaloreans, along with the rest of India, are increasingly taking to wine as their drink of choice. It is more healthy, low impact, goes great with food, and more fashionable. What ever the reason, the market is growing about 20% year on year. In 2007-8, about 56,225 cases of wine were sold in Karnataka, almost all of it in Bangalore. This does not include the Goan Port "Wines". As consumers' wine tastes evolve, they gravitate from the cheap and cheerful variety to the mid-range and higher quality.

Maharashtra is India's California; the leading producer of wines. About 18 "non-Karnataka", Indian wine producers, Sula, Indage, Reveilo, Nine Hills, Mandala Valley, Big Banyan, sell their wines in Karnataka. There are two wine producers in Karnataka, Grover and Naka, and about 27 foreign (Non-Indian) wine producers whose products are available in Bangalore.

(Click on image for a larger image)

A few years ago, the Government of Maharashtra imposed a special tax of 150% on wines “imported” into the state from outside Maharashtra. It was a purely political decision done at the behest of one of India's most influential politicians in India, who has, for long, been reportedly, the major player in the wine-grape farming and wine producing industry in Maharashtra. The 150% tax made non-Maharashtra wines more expensive in the state. The wine producers of Karnataka, found it hard to compete in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, but more importantly, the economic capital of India.

There have been half-hearted attempts by the Karnataka Government to resolve this issue with their Maharashtra counter-parts. The lack of genuine desire, urgency, or sensibility, on both sides, expectedly, has not yielded positive results. While, I will be the first to say, the nasty actions of Maharashtra deserve a response, the recent actions of the Karnataka Government, are equally nasty. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Effective August 1, 2008, the Karnataka government started levying a tax, just as offensive, to the one in Maharashtra, on all wines of Indian origin “imported” into Karnataka. The new levy raises the import fee on wine from outside Karnataka from Rs. 10 to Rs. 300 per bulk litre, an increase of Rs 217.50 per bottle!!!! Add to this other levies and margins that will subsequently accrue, the final retail price to consumers will rise by approx Rs 250~280 per bottle.

55% of all wine sold in Karnataka is currently priced between Rs. 350 - Rs. 550 a bottle. The increase translates to a 46% - 100% increase in final price. Lower priced, entry level, wines like UB's Zinzi will see their prices go up over 100% from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500~530 per bottle. Dr. Mallya’s fledgling Indian wine business (Zinzi) will be hit hard, in his home town of Bangalore, since all his Indian wines are produced in Maharashtra.

(Click on image for a larger image)

The wines produced by Grover's and Naka in Karnataka, will be spared the tax. I wonder how long will they maintain their original price. Like any opportunistic business house, I am sure they will slip in a few price increases since their competition is more expensive by Rs. 250.

Another most unfortunate consequence: as the entry-level wines will rise 100% in prices, many prospective wine drinkers, who were just taking to wine, will decide wine is suddenly too rich for their blood, and give healthy wine-drinking a go-by, reverting back to high impact spirits.

Observing the antics of their fellow Governments in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Government of Goa is now talking about similar "protection" for its wine producers and growers.

The market place, consumers and producers, determine usage. Government can implement rules of conduct (procedures) but no one, including the self-proclaimed smartest people in the world, often found working in government, can accurately predict a marketplace. The market place determines itself.

The majority of the wine producers in this country are going to take a hit – the emerging wine drinking segment will take a hit – the retailing industry will take a hit. Even the wine producers of Karnataka will be hit. To get around the new levy Maharashtra wine producers will set up wineries in Karnataka state. There is simply not enough wine-grape grown in Karnataka to meet the needs of the state. Existing farmers will be tempted away from their existing contracts with Grovers and Naka to supply the newcomers.

The only “good news” in this sorry saga ? Fearing the wrath of the WTO, the new Karnataka levy does not apply to foreign wines. With the new higher prices of the non-Karnataka wines, many of the Australian, Chilean, South African, Spanish, and Argentinian wines will now look quite attractive. This retrograde step is helping the foreign brands, while sticking a most cruel knife into the heart of the Indian wine business. How many wineries will close, and as a result farmers going bankrupt, as sales drop and mayhem prevails ?

This squabble, in many ways, reminds me of the days of the British Raj. While the Indian states are busy fighting each other, the winners are the foreign wines.

I wonder if Indian wine producers can go to the WTO and beg for protection from their own governments.

Thanks to Stanley Pinto for the inspiration and some of the data.