Cathay Pacific recently launched its own “Betsy” craft beer specifically brewed to be consumed at 35,000 feet, and now Virgin Australia has joined the club, creating a new wine designed for high-altitude consumption.
Together with Barossa Valley winery St Hallett, Virgin Australia has developed a wine called The Duo. According to the carrier, the two companies developed the Virgin Australia wine over a number of months in order to balance the characteristics of the wine specifically for when it is consumed at high altitudes, along with complementing the airline’s existing business class menu.
“We played around with a lot of different options to ensure the acid and texture balance was right,” said St Hallett winemaker Shelly Cox. “It was a great experience and we are confident the wine will deliver in both taste and aroma on the plane at altitude.”
According to Cox, The Duo is a blend that was sourced from the Barossa and Eden Valleys. “The drier air in the cabin can make it hard to really capture a wine’s aroma. This is where the Eden Valley component comes in. The higher altitude of the Eden Valley means cooler conditions and creates Shiraz with lovely overt floral aromas.”
The Duo was rolled out on March 1 and is available to business class passengers on Virgin Australia flights and at Virgin Australia lounges.
To find out which airlines offer the best in-flight wines, take a look at the winners from the Business Traveller Cellars in the Sky 2016 Awards.
