Judging Wine for TAP Airlines At 40,000 feet by Philip S. Kampe

       
                                                              

                                                    Judging Wine At 40,000 Feet

Did you know that if you fly east, you fly at an odd number altitude wise, for example, 39,000 feet, while, when you fly west, you fly at an even number, maybe 38,000 or 40, 000 feet, The pilot needs to find the sweet spot where the air is not thin (always at higher altitudes) and where there is less drag on the plane, so less fuel is needed to reach the desired speed (always at lower altitudes),   

Desired altitudes for commercial flights range from 35,000 feet to 42,000 feet.

What happens to your palate when you drink wine at those altitudes?  

Aircraft cabins are extremely dry and the drier you get, the drier your olfactory system is, which translates into your inability to translate complexity in wines. The wines you know won’t be totally unrecognizable, but, they will be new wines, in a sense, on your compromised palate. Your nasal passages are naturally dry in the air, which throws your aroma and taste buds off course. Add background noise, biorhythms, time change and flight vibration to the gamut and you are really not yourself when you sample wine on flights.

To relieve the stress of how you will perceive the wines taste, TAP airlines has a crew of ten wine experts who take all of the misguidance into account when sampling Portuguese wines to establish those few that will make the cut for your tasting pleasure onboard.

As a member of the TAP blind wine tasting team, made up of Portuguese and Brazilian wine experts, the sampling of the wines was tedious.

In a matter of three days, our team sampled over six hundred wines-all Portuguese-on the ground. The top scoring fifty vote getters, twenty-five (25) white and twenty-five (25) red were then sampled in the air, on a six hour flight, to and from Lisbon to Prague.

Each was judged and given a score. wine a score. These wines were the final cut.

There a few lessons to be learned when tasting wine at altitudes close to 40,000 feet.
First, hydrate yourself when drinking wine. A simple rule is one glass of water for each glass of wine that you drink.  Yes, dehydration coupled with alcohol is avoidable.

Two, avoid tannins. Tannins tend to become over-exaggerated in the air.

Three, wines with concentrated fruit and’ New World’ ripeness tend to be the ‘go to’ airline wines.

Four, bottle-aged reds that are tannin free work well.

Five, sparkling wine, only made in the traditional methode champenoise style fare well.

Six, let your red wine rest a few minutes, to warm up, before sampling.

Seven, always remember that the dryness of the air aboard an airliner and the low pressure in the airplane cabin combine to disrupt your taste buds that focus on salt and sweetness, but, don’t affect spicy, bitter or sour tastes.

Eight, wine doesn’t change flavors at high altitudes, our palate changes due to the re-cycling of the cabin air.

All in all, TAP Airlines puts in a lot of due diligence before selecting wines for your transatlantic flights.

Visit www.TAP.com to learn more.

Philip S. Kampe

philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

TAP-The Airline That Cares About Your Portuguese Experience by Philip S. Kampe

                                  
                          TAP-The Airline That Cares About Your Portuguese Experience

Confidence in the airline that you fly is essential.
Allegiance to that particular airline normally follows.
And if you choose correctly, similar to a life partner, the future blossoms together.

As Paul McCartney once sang, ‘It’s a long and winding road.’

And that has been the case until my discovery of TAP Airlines, a Portuguese based carrier.

Little did I know, TAP has been upping its game for years. The airline has both public and private ownership and has recently ordered fifty-three (53) Airbus jets, preparing for their promising future. (Estimates of 15.5 million passengers in 2018)

In Business class, fully flat seats have created a necessary comfort zone for those transatlantic flights.

TAP is an award-winning airline, well respected for its wine service. The broadened  selection of small producer Portuguese wines on its international routes exemplifies what Portugal is about. Five (5) Michelin Star Portuguese chefs contribute the various gourmet courses served in both Business and Economy class. Plus a handful of wine experts blind taste hundreds of wines on board the airline before choosing the wines that will be served on board. If you are unaware, wine at sea level does not taste the same in flight. The profile is different.

Abilio Martins, a TAP Marketing executive, in conjunction with his marketing staff, led by Joel Fragata, shared TAP’s vision.

Mr. Martins elaborated extensively. He said: “We, meaning Portugal, have the ‘Best Wines in the World. There are many undiscovered wines.  Believe me, its true. Portugal is a small country that has a large selection of wines, whether the wine is made with one grape or the wine is a blend. Our wines, still, are the best kept secret. Once you start drinking our wines you can’t stop. We want to show the world our wines and want to increase the sales of Portuguese wine. Each person who flies TAP should have the best opportunity to taste the best food and wine in the country. TAP wants to give our passengers the opportunity to fully understand Portugal through our in-flight food and wine experience. Its 70F today (November) and this is winter. Imagine, we have it all in Portugal. Our campaign is about modes. Its time to switch to wine tasting mode-its time to switch to food mode-its time to switch to sunny modes-Portugal is a country of many modes. Our long term goal, jointly, with the National Tourist Board is to take care of each and every tourist that visits our country. TAP’s job is to become Portugal’s flying ambassador by utilizing the wine and food experience. Wouldn’t it be great if you could bring some of our Portuguese wines we served on board the flight home with you?”

After further discussion, Abilio Martins went to great length to explain that the food onboard TAP’s flights has been the creation of five Michelin Star Chefs who have chosen to cook their own and traditional Portuguese recipes. In tandem with the chefs selections, the wines, like the food, rotate every three months. A new menu with new wines four times a year helps set TAP apart from other airlines. The wines chosen by the experts blind scores are then seeked out and ultimately, the TAP plan would allow passengers to purchase these wines onboard the flight and redeem their bottles upon their airport departure. The final plan hasn’t been worked out, but, it is in the pipeline. I guess, you could say, this is the ultimate wine promotion.

The marketing staff at TAP, with Abilio Martins advice, has opened the door to a new way of doing airline business. The recently introduced ‘Stopover’ concept is a unique opportunity to visit two places for the price of one. You can do this if your flight is either a round trip or one way. If your final destination is the Azores, Algarve or Madeira, you can stop off up to five (5) nights in either Lisbon or Porto, at no extra charge. You select your destination and the number of nights with your hotel choice. Several partner restaurants at your destination will give you a bottle of wine with your meal.

Isn’t it time to fly an airline that cares about you?

Philip S. Kampe

philip.kampe@thewinehub.com