Qantas shines at international wine awards

Seb Crowther and Neil Perry

Australian national airline Qantas was one of the stars at the annual Cellars in the Sky wine awards in London overnight.

Qantas' policy of listing only Australian table wines paid dividends with the Qantas Group winning a total of nine medals, including four golds.

Qantas won golds for best first class cellar, best first class white, shared gold for best first class sparkling wine, and for best business class fortified.

The airline also received three bronze medals and Jetstar received two silver medals.

The Qantas wine lists are curated by Neil Perry and his Rockpool Group team.

“We are immensely proud to be recognised for our wine," Perry said." The awards are a testament to the dedication and hard work of the Rockpool sommeliers and the Qantas beverage team who
select the best wines from across Australia and the finest Champagnes for our customers.

“As Australia’s national carrier, we play an important role in showcasing the best of Australian wine to the world. We pride ourselves on offering a selection of wine that celebrates both boutique and classic wine styles, grape varieties and regions.

“Australians today are incredibly wine savvy. They love exploring food and wine regions around Australia and overseas and they expect to see great food and wine made by passionate locals in-flight and in our lounges.”

The individual gold medals went to Best First Class White - Penfolds Reserve Bin 15A Chardonnay 2015; Best First Class Sparkling (joint): Qantas, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne blanc de blanc 2006 and Best Business Class Fortified for Baileys of Glenrowan Founder Series Classic Muscat.

Qantas received bronze medals for best overall wine cellar (won by Singapore Airlines), Best First Class White for Flametree SRS Wallcliffe Chardonnay 2016 and Best First Class Fortified for Seppeltsfield Paramount Rare Tokay.

Investing over $25 million dollars in the Australian wine industry every year, Qantas is the third-largest purchaser of wine in Australia.

Qantas customers drink their way through five million bottles of wine and Champagne every year, selected by Perry, Master Sommelier Seb Crowther and their team.

Every year over four days, the sommeliers blind taste and review 1,300 Australian wines and Champagne that go on-board domestic and international flights and in the lounges.

Around 250 different wines are chosen from more than 150 different producers.

Participating airlines were: Aegean, Aer Lingus, Aeroflot, Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia, American Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Finnair, Iberia, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, JetBlue, Jetstar, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Sri Lankan, Tarom, United and Virgin Atlantic.

Cellars in the Sky is in its 32nd year, having been running since 1985.