Which wine is light enough to let you rest well during a long-haul flight?
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Which wine is calorie-free enough to let you residual well during a long-booty flying?
For Singapore Airlines' long-serving wine consultants, Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne – which is now being served in First Class – gets top billing.
With the prized Blanc de Blancs bubbly from Champagne Taittinger, Singapore Airlines is capping off an impressive year of vinous selections. (Photo: Singapore Airlines)
06 Nov 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 09:46PM)
Earlier this year, Singapore Airlines' wine consultants – Michael Hill-Smith, an Australian Master of Vino; Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Vino; and Oz Clarke, a wine author – visited Champagne and tasted dozens of bubblies, one of which was Champagne Taittinger'southward Comtes de Champagne, a Blanc de Blancs. The ambrosia from the esteemed Reims-based maison was eventually rated every bit ane of their top three bubblies.
In October 2019, the Comtes de Champagne was launched in Singapore Airlines' First Course cabins, joining Dom Perignon and Krug Grande Cuvee every bit the carrier'southward sparkling trio in Start Class.
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The Comtes de Champagne volition exist served on flights to Auckland, Beijing, Delhi, Dubai, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Tokyo (Haneda), and volition exist rotated to other routes afterwards February 2020. Champagne remains popular on lath the airline – more than 350,000 bottles of bubbly are served on its flights every year.
Wine-loving frequent flyers would detect that the airline's latest wine pour is overdue – other airlines like Air French republic, People's republic of china Pacific, and Qantas already accept the Comtes de Champagne in their Beginning Grade stash – but better than late than never. The airline had also expanded its Burgundy offerings in March this year, so the Comtes de Champagne is an icing on the cake.
"Nosotros accept been looking to diversify our wine selections for passengers, and the Comtes de Champagne gives united states of america another opportunity to introduce a fabled champagne in our Offset Class cabin," said Anthony McNeil, Singapore Airlines' nutrient and beverage director. This is the first Taittinger bubbly that is offered in the airline'south First Grade, although regulars of its Business Class would take already been acquainted with the Prelude, one of Taittinger's premium pours.
"We take been looking to diversify our wine selections for passengers, and the Comtes de Champagne gives us another opportunity to introduce a fabulous champagne in our Commencement Class cabin." – Anthony McNeil
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The main difference between the Prelude and the Comtes de Champagne is its grapes: The former is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, while the latter is made simply from Chardonnay – a white grape known for its elegance and acidity in Champagne – and thus its label equally a Blanc de Blancs (White of Whites).
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With Chardonnay sourced from Cote des Blancs' G Cru vineyards of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le-Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Oger, the Comtes de Champagne is widely regarded as Taittinger'due south purest and finest bubbly. The champagne is made from the kickoff press wine (the highest quality juice that comes from the outset 'cut' of the grape-pressing), with just v percentage of the wine matured in new oak barrels to accept on a fiddling toasted note. The blend is then bottled and left to mature in an underground cellar for eight to ten years.
For the champagne'south high-distance launch, the 2007 vintage volition be poured.
"The 2007 was a skillful vintage: The wine is very lean, refined, and minerally. Its flavor profile is precise and very typical of the Comtes de Champagne manner," said Clovis Taittinger, deputy managing managing director of Champagne Taittinger, and the eldest kid of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, the maison'south president. (Pierre-Emmanuel had recently announced that he will hand over his presidency to Clovis' sis, Vitalie, by the end of this year.)
The lightness of the Comtes de Champagne was i of the reasons why the bubbly earned its ticket to First Course. McNeil and his team gustation-tested their shortlisted wines in a simulated pressurised cabin [to recreate the atmospheric condition of in-flight dining] at their SATS catering firm, and the Comtes de Champagne "remained drinkable, fresh, and vibrant".
"The Comtes de Champagne can be drunk on its own, or paired with lots of dishes, except maybe for rich, oily food with a lot of sauce," said Taittinger. "When you are in the air, you'd look for [a wine] that is light and balanced; something that lets you residual well during the flight."
"The Comtes de Champagne can exist drunk on its ain, or paired with lots of dishes, except possibly for rich, oily food with a lot of sauce." – Clovis Taittinger
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/experiences/singapore-airlines-first-class-champagne-245721
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