Monsieur Maharajah du Air-India loves Champagne

The Maharajah of Air India seems to be in love with Champagne and other French wines with the six- wine list in the Business and First Class carrying two Champagnes and apparently only French wines on board with no Indian wines, writes Subhash Arora who recently flew to Germany in one of their newer Boeing 777 aircraft.
The limited wine list of Business and First Class carries two champagnes- Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (VCP) from LVMH (owners of Moet and Chandon) and Maxim Brut, a light bodied Champagne with subtle aromas and fruity, biscuity flavour. Both are served politely and properly chilled by the staff. But the glasses used are small and not in flutes, taking away from the pleasure of enjoying the bubbles.
Two red wines are available- Ch. Clarke 2006 (A Cru Bourgeois from the Listrac- Moulis property owned by Edmond de Rothschild group) and the well-structured and perfumed Ch. Prieuré Lichine 20004 Margaux (13%) - both from the Left Bank of Bordeaux (almost 50-50 blend of Cabernet and Merlot with the usual blending grapes)
A senior flight officer informed me that on the log haul flights to the US, Krug (premium Champagne House owned by LVMH) is also served.
Interestingly, the Economy Class has a decent selection of wines- though there is only one red and one white.
I could not help noticing that all the wines served in the aircraft were French. The obsession with French wine could be from the legacy of late Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and his daughter but let us not forget that his great-daughter-in-law is a former Italian and should evoke some thoughts about choosing a blend of counties.
08/09/10 Subhash Arora/Indian Wine Academy

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Categories: Air India - International Sep 2010, Foreign Sep 2010, NACIL Sep 2010