TAM receives awards for wines served in First Class

LONDON, England – TAM Airlines has won two of the top categories in Business Traveller’s prestigious “Cellars in the Sky”; awards that recognise airlines for the quality of the wines served on board

LONDON, England – TAM Airlines has won two of the top categories in Business Traveller’s prestigious “Cellars in the Sky”; awards that recognise airlines for the quality of the wines served on board their aircraft. The Brazilian company received the award for best red wine served in First Class. The wine in question, Clos Canon 2008, is an elite Bordeaux produced in Saint-Emilion. TAM also took the award as the airline with the most improved First Class wine cellar. The awards took place in London on 6 February at The Grosvenor Hotel in Victoria.

The winning wine is produced for TAM by Château Canon, part of the Chanel group, from pure Merlot grapes passing through fine oak barrels. The wine offers an intense and alluring display of aromas of ripe dark fruit, mixed with coffee, chocolate and delicate floral touches. Soft, flavourful, concentrated and complex, it is a spectacular example of the degree of sophistication that Bordeaux can reach.

The Clos Canon is just one of the wines to feature on TAM’s award winning First Class 2011 cellar. Others included the Champagne, Drappier La Grande Sendrée; the white wines, Dr. Bürklin-Wolff Pechstein Grand Cru (Pfalz, Germany), and Denis Dubourdieu Clos Floridene Blanc (Bordeaux, France); and two other reds, Señorio San Vicente (Rioja, Spain), and Altas Quintas (Alentejo Portugal).

“Every year TAM carefully selects the wines it is to serve on board, looking to offer the best quality wines in all classes that compliment the dishes offered from our menus. Winning these important international awards at Business Traveller’s “Cellars in the Sky”, demonstrates that we are on the right track, and it is also an inspiration for us to improve even more the inflight experience that we offer to our customers, “says Manoela Amaro, director of TAM Marketing.

Since 2001, Arthur Azevedo, one of the most respected wine consultants in Brazil and executive director of the Brazilian Association of Sommeliers of Sao Paulo, has been responsible for selecting the wines to be served on board TAM’s flights. Azevedo carefully searches for and sources wines of the highest quality, and this has earned him and TAM major international awards, including at Global Traveler’s “Wines on the Wing” awards in 2010 and 2011, and in “Cellars in the Sky” in 2009, when TAM was chosen to serve the best white wine in First Class.

Business Traveller has organized the “Cellars in the Sky” awards since 1985. For eight months, a panel of five experts have blind tasted over 250 wines served in the First Class and Business Class of the world’s leading airlines. To choose the winners, the judges considered that at altitude it is the elegance and subtlety of wines, and the delicate balance between acidity and alcohol, that is important. The latter is most evident during a flight, and is one of the key factors to be considered. Finally, the panel also take into account the quality of tannins, which can be a source of unpleasant astringency, or dry mouth.

For 2012 TAM’s wine cellars will offer its passengers:

First Class – long haul flights

Drappier La Grande Sendrée (Champagne/France) – champagne;

Dr. Bürklin-Wolff Pechstein Grand Cru (Pfalz/Germany) – white wine;

Château La Louviere (Pessac-Léognan/Bordeaux/France) – white wine;

La Croix Figeac (St. Émilion/Bordeaux/France) – red wine;

San Román (Toro/Spain) – red wine;

I Balzini Black Label (Tuscany/Italy) – red wine.

Business Class – long haul flights

Drappier Carte d´Or (Champagne/France) – champagne;

Dr. Bürklin-Wolff Wachennheimer Altenburg Premier Cru (Pfalz/Germany) – white wine;

Château de Tracy (Pouilly-Fumé/Loire Valley/France) – white wine;

Jean-Luc Thunevin Château Bel-Air-Ouÿ (Saint Émilion/Bordeaux/France) – red wine;

Abadia Retuerta Selección Especial (Sardón de Duero/Spain) – red wine.

Business Class – short haul flights

Viña Casablanca Nimbus Sauvignon Blanc (Casablanca Valley/Chile) – white wine;

Tim Adams Shiraz 2008 (Clare Valley/ South Australia) – red wine;

MontGras Quatro (Colchagua Valley/Chile) – red wine.

Economy Class – short and long haul flights

Callia Alta Malbec (San Juan/Argentina) – red wine;

Callia Alta Chardonnay (San Juan/Argentina) – white wine.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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