14 Airlines Offering Exceptional Wine Selections

Air travel encompasses many different factors, from purchasing your ticket and checking in to making your way through security and boarding the plane. Once boarded, some flyers go straight to sleep, while others check out the in-flight meal selection and prepare to eat and drink the hours away.

If you’re a wine drinker in the latter category, chances are you’ve formed opinions about the selections available on the flights you take. And there are lots of opinions to be had because airlines vary quite widely with respect to the quality and variety of what they serve. Economy class rarely gets especially remarkable bottles, but some airlines manage to keep coach customers satisfied with reliable picks. Meanwhile, business and first class cabins often entail high-end Champagne bottles and notable vintages of Bordeaux or Burgundy wines.

Choosing wine for an airline is more convoluted than for a restaurant, as multiple studies have demonstrated that altitude decreases your sense of taste. The airlines that understand this adjust their offerings accordingly. As a Certified Specialist of Wine and a regular flyer, here is my compilation of the airlines that offer the absolute best wine selections.

Emirates regularly appears on lists featuring the world’s top airlines. With its hub in Dubai, a center of luxury and opulence, it’s no surprise the wines onboard follow suit, with aged bottles from fine châteaux among the offerings. It’s clearly not an afterthought for the airline either, which has invested $1 billion in its wine program over the past two decades. Just look at the concept behind The Emirates Vintage Collection, a selection of bottles that are aged in Emirates’ own Burgundy cellars for up to 15 years, ensuring they are served in the optimal drinking window. Depending on the year, you’ll find stellar options like first and second-growth Bordeaux or Premier and Grand Crus Burgundy wines.

Naturally, Dom Pérignon flows in first class; Emirates is the Champagne house’s leading global partner. Meanwhile, the rest of the onboard selection provides plenty of variety, with close to 100 wines from top vineyards in Old and New World wine regions across a dozen countries. Selections are chosen depending on the route in order to provide passengers with a taste of their destination.

The wines are rigorously assessed to ensure they retain their qualities in the cabin, guaranteeing the best experience for passengers. Additionally, the choices are versatile and great for pairing with the various menus. Economy class doesn’t benefit from a wide choice, but the red and white wines are always top quality, typically with a Controlled Designation of Origin, and farmed organically or biodynamically.

Another familiar face among the top airlines internationally, Qatar Airways doesn’t skimp when it comes to its fine wine offerings. With an in-house Master of Wine at the helm of the wine program, the lineup is chosen after considering the effect of humidity, altitude, pressure, and diminished senses on taste. As such, the wines are picked for their delicious taste rather than prioritizing popular top-scoring bottles. It’s no easy feat, as over 1,000 bottles are tasted to come to the final selection.

From the vast options, a dozen bottles are chosen and regularly rotated in the cabin. Champagne is always on the menu in premium classes, with options like Krug, Taittinger, Bollinger, and Billecart-Salmon in the glass. Red and white wines from reputed international wine regions, like Chablis, Mosel, and Barossa are chosen to pair with the in-flight meals. Although first and business class receive the cream of the crop, economy class isn’t forgotten in the process; the Master of Wine collaborates with wineries to produce blends specifically for Qatar coach.

British Airways proves its dedication to bringing customers top bottles with its wine club The Wine Flyer. With several products exclusively sold by British Airways, you can purchase bottles for your home cellar after trying them on a flight. Once again, specific conditions in the air are considered when narrowing down the selection to stock onboard. Led by a full-time Master of Wine (MW), the British Airways team chooses bottles that fit with the space and sensory limitations at hand. In fact, the current MW, Tim Jackson, tastes wines in flight in order to have the same experience that passengers will.

To keep the options varied for frequent flyers and showcase a wider selection of international favorites, the wines change on a quarterly basis. Specific regions are highlighted individually to provide passengers with a full spectrum of flavors. Popular regions like Bordeaux, Provence, Marlborough, and Cape Town have been covered in recent years. More recently, a variety of English sparkling wines have been served to club and first class passengers — proof that the country’s bubbly is rapidly making its way to the top of the pack.

Lufthansa’s prestigious wine program is no easy feat for wineries to join. Only a few dozen are personally invited to present their offerings for judgment, which occurs several times a year among wine professionals. To counter the effect of the dry cabin air on the palate, wines with juicy aromas and higher alcohol content are preferred rather than those with high tannin or acidity. Business and first class cabins benefit the most from interesting selections, but economy class is not left out with quality complimentary offerings.

To keep the experience exciting for regular passengers in first class, a lineup of four white and four red wines is rotated on a monthly basis. This includes bottles from traditional and underrated wine regions, providing guests with familiar and novel tastings throughout a flight. International offerings are varied and include bottles from Argentina, Spain, and France (there’s no shortage of Champagne), and German wines are also prominently featured. The assortment is chosen to pair optimally with the fine cuisine on board, with recurring items like caviar on the menu.

With head sommelier Xavier Thuizat directing its wine program since May 2024, Air France continues to innovate, highlighting top French selections from regions like Bordeaux, Rhône Valley, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley, as well as lesser-known options. The Burgundian native has received plenty of acclaim and awards in recent years for his French wine expertise, which bodes well for lovers of the prestigious Old World region.

Choice isn’t lacking when it comes to French wine selections, and Air France flyers can taste the country’s wide variety of terroirs, with stellar selections from appellations like Chablis, Saint-Emilion, Pouilly-Fuissé, and Crôzes-Hermitage. Reputable producers like Guigal in the Rhône Valley, Gérard Bertrand in the Languedoc, or Pommery in Champagne are commonly featured among the pours. Although the peak offerings are served to passengers in La Première (aka first class), all cabins receive complimentary Champagne on long-haul flights (which counts toward the million or so bottles of bubbly the airline pops open on a yearly basis).

Singapore Airlines was among the first to promote a more serious wine program onboard, which is evident when assessing its current portfolio. Twice a year, the company invites three global wine experts and critics to sample around 1,000 wines, to hone down the selection for its various cabins. This consists of wine-buying trips to leading regions, with rigorous tasting sessions in the search for wines that hold up in freshness and flavor — all tested under cabin pressure. In-flight, air sommeliers are trained following Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) accreditations to serve and recommend food and wine pairings, providing an enriching experience for passengers that goes beyond simply what’s in their glass.

Amidst the collection, passengers in business and first class are offered top choices like Burgundy Grand Crus, Bordeaux Cru Classé, and Port, as well as products from new and old world regions, After serving highly regarded Champagnes like Krug (it has been a partner for 40 years) and Taittinger in flight for several years, the airline recently took it to another level by introducing Cristal to the luxurious lineup. Additionally, Singapore Airlines suites and first class are privy to a dazzling opportunity: a Celebration of Champagne comprises five exclusive bubbly bottles on a rotating basis. Economy class flyers get to sample wines from countries like France, Germany, and Australia.

If you’re flying in or around Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) keeps good wine flowing throughout your journey. The airline has won multiple awards in the past for its wine program, and it continues to bring passengers a wide selection of interesting bottles. These are chosen through a rigorous process of sampling, judging, and blind-tasting wines before adding them to the portfolio. This is done under the supervision of wine experts, notably Olivier Poussier, once recognized as the world’s best sommelier, along with top Japanese sommeliers.

Economy class passengers are served ANA’s exclusive label blended specifically for the airline, which currently consists of a red and white Spanish blend. In premium economy, some of the options from business class are served (including Champagne), but the offerings really step it up for business and first class. Here, the premium wine selection features bottles from top viticultural regions worldwide, including Japan. The airline serves Western and Japanese cuisine onboard, so the wine list caters to both food pairings. Japanese sake is also served in all cabins, offering passengers a taste of the country’s rice wine specialty.

This British airline may not be huge, but it maintains ample wine offerings to satisfy frequent flyers. Working in tandem with Jeroboams Trade wine merchant, the selection is narrowed down with assistance from experts at both companies. The assortment is changed twice a year along with the food menu, in order to choose wines that fit with seasonal dishes and to highlight different producers from New and Old World wine regions. Wines are also chosen to cater to particular flight routes based on consumption statistics of what works well in which regions.

Virgin Atlantic is dedicated to seeking sustainable and eco-friendly options as much as possible, considering the sheer volume of wine it goes through on a yearly basis. This includes serving English sparkling wine onboard, giving passengers a chance to taste the up-and-coming region, as well as reducing its transportation footprint. Rotating wineries with interesting characteristics are sporadically featured, providing wine aficionados with plenty of novel discoveries, from sparkling, white, and rosé to dry and sweet red wines like Port.

It’s a good sign when an airline chooses to focus its program solely on its regional wines. Although variety is great, a true deep dive into a wine region is an exciting way to discover new producers and styles … and when that country is New Zealand, you’re in for a treat. Air New Zealand’s wine team (which includes a Master of Wine and a wine consultant) samples around 500 of the country’s premium bottles for its business premier cabin, narrowing down the decision to around a tenth of that number.

The final selection showcases the best of New Zealand, with wines made from several different varieties — so you can forget about only drinking sauvignon blanc onboard (although it’s still the wine that’s poured the most). Grapes like pinot noir, chardonnay, syrah, and merlot are among the options you can try. At the end of 2024, Air New Zealand partnered with Villa Maria winery to produce its own label, Thirteen Forty Five, which alludes to the number of miles in the airline’s first flight in 1940, from Auckland to Sydney. It consists of a red and a white bottling (pinot noir and sauvignon blanc) and will be served in premium economy and lounges as of March 2025.

This Australian airline is no stranger to praise, regularly receiving multiple accolades at the annual Cellars in the Sky Awards. This recognition proves that Qantas is doing something right with its vast selection of Australian wines, both from lesser-known and popular vineyards and grape-growing regions. To come up with the elite assortment, multiple sommeliers join forces and blind taste close to 2,000 wines throughout the course of Qantas Wine Week, eventually honing in on 250 or so bottles.

Even though Qantas features almost solely Australian wines, it makes an exception with Champagne. From the country’s own bounty, expect classics like shiraz from Barossa Valley and chardonnay from Margaret River. Economy passengers also receive complimentary wines from popular producers to pair with their meals. If you like what you taste, the various wines can be purchased via Qantas Wine, allowing passengers to use or accumulate Qantas Points to spend on an ultimate winery experience holiday.

A decade ago, New York-based airline JetBlue got serious about its wine program, hiring wine critic and journalist Jon Bonné to consult on the selection. Bonné brought an exciting variety onboard, which regularly features less common flight pours like rosé, orange, and natural wines. As an independent airline, the team behind the decision-making prioritizes partnering with smaller wineries in an effort to introduce passengers to novel products, regions, and grape varieties.

Wine is only complimentary on transatlantic economy flights, though passengers on domestic routes can purchase a canned selection (a nod to sustainability) for an additional fee. Meanwhile, in Mint class, JetBlue’s premium cabin, customers benefit from a range of interesting bottles from California and beyond. Current offerings include white wines from Friuli in Italy, skin contact wines from Germany, crémant from Alsace, Cava from Spain, Beaujolais, and nebbiolo from the underrated region of Valtellina, Italy.

Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines has been at the center of plenty of buzz, recently winning several awards for its red and white first-class wine offerings (a Bordeaux Saint-Émilion Grand Cru and Austrian Grüner Veltliner in 2024). The company considers details like cabin pressure in order to come up with a selection that features various grape varieties from Old and New World wine regions, with an extra special assortment for higher cabin classes.

Bollinger is Starlux Airlines’ Champagne house of choice, which it notes is also true for the royal family and James Bond. Other French regions like Bordeaux and Alsace are featured alongside areas like the Aconcagua Valley in Chile and Marlborough in New Zealand. For something truly different, the airline also serves wines from Weightsone Vineyard Estate & Winery in Taiwan. Passengers can discover a local aromatic hybrid grape called musann blanc which has shown great promise on an international scale over the past several years.

It’s not every day you can taste a variety of Chinese wines, but that has recently become a possibility in business or first class onboard a Cathay Pacific flight. As of 2024, the Hong Kong airline introduced several wines from different Chinese viticultural regions to its lineup. Although the country might not yet be a leader in international wine sales, it does boast the world’s third-largest vineyard area, and quality continues to impress. The wine flavors tend to be bold and fruit-forward, which bodes well for high-altitude consumption. The Chinese wine series fits alongside other themes the Cathay Pacific wine team (featuring a Master of Wine and a wine writer) puts together, with past selections focusing on categories like female winemakers.

The airline has won multiple awards for its curated wine lists, which include stellar bottles like Krug Champagne in first class, and reputable producers like Albert Bichot from Burgundy in business. If you’re unsure of what to taste, let yourself be guided by Cathay’s Wine Ambassadors, aka sommeliers of the sky. Select members of the crew receive WSET training to provide passengers with an elite and educational tasting experience. If you like what you taste, purchase the wines online with cash or air miles.

Don’t look for wine bottles on a domestic flight with Turkish Airlines, as the company only serves alcohol on international routes. However, it makes up for the absence with an interesting assortment of Turkish wines. These are particularly fun for wine lovers to taste onboard, as they are often made with indigenous Turkish grape varieties that are not grown elsewhere. While there are some excellent wines produced in Turkey, most are not widely distributed outside of the country and even less so to the U.S. By including some tasty bottles in its international flights, Turkish Airlines is promoting its local industry on a global scale.

Additionally, wines from around the world are served onboard, especially from France and other European countries. Passengers might see reputable producers like Taittinger, Bodega Norton, Bodegas Beronia, Domaine Daniel Seguinot, and Graham’s, providing options spanning Champagne, Argentinian and Spanish red wine blends, Chablis, and Port. Of course, the more unique options to taste will be the Turkish bottles that are hard to source at home.

To put together this selection of airlines with the best wine, I assessed several factors to determine quality and overall interest. I focused my choices on airlines that pay special care to their wine program by investing heavily on numerous levels, including financial and educational. Most enlist the expertise of Master of Wines, sommeliers, and other wine professionals, who put a lot of effort into choosing wines and tasting them in cabin conditions. Several airlines also train their flight attendants in wine, ensuring passengers get the best possible experience.

As for the wine itself, these airlines have a curated selection that includes rare bottles, iconic cuvées, timeless classics, and reputable producers. The bottles are rotated regularly and often chosen thematically to further enhance the assortment. Top airlines craft optimal pairings for passengers, choosing wines to match the various meals served onboard. Finally, several of these airlines offer online shops to round out the experience from in-flight to at-home.