Qantas wins wine gongs at Cellars in the Sky Awards

LIKE to take off with a top drop? The Cellars in the Sky Awards reveal which airline is flying high with the finest wines.

Qantas has taken out over half the awards on offer at the annual Cellars in the Sky Awards, which measure the quality of wine...

IF YOU prefer being up the pointy end of the plane and value the quality of your vino, it seems Qantas is the only way to fly.

The Flying Kangaroo has taken out five awards on offer at the annual Cellars in the Sky Awards, held in London overnight.

The awards, which have been held since 1985, measure the quality of wines available in Business and First Class on-board the world's airlines.

This year, Qantas took out the awards for Best Overall Wine Cellar, Best First Class Cellar and Best Business Class Cellar.

It also won the awards for Best First Class White Wine for its Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2009 and Best First Class Sparkling wine for the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000.

The haul means the airline has now won more awards than any other carrier for the fifth year running.

"We are enormously proud of our in-flight wines," Qantas executive manager customer experience Alison Webster said.

"We are committed to offering the best Australian wines and educating our crew to become Sommeliers in the Sky to enhance the customer's dining experience."

To ensure the quality of its wines, Qantas employs a panel of experts who advise on wine selection.

The airline sources over 250 different Australian wines from more than 150 different producers, matching them with Neil Perry designed menus on both its domestic and international flights.

"We pride ourselves on developing a selection of wines that celebrates both cutting-edge and classic wine styles, grape varieties and regions," Ms Webster said.

This year's result tops Qantas' 2012 haul, when it picked up four awards.

Any airline is eligible to enter providing they serve wine in business or first class on mid-or-long-haul routes, with each carrier able to enter a maximum of two reds, two whites, a sparkling and a fortified or dessert wine.

Submitted wines are blind tasted by a panel of expert judges.

Qantas' main local competitor, Virgin Australia, did not enter the Cellars in the Sky Awards.

The airlines that took part were Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, El Al, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Eva Air, Finnair, Jetstar, KLM, Korean Air, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAM Airlines, TAP and US Airways.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

BEST FIRST CLASS RED

Gold Medal - Emirates - Clarendon Hills Shiraz 2005, McLaren Vale, Australia

Silver Medal - British Airways - Napanook 2007, Napa Valley, California

Bronze Medal - Emirates - Château Cos d'Estournel 2000, Saint-Estèphe, France

BEST FIRST CLASS WHITE

Gold Medal - Qantas - Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, 2009, Margaret River, Australia

Silver Medal - TAM Airlines - Dr Bürklin-Wolf Pechstein Grand Cru 2009, Pfalz, Germany

Bronze Medal (Joint winners) - El-Al - Yarden Viognier 2011, Galilee, Golan Heights, Israel; Malaysia Airlines - Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2011, Mosel, Germany

BEST FIRST CLASS SPARKLING

Gold Medal - Qantas - Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, 2000, France

Silver Medal (Joint winners) - Korean Air - Champagne Laurent-Perrier Alexandra Rosé 1998, France; Singapore Airlines - Champagne Dom Pérignon 2004, France

Bronze Medal - American Airlines - Champagne Gosset Grande Réserve NV, France

BEST FIRST CLASS FORTIFIED/DESSERT

Gold Medal - El-Al - Yarden Heights Gewurztraminer Late Harvest 2011, Golan Heights, Galilee, Israel

Silver Medal - Qantas - Seppeltsfield Paramount Rare Tokay NV, Australia

Bronze Medal (Joint winners) - All Nippon Airways - WJ Graham's 30 Years Tawny Port, Portugal; TAM Airlines - Croft Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005, Portugal

BEST FIRST CLASS CELLAR

Gold Medal - Qantas

Silver Medal - All Nippon Airways

Bronze Medal - British Airways

BEST-PRESENTED FIRST CLASS WINE LIST

Gold Medal - Qatar Airways

Silver Medal - Qantas

Bronze Medal - Singapore Airlines

BEST BUSINESS CLASS RED

Gold Medal - Cathay Pacific - Murray Street White Label Barossa Shiraz, 2008, Australia

Silver Medal - Qantas - Best's Great Western Bin One Shiraz, 2011, Victoria, Australia

Bronze Medal (JOINT) - Etihad Airways - Jim Barry, the Lodge Hill Shiraz, Clare Valley 2010, Australia; Finnair - Atteca Vieilles Vignes 2012, Calatayud, Spain

BEST BUSINESS CLASS WHITE

Gold Medal - Eva Air - Vincent Girardin Chassagne Montrachet Vieilles Vignes, 2010, Burgundy, France

Silver Medal - Cathay Pacific - Taylors Clare Valley Chardonnay 2009, Australia

Bronze Medal - Air Canada - Peter Yealands Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Marlborough, New Zealand

BEST BUSINESS CLASS SPARKLING

Gold Medal - Eva Air - Champagne Dom Pérignon, 2004, France

Silver Medal (JOINT) - All Nippon Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines - Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV, France; Emirates - Champagne Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2004, France

Bronze Medal - American Airlines - Champagne Moutard Vintage 2008, France

BEST BUSINESS CLASS FORTIFIED/DESSERT

Gold Medal - Emirates - Graham's 20 Year-Old Tawny Port, Portugal

Silver Medal - Qantas - Lillypilly Noble Blend Family Reserve 2008, New South Wales, Australia

Bronze Medal - Austrian Airlines - Kracher Cuvée Beerenauslese 2010, Neusiedlersee, Austria

BEST BUSINESS CLASS CELLAR

Gold Medal - Qantas

Silver Medal - Etihad Airways

Bronze Medal - Cathay Pacific

BEST-PRESENTED BUSINESS CLASS WINE LIST

Gold Medal - Air New Zealand

Silver Medal - Qatar Airways

Bronze Medal - Finnair

BEST OVERALL WINE CELLAR

Gold Medal - Qantas

Silver Medal - Emirates

Bronze Medal (JOINT) - El-Al, Cathay Pacific

BEST AIRLINE ALLIANCE - Oneworld

See a detailed in-flight Qantas wine list.