WORLD’S BEST DRINK MAGAZINE qantas inflight guide to w i n e 6th Edition Your flight attendant can advise which wines are available on your flight. Yours to keep with our compliments. qantas First & business wines EDITOR’S LETTER Just as a youthful premium wine given time in the bottle can transform from something simple and straightforward into a far more significant, complex and intriguing drop, Qantas has, over nine decades, evolved from a modest operation known as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services into one of the leading airlines of the world. So it seems fitting that in this edition of the Qantas Inflight Guide to Wine we honour the airline’s 90th year by showcasing Australian wines, winemakers and JUDY SARRIS Editor, wineries that display the same sort of Gourmet Traveller WINE. enduring excellence and, in some cases, have reached a similarly ripe old age. On the following pages you will meet families who have produced premium wines for generations and read about prominent vineyards that have been operating for more than 150 years. You will also meet the panel of experts who have selected the fine local wines you’ll be wm0609cover NoBarSpine.indd 1 11/11/2009 4:59:05 PM enjoying on your flight. Of course, weight and space restrictions prevent Qantas carrying every label in its cellar; instead, your cabin crew will offer a selection of wines to complement dishes crafted by world-renowned chef Neil Perry. So sit back, raise a glass and enjoy what Australia has to offer. qantas’ 90TH birthday 4 qantas WINE panel 6 qantas WINE program 8 TS QUALITY service 10 food & WINE 11 PREMIUM WINE 12 world stage 13 EN VINOUS history 14 bottle age 15 T FIRST families OF WINE 16 AN AUstralian ICON 17 N winery milestones 18 Qantas 187ML program 21 O tasting notes 23 WINE INDEX 48 C Contacts 50 Editor Judy Sarris Creative Director Sabine Schmitz Deputy Editor/Copy Editor Connell Nisbet Tasting Notes Peter Bourne, Bob Campbell MW Features Nick Ryan Editorial Assistant Monique Lane Cover Photography Ben Dearnley Production Controller Edwina Kerrigan Digital Pre-press Specialist John Ruperto Publishing Director Men’s, Specialist & Custom Titles Phil Scott PBL Media Chief Executive Officer Ian Law Qantas Airways Ltd Qantas Inflight Services, 203 Coward Street, Mascot, NSW 2020 Qantas Wine and Beverage Manager Claudia Lill (02) 9691 1569 Qantas Club and Frequent Flyer Service Centre 13 11 31 Qantas Reservations 13 13 13 This Qantas Inflight Guide to Wine is complimentary to Qantas passengers and was developed by Qantas Inflight Services. Published by Qantas Airways Ltd, ABN 16 009 661 901 and by ACP Magazines Ltd ABN 18 053 273 546. 54-58 Park St, Sydney, NSW 2000. ©2010 All rights reserved. Printed by Quality Print Group Pty Ltd, 45 Huntingwood Drive, Huntingwood NSW 2148. Articles express the opinions of authors and not necessarily those of Qantas or ACP Magazines Ltd. VISIT GOURMET TRAVELLER WINE* AT WWW.GOURMETTRAVELLERWINE.COM.AU *Voted best drink magazine at Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards 2003, 2005 and 2007 gourmet traveller wine 3 QANTAS CELEBRATES SETTING THE PACE The entrance to the Qantas First Lounge in Sydney. Below: a Qantas hangar in the 1930s. Opposite top: a Qantas Boeing 747 from the 1970s. Opposite bottom: Qantas A380 interior. 90 Years Strong With so many significant achievements marking Qantas’ fascinating nine-decade history, it’s little wonder it is now shaping the future of inflight wine service. hanging the way people think about an inflight wine program Cby offering an unprecedented level of diversity is just another example of how Qantas has always been at the cutting edge when it comes to refining the art of air travel for almost as long as the very idea has existed. This year Qantas celebrates its 90th birthday; a journey that has taken the airline from the remote expanses of outback Australia to some of the world’s key transport hubs and made the unique Flying Kangaroo one of the most recognised symbols in aviation. It’s a milestone that offers a chance to look back on a list of achievements and maybe even pop a cork or two in celebration. As the world’s second oldest airline, and with more miles racked up than any other, it’s hardly surprising that Qantas has a long history of showing the way for others to follow. Qantas was the first airline to offer around the world services way back in 1958 and a year later was the first to take passengers across the Pacific by jet. 4 gourmet traveller wine It has always been at the forefront of technological advances that have made flying safer, cleaner and more efficient by being actively involved in the development of aircraft like the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380, as well as pioneering safety systems and routes that get passengers to their ultimate destination in a more efficient manner. And in much greater comfort too. It was Qantas who invented business class travel back in 1979, recognising a need in an increasingly global business world. And for those who can travel in the name of pure indulgence, Qantas worked closely with Neil Perry to be the first airline to offer a carefully constructed degustation menu, such as those found in the world’s finest restaurants, in Qantas First in 2007. So it’s only natural then that Qantas has pioneered a whole new approach to inflight wine service too. It offers an unparalleled selection of wines from Australia’s most exciting producers, some of whose high-quality, low-volume wine would, once, never have made a blip on the radar of airline wine buyers. The result is a selection of inflight wines that is second to none, showcasing the diversity of Australia’s wine regions and including both iconic Australian wines as well as the emerging stars that will be the icons of tomorrow. Combine this with the establishment of an inspirational and world- class training facility in the heart of Sydney: the Qantas Centre of Service Excellence; where staff are trained to the very highest levels of customer service, and you have another item to add to the long list of Qantas achievements of the last 90 years. v gourmet traveller wine 5 WINE PANEL Survival of the Finest Three of the sharpest wine minds in the business apply their wealth of experience and talent to determine which drops make it into the Qantas cellar. or passengers, getting on board a plane is a reasonably easy Fprocess – buy a ticket, check-in, walk on and relax. For the wines you enjoy inflight, it’s a much tougher task. They have to make it past the Qantas Wine Panel. So who are these gate-keepers who decide what ends up in your glass? Vanya Cullen, Steve Pannell and Tom Carson are three of the most widely acclaimed winemakers and highly respected wine show judges in the country. Since taking over the winemaking duties at the family winery in the Margaret River from her trailblazing mother, Diana, Vanya has continued to build Cullen into a prominent name in Australian wine. She is responsible for one of the country’s best cabernet merlots, a sublime chardonnay and a semillon sauvignon blanc that introduces barrel ferment complexity to the distinc- tive regional style. Aside from being a wine show judge, she is a leading expert on biodynamic viticulture and was the Qantas/Gourmet Traveller WINE Winemaker of the Year in 2000. Like Cullen, Steve Pannell’s family was instrumental in the estab- lishment of the Margaret River region, starting the legendary Moss Wood vineyard in 1969, but it’s been in South Australia SOURCE OF INSPIRATION The vines at Cullen in Margaret River. Above: Vanya Cullen. 6 gourmet traveller wine SOUTHERN STAR Tom Carson has achieved great things in the Yarra. that Pannell has forged his winemaking career. Completing an oenology degree from the University of Adelaide, he worked vintages around the world before becoming group red winemaker for the BRL Hardy group at just 29. These days, he is concentrating primarily on producing his own eponymous label with a focus on red wines that take stylistic cues from Italy and Spain. Tom Carson’s career in wine began with him pruning vines during a bleak Yarra Valley winter and it didn’t take him long to realise that his future lay in the relative warmth of the winery. With an oenology degree under his belt, he returned to the Yarra in Victoria, working first at Coldstream Hills, then Yering Station and he’s currently chief winemaker at Yabby Lake. He’s also the chairman of the National Wine Show in Canberra, the youngest in its history. It’s the vast judging experience all three possess that really comes to the fore when they convene as the Qantas Wine Panel. It holds them in good stead for the sensory rigours of tasting a large number of wines in a single sitting and has helped them build the almost super-human levels of concentration such a task requires. But it’s not just the way they judge wine that makes them so well equipped for the job. It’s the way they drink it too. As enthusiastic collectors and consumers of the world’s great wines they under- stand where the benchmarks are, what excellence really means, and just how special it can be when a wine thoroughly surprises and amazes you. They are always looking for what’s new and exciting in Australia, hoping that what has captured their attention and earned their affection might just do the same thing for you.