RAISE A GLASS
Late last year, some of the world’s finest wine experts convened to judge our annual Cellars in the Sky awards. Our panel – masters of wine Sarah Abbott, Tim Atkin and Peter McCombie and head judge Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge – once again returned to select the best bottles served in business and first class in 2020.
Cellars in the Sky has been running since 1985 and, despite everything that came to pass, 2020 marked no exception. In true pandemic style the judges were careful to abide by social distancing rules, with Metcalfe joining in with the two days of tastings from home via Zoom. The circumstances may have changed but the quality of wines was as high as ever and the judges’ discussions just as animated.
HOW THE AWARDS WORK
The competition is open to any carrier that serves wine in business or first class on mid- or long-haul routes. Each airline is invited to enter two reds, two whites, a rosé, a sparkling, and a fortified or dessert wine from both cabins. They can compete in as many categories as they like but to be eligible for the Best Overall Cellar award they had to enter at least one red, white and sparkling.
All of the tasting is done blind, with the branding of the bottles hidden beneath black bags labelled
