I proudly spotted a tempting selection of South African
wines served on the British Airways A380 airbus service while flying between
Johannesburg and London in March - Oldenburg Chardonnay 2013 and Annex Kloof
Malbec 2012. High in the air, I recalled a recent earthy tasting of Oldenburg wines at The
Test Kitchen with renowned winemaker Philip Costandius who commented, “We’re
still finding our style. We’re looking for a fresher, more expressive style, a
newer definition moving into the future”. The tasting notes translated Ban(g)hoek
as “scary corner” once roamed by leopards - raving about the awards garnered by
this barrel-fermented wine.
Getting their flagship wine made from a lesser known Cape variety (rated four stars by John Platter’s 2014) is also a neat trick for a boutique Swartland producer like the Basson brothers at Annex Kloof. Sharing the bill with a classic Rhône blend (an SMG blend with Cinsault) from Demoiselles de la Font du Loup - the Fountain of the Wolves - is even more impressive. How often are you offered a red from the Rhône, Châteauneuf du Pape and Malmesbury? Hooray for the bray on BA. The creamy, full-bodied texture and big spicy, vanilla tannins of Annex Kloof and Oldenburg showed well in the dry atmosphere of high altitude where more delicate flavours vanish.
Wine tastes completely different on the ground and at 10 000 metres up. A research study into taste recognition in long-haul flights conducted by SAA in the late 1990s found that dehydration in pressurised cabins resulted in substantially reduced recognition of flavours like coffee, cocoa, chocolate and soft fruit flavours like banana and peach - but marginally reduced recognition of citrus flavours with no measurable loss in the typical riper berry fruits of new world wines. While less ripe tannins such as the grassy, herbaceous elements of Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon are accentuated, oak tannins show strongly and sweeter vanillins are lost at high altitude.
Fortunately, I was able to taste a few of South Africa’s finest wines in the BA business
lounge before boarding my own long-haul flight to London. Making the A-list in-flight or on the
ground is a great window of opportunity for Cape
producers to show their wines to incoming and outgoing world travellers. When I
passed through recently, they were pouring inter alia Journey’s End Chardonnay,
Louis Nel’s Buckleberry Cold Fermented Sauvignon Blanc, South Hill Sauvignon
Blanc, L’Avenir Pinotage, Rickety Bridge Shiraz and Longridge Shiraz. Yay for
brand SA.
If you’ve ever wondered why it’s impossible to get a hot cup
of tea or coffee in the air, it’s apparently because water boils at 91 degrees
rather than 100 at reduced atmospheric pressure. In 2012, British Airways
introduced the concept of “height cuisine” on long-haul flights to counter the
effect of altitude, lower humidity and “other sensory inhibitors” in aircraft
cabins. After conducting research with molecular wizard Heston Blumenthal, they
elevated the flavours of food and wine in the air by upping the umami (the
fifth savoury taste) element of dishes (olives, tomatoes, soy, citrus, parmesan
and Asian spices) - and looked closely at which wine styles they paired to
in-flight food. Wine in the air is big business. BA serves 70 000 bottles of
champagne, 80 000 white and 86 000 red bottles in the air every year. While red
wine is the most popular in the sky, white is the most popular in lounges on terra
firma.
Flying around the world to
find great wines may sound like a dream job, but for Chris Cole it also means
having to make sure his choices satisfy 40 million customers a year. Cole is F&B
manager of British Airways. If Business Traveller’s Cellar in the Sky Awards
are anything to go by, he’s largely getting it right. BA recently took the
overall best airline for wine award as well as Best Business Class Cellar, Best
First Class Red and Best Business Class White. He explains, “We’ve created wine
regions, which enables us to tailor our wine menus. For example on our South
African routes we always showcase local wines. This gives South African
customers a choice of wines that may be familiar while allowing visitors to
sample the some best in the country has to offer. The regional approach means
we can buy smaller parcels, allowing our wine buyers to seek niche wineries to
complement favourites.”
En route to Los
Angeles on a media assignment during the Oscars Week I
had a lot of time on my hands to explore the mile high food and wine club on
two back-to-back flights on the new A380 airbus service by British Airways. It
still amazes me how I can get to eighteen or so major destinations in the US
direct from Cape Town with only one brief stop-over in London in 24 hours - a
distance of some 12 000 miles on my recent trip to Los Angeles. I’ve also flown
this way to Chicago and Las Vegas. LA was the first destination on BA’s new airbus service - followed by Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Washington
DC - San Francisco
and Miami as of
April 2015.
After a quick shower between flights, I was delighted to spot
Oldenburg Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay on offer in the BA business class lounge
at London Heathrow - proudly competing with wine labels from Bordeaux
and Champagne to Marlborough
and Napa. And
at Gordon Ramsay’s wittily named Plane Food restaurant in terminal five, I
spotted yet more South African wine on the list - including De Wetshof, Fairview, Porcupine Ridge
and Thelema. Twelve hours of travel down with twelve more to go. By the time we
arrived in LA, I had experienced my longest Monday ever (34 hours, including
the ten hour time gain) - and was ready for a jet-lag massage (the masseur
offered me a glass of rooibos called an African sunrise!) and a long snooze.
Over the next three days, I explored the legendary urban
sprawl of LA by bicycle and foot, working off jet-lag with pure pedal and foot
power. Cycling up Sunset Boulevard into Beverly Hills
with a star-map in my backpack and cycling Santa Monica
to Muscle Beach
and Venice Beach, we experienced LA the active way
- joining all the joggers, skateboarders, roller bladders and speed-walkers on
the Pacific coast. I added thirty miles by foot and cycle to my 12 000 miles by
air. And I enjoyed spotting Charlize Theron’s star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame - and homeboy Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9, Elysium) new sci-fi Chappie in
bright lights on billboards.
In-between we lunched at a trendy vegan Mexican restaurant
called Gracias Madre (meaning “Thank you mom!”) on Melrose Boulevard - which
serves over 150 artisanal tequilas and mescal - as well as chocolate and
tequila pairings and vintage tequila flights. I spotted Anthonij Rupert’s
Protea Chenin Blanc by the glass and bottle (R440) on the wine-list - and
spotted Beyoncé and Jay-Z doing lunch with their bodyguards in the courtyard.
In the spirit of body-beautiful LA I enjoyed a green smoothie - an energising mocktail
of mango, spinach, coconut milk, lime juice, agave and ginger! The grilled
prickly pear cactus salad was out of season - so I ordered a massaged kale
salad instead. Only in LA. Swopping my bicycle for sneakers, it was time to
walk off the delicious faux coconut bacon and tempeh chorizo wraps on a sunset
hike into Hollywood Hills to see that iconic sign - and look for real cougars.
We also enjoyed fine Californian cuisine showcasing local
ingredients and producers at the iconic Eveleigh restaurant on Sunset Boulevard
- which specialises in boutique wines from cellars which produce 1000 cases or
less. On the Santa Monica Pier, an old folkie was playing that subliminal old
song which still captures the unique sense of place. I reluctantly checked out of
my own luxury cocoon at The London West Hollywood Hotel on Sunset Strip - next
to Johnny Depp’s Old Viper Room and the Whisky A Go Go - with that old Eagles
song ringing in my ears, “Welcome to the Hotel California. Such a lovely place.
Any time of year, you can find it here. You can check out anytime but you can
never leave!” Show me the way to the
nearest raw juice bar! Uno, dos, tres. One last smoothie and it was time to
make the trek home.
* Graham Howe visited Los
Angeles as a guest of British Airways, The London West
Hollywood and LA EcoTourism Bikes and Hikes. For more info, visit www.ba.com, www.bikeshikes.com
and www.thelondonwesthollywood.com