Which wine pairs best with tiny bags of peanuts? That’s a question to ask any of the 28 airlines that recently participated in Business Traveller’s 2013 Cellars in the Sky Awards. The competition, run annually since 1985, is based on blind tastings conducted in London in December 2013. Four judges independently score the wine, although it’s not clear whether or not they do so in the air.

 

The big winner of the night was Qantas with five separate awards, including Best Overall Wine Cellar, Best First Class Cellar and Best Business Class Cellar. Oneworld came away with the Best Airline Alliance award while Delta was shut out altogether. Major Middle Eastern airlines like Etihad, Emirates, El-Al, and Qatar Airways all scored extremely well with Emirates taking the silver medal for Overall Wine Cellar and El-Al sharing the bronze with Cathay Pacific.

 

The full list of winners is here:

 

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) – 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) – 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) – 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

 

All airlines that participated:

 

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.