Which wine tasting has the worst carbon footprint worldwide?

istajet has launched a ‘Wine Program’ offering exclusive tastings and trips by private jet for institutional clients, industry members and private customers. The service includes high-altitude wine tasting experiences and masterclasses, namely for Dom Pérignon Champagne and Hennessy Cognac (LVMH group). There are also trips, including one to the storied Italian winery Marchesi Antinori, with the inevitable helicopter flight to view the vineyards of Tuscany. To hell with saving money, or the environment?

Urgent ongoing environmental issues make this experience feel anachronistic, to say the least. “Emissions from the aviation industry in Europe rose by an average 5% in terms of moving annual totals between 2013 and 2019”, warned the European Commission recently, forecasting continued increases after Covid put a curb on air travel.

Aside from its luxury tour operator proposal in wine regions around the world, does tasting Grands Crus in the Vistajet troposphere offer any real advantages in terms of flavour compared with those back on terra firma? The response proffered by the airline company leaves you wondering: “The lower humidity and pressure in an air cabin changes the way the olfactory receptors at the back of our noses interact with smell molecules. Bubbles found in sparkling wines, which contain up to thirty times more aromas than the liquid, tend to stick to the sides of the glass and fruit flavours are diminished, while bitterness and acidity are also diminished”, explains Vistajet, quoting Professor Charles Spence from Oxford University, who has also commented that “the background noise from the engines during a commercial flight negatively affects sense of smell and taste”. The company insists, however, that the noise of its jets is 35 decibels lower than that of classic commercial flights.

So should we keep our head in the clouds? To date, the only other serious contender for the title of worst carbon footprint might be tasting a bottle of Petrus that was sent into space. Perhaps this will prompt new ideas for exclusive tasting offers. When bottles end up in orbit, then common sense will truly have gone out the window.