Global business aviation company VistaJet in December launched the VistaJet Wine Program designed to enhance the wine experience aboard the company’s private jets. Program elements include a signature wine list with selections that take advantage of the effects of flying to perform best in the sky; the VistaJet Wine Club, wine tours and the World of Wine Concierge service that offers tasting advice for members both prior to flight and at destination.

During the development of The VistaJet Wine Program, the company some of the world’s foremost wine experts, including those from Marchesi Antinori, Rothschild (Lafite), Ca’ del Bosco and Artemis Domaines. The pros sampled, tasted and compared a number of different wines from all over the world on the ground and in the sky to better understand how taste and smell are affected by the atmosphere and work together in a pressurized aircraft cabin. The learnings from these literal wine flights helped shape the program and selections.

Another aspect of the new program is The Wine in the Sky Questionnaire, a compendium of suggestions for tasting, serving and transporting wine on travels around the world. Oenophiles including Sofia Coppola, Andrea Bocelli, Jeannie Cho Lee and Daniel Boulud, contributed to The Wine in the Sky Questionnaire, which advises on how to select the most appropriate wines considering the different effects of flying on the senses.

Wine collector and investor Thomas Flohr founded VistaJet in 2004. The London-based company operates a fleet of more than 70 jets for corporate, government and private clients.