At the 2012 International Wine Tourism Conference I spoke of creating ambassadors rather than customers. An customer will buy a bottle of wine or take a wine tour. An ambassador will do the same, but also go home and tell friends and family about the tour or winery. Wine guests from out of town visit an ambassador, the ambassador will bring them to the winery. Creating ambassadors is different than creating customers. Ambassadors are forged by the experience. The concept of creating ambassadors goes beyond wineries and wine tour operators.

We sadly left Italy for home today and at 3:00 am we had some bad news at Rome’s FCO airport. Our flight to Frankfurt was cancelled. The attendant at check-in was unfazed though. She was determined to resolve our dilemma. After staring at her computer screen for a long time as well as others’ computer screens she was able to place us on a flight to Munich and from there a flight to Dulles. Her never give up attitude said volumes about Lufthansa. Little did we know that this was only the start.

We did have first class tickets, a result of airline miles. This was the first we have flown Lufthansa and were interested in how their first class stacked up to Air New Zealand and United. We concluded that Lufthansa’s first class is the first class of first class. We exited from our flight at Munich on the runway looking for a bus that would take us to the terminal. However a driver from Lufthansa had a sign that said Sullivan. We identified ourselves and she whisked us off to the first class lounge in the airport with a Porsche that happened to have heated back seats. We didn’t expect this.The first class lounge at the Munich airport was very relaxing and all personnel there were intent on providing a good experience.

During the International Wine Tourism Conference we became slightly spoiled with five to six course meals for lunch and dinner. One would think that airline food wouldn’t be a topic worthy of writing about. Lufthansa’s first class service changed that. Before taxing from the airport we had a “D” de Devaux Brut, Champagne Veuve Devaux, Frankreich. The champagne was a light yellow color with apple on aroma and taste. A steady stream of tiny bubbles was visual appealing. They must have cut the bottom of the glass bowl. The finish was crisp and cleansing. The champagne paired well with the first course of caviar. That was followed by another first course of king prawn confit with palm hearts, mint and coconut flakes. For the second course I chose soup of parmigiano reggiano cheese with toasted croutons. My main course was haddock served with mustard sauce, spinach and mashed potatoes. Finally dessert was a Schwarzwalder Kiirsch. It included chocolate cake with cherry brandy parfait and aged balsamic vinegar. Since I had two different first courses, this ended being a five-course lunch.

The champagne paired well with the first few courses. After dessert it was time to taste a red. From the wine list I chose a 2006 Dao Reserva, casa de Santar. This wine from Portugal was complex. There were different layers on the aroma and taste including dark fruit, spices and even a hint of dried fruit such as raisins. There were tannins on the finish that was also layered. The wine was a blend of Touriga National, Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roniz.

I asked about German wines. The flight attendant found a bottle of 2010 Prinz Von Hessen Riesling Kabinet Reingau. The straw colored wine had an intense floral aroma with a hint of apricots. There was no hint of apricots on the taste as they were predominant with a hint of floral. Minerals also kicked in on the taste.

For a dessert wine they served Madeira Verdelho by Henriques & Henriques. A high proof alcohol was added to the fermentation to kill the yeasts and stop the fermentation. The ten year old wine was a deep amber color. There was alcohol and dried fruits on the aroma. The taste was smooth and offered dried fruit and baking spices. The wine was not overly sweet and with twenty percent alcohol had very little heat on the aftertaste.

The next time we fly to Europe, I want to fly Lufthansa. They provided a great experience and created an ambassador.

Cheers,
Terry