Virgin Atlantic Airline Launches “Social Drinking Booth”

Virgin Atlantic has launched a social drinking space ‘The Booth’ on its latest A350 aircraft.

“The Booth’ will be “a cosy corner, providing comfy lounge style seating”. It will also feature two 27” touch screen monitors, and two Bluetooth audio jacks.

“We’re famous for our on-board social spaces and the introduction of The Booth elevates the customer proposition for our leisure travellers to new heights,” said Corneel Koster, Virgin Atlantic’s chief customer and operations officer.

“I’m delighted that we’ve curated The Booth specifically for our customers jetting off on holiday to our sunny destinations, such as Orlando, offering a truly stylish start to their trips,” Koster has added.

According to Virgin Atlantic, ‘The Booth’ has been “designed with beautiful, tactile finishes, including Scottish leather seats and a pressed wool effect table. It’s a luxurious spot just for two, to enjoy anything from a wine tasting experience, to a romantic dinner, a nightcap, or just a change of scene.”

People travelling between Heathrow and Orlando will be the first to experience ‘The Booth’ as a social drinking space with the first flight currently scheduled for December 2021.

#travelling #airlines #thebooth #socialdrinkingbooth #wine #winelovers #winetasting #wineandfoodpairing #spirits #spiritslover #planes #instatravelling #instaplane #travel #travelgram #cocktails #virginatlantic #avgeek

Whisky Sales Boosted by ‘Perceived Health Benefits’

Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey sales are set to soar, driven by “health benefits” perceived by consumers, a new study has claimed.

“Perceived health benefits of whiskey have made it a preferred drink among those aiming at weight management. Whiskey has no fat and minimum sodium content, which have made it a preferred alcohol for consumption among people with weight issues or obesity,” according to a whisky market study by Fact.MR.

“Prevalence of obesity across developed nations including the US, Canada, and the UK is high. This also has led to increased consumption of whiskey which contains no fat,” stated the report, predicting that “the demand for whiskey is set to rise at a consistent CAGR of 6% during the assessment period of 2021 and 2031,” and “the market will top the valuation of US$60Bn by 2021-end”.

As per the survey: “Revenues of Irish whiskey and single malt Scotch will grow at 19% and 13.5%, topping a valuation of US$664 million and US$732 million, respectively.”

Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In recent research from Our World In Data, obesity was recorded by country and highlighted that “in most high-income countries, around two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. In the US, 70% are. At the lowest end of the scale, across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa around 1-in-5 adults have a BMI greater than 25”.

Website:
https://www.factmr.com/

#scotland #scotch #whiskytasting #drams #weedrams #whiskylover  #whiskylife #dramgram #wateroflife #ireland #instawhisky #scotchwhisky #Irishwhiskey #whiskeylover #singlemalt #singlemaltwhisky

The Wine Scholar Guild launches a new sensory wine project

The Wine Scholar Guild (WSG) has unveiled a new way to assess wine that takes a deep dive into “personality,” and “terroir signature” of wine using sensory language and neuroscience.

The WSG initiative, entitled The Architecture of Taste Research Project (ATRP), involves non-traditional methods of assessment including universal criteria such as sensory perception, perceived energy and emotions to evaluate wine.

The Project Leader Julien Camus and his team took into account how language formats individual thought and collective culture and noted how olfactory notes may speak more about the genetic background, the experience and the culture of a person applying them than about a specific molecule within the wine itself.

“We need to pay more attention to the global intuitive signals our bodies give us. If we put our sole focus on wine’s structural components, we may miss the bigger message,” said WSG president, founder, and leader of the Architecture of Taste research project Julien Camus.

“Our current research is very encouraging. When using our assessment grid, certain sets of descriptors correspond to certain terroirs. There are patterns that are statistically significant,” added Camus.

The oenological research’s next phase of the study will involve sensory analysis experiments, blind-panel tastings, statistical analyses, and an expanded set of assessment criteria to encompass salinity, bitterness, umami and minerality – each within the context of how the body responds to stimuli.

The WSG has put together a multi-disciplinary, advisory committee of professionals to oversee the ATRP. Members of the committee include: Gabriel Lepousez, neuroscientist; Benoît Marsan, wine chemist; Marc-André Selosse, botanist and mycologist; Thibault Boulay, historian and vigneron; Clémence Corbière, historian and sommelière; Pascaline Lepeltier MOF, restaurateur and wine writer; Andrew Jefford, journalist and author; and Lisa M. Airey, CWE, wine educator.

The first large-scale panel tasting using the WSG’s new ATRP tasting grid will take place in Alsace sometime this month (September 2021).

 

#wine #winenews #instawine #winetasting #winescholarguild #wineeducation #WSG #ArchitectureofTaste #terroir #winedescriptions #olfactory #blindtasting #winelovers

Johnnie Walker opens eight-storey visitor centre in Edinburgh

Diageo has recently opened its Johnnie Walker visitor centre on Princes Street in the centre of Edinburgh. The eight-floor experience has been four years in the making and is the centrepiece of Diageo’s £185million investment in scotch whisky tourism in Scotland.

“This is a proud day for everyone,” said Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes. “Johnnie Walker Princes Street is a landmark investment in scotch whisky and into Scotland and it sets a new standard for immersive visitor attractions.”

The visitor centre has taken on more than 150 employees speaking 23 languages and guests on the Journey of Flavour tour will have their personal flavour preferences mapped with drinks tailored to their palate.

The Johnnie Walker Visitor Centre has two rooftop bars and a terrace with views of the Edinburgh skyline and its Learning for Life academy will also host a hospitality training programme.

The centre will open its doors to the public September 6th. Tickets for tours start from £25 per person, including a 90-minute tour and three personalized scotch whisky samples.

#travelling #whiskytourism #scotland #diageo #johnniewalker #scotlandtourism #scotch #whiskytasting #drams #weedrams #whiskylover #scotland #whiskylife #dramgram #wateroflife #instawhisky

Italian Grape Prices Are Now Listed Online

The Unione Italiano Vini (UIV), in collaboration with the Association of Wine Commissaries (MEd.&A.), has set up an online service showing trends in grape pricing. Just in time for the harvest season, the Osservatorio provides daily average quotations for 15 key grape varieties (in English and Italian).

This information is available via a free trial, but the paid subscription offers a much broader range of data including weekly prices for 450 varieties of wine and must, stretching back over a decade, as well as information on global trends.

Website:

https://www.osservatoriodelvino.it/uve/medea

 

#winetrade #wineharvest #wine #winelovers #wineries #italianwine #winetrends #winenews #italianwinelovers #instawine #italy #grapevarieties #wineeconomics #wineobservatory #italianwineries #winebusiness #winetech #winetechnology