UIA and partners operated a unique "wine flight"

24.05.2021: On Saturday, May 22, 2021, Ukraine International Airlines and Odessa Wine Week raised the Ukrainian wine brand to the highest level. This creative tandem for the first time in Ukraine made a unique air travel in the history of Ukrainian winemaking and the phenomenon of Odesa cuisine.

The unusual flight "Odesa - Odesa" started on Saturday at noon with a welcome drink Shabo Brut Special Edition to the accompaniment of an orchestra in the check-in hall of the International Airport "Odesa". 130 guests went on the UIA “wine voyage”, the first at an altitude of 10,000 meters to taste the top 5 Ukrainian wines - the winners of the All-Ukrainian tasting contest “Odessa Wine & Spirit Awards”. The non-standard flight was attended by both residents of Odesa and residents of the capital, who went to the Odesa airport this morning with a regular UIA domestic flight.

The air tasting nominees were sparkling 46 Parallel Pinot Gris El Capitan 2019, Riesling Rhine white wine, Prince P.N. Trubetskyy "2016 Vinhol Oksamytne LLC Villa Tinta Riesling 2019, red wine Cabernet Grand Reserve" Shabo "2017, red Aliberne Reserve Limited Edition 2017" Giginieshvili Wine House".

To emphasize the refined taste and aroma of the best wines of Ukraine, we used special tasting glasses made using a special Riedel technology. The MIRS corporation, the official representative of Riedel in Ukraine, also became a partner of the flight. An unusual tasting in the air was conducted by highly qualified sommelier Anna Evgeniya Yanchenko. On this special flight, UIA flight attendants provided not only aviation security, but also on-board service. The crew worked in a reinforced composition of six people, in which each flight attendant has a diploma of wine etiquette. Excellent service during the tasting in the air was provided by flight attendants Alina Smichik, Valeria Fatkina, Gulchekhra Radzhabova, Iryna Boyko, Ervin Sharipov and Volodymyr Muromtsev.

UIA's unusual tasting trip was also visited by a team of sommeliers and marketers from the well-known Odesa restaurant chain Synergy Group.

Special attention was paid to the specialties of Odesa cuisine, selected as an ideal wine and gastronomic pair in the best wines of Ukraine according to the tasting commission of Odessa Wine Week. The author of the Odesa specialty was Stéphane Vaittinadane, the chef of Le Grand cafe at Bristol Hotel 5 * Odesa. The chef - a judge of the television projects “King of Desserts”, “Master Chef” and “Master Chef Children” - joined the tasting on board the aircraft and personally congratulated the participants of the “wine flight”.

Continuous drive, fun and exquisite Odesa humor were presented to passengers by the host, the famous traveler Kolya Serga. The exclusive guest of the UIA “wine flight” was showman, radio and TV host Slava Demin.

As a souvenir of this unusual event, all guests were left with individual Riedel tasting glasses and Shabo aprons.

UIA would like to sincerely thank the General Partners of the unique flight Crédit Agricole Bank and Mastercard, the Partners of the event: Bristol Hotel 5 * Odesa, Odesa International Airport, as well as the guests of the “wine flight” for the joy of being together on that beautiful spring day. Special thanks to the ideological inspirer of the extraordinary tasting project on UIA wings - Odessa Wine Week partner!

Recently, UIA has been surprising its passengers with creative ideas, such as “Flight over Kyiv” and “Wine flight” over Odesa. And to reveal the secret, this is not the last creative project of the UIA creative team. Therefore, follow the news on social networks, and see you in the sky!