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The Moodie Report presents the latest edition of My Wine Journey, a regular column in association with Treasury Wine Estates. My Wine Journey features leading buyers and other travel retail executives discussing their love of wine and its presentation and prospects in the channel.
This week Rodger Craig, Director of UK company Inflight Initiatives, shares his journey with us.
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Wine by the flight: Rodger Craig enjoys a good glass with daughter Alice |
How did you first become interested in wine?
Rodger Craig: My parents ran pubs and restaurants and so there was always wine about the place. I remember the wine supplier being called Grants of St James’s, and trying such delights as Spanish Sauternes and Niersteiner Gutes Domtal.
Do you remember the first bottle to truly make an impression on you?
Not really. Wine was a gradual education for me, and only later in life did I feel qualified to make comment. What makes an impression on me these days is the capacity for old vintages of left bank Bordeaux to age. Last year at a Christmas bash one of our chums brought a magnum of Latour ’47, and it was a delight.
What is your most memorable wine experience?
Many years ago I and a few chums formed a club called the “˜Dangerous Dining Club’. We met every Friday 13th and consumed any banned food products such as the “˜Edwina Eggs’ in bull shots, unpasteurised cheese and beef on the bone (when banned). This was always accompanied by the best wine.
We did vertical and horizontal tastings depending on what we had available. However, millennium year was different; it was decided that we would bring something that we would really like our friends to drink to bring in the next century. It was quite amazing what we drank:
Solera Sherry from circa 1870
Magnums of ’61 Latour
Château Petrus ’75
Château Cheval Blanc ’85
Château Margaux ’83
Magnum Chateau de Beaucastel ’81
Château d’Yquem ’76
Château Rieussec ’86
The food matched the wines, and we probably had the greatest feast ever!
If you had the chance to visit a wine-producing country/region, where would it be and why?
The homeland of Moodie-san [New Zealand] because it is one of the only places I have not visited, with the exception of the ex-Russian states.
What is your favourite wine, and why?
I have always been a big fan of the whites from Alsace – Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive Grand Cru. Red would probably be something from the Rhone such as Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde from Guigal. Sweet wine – it would have to be d’Yquem.
Tell us in a nutshell how your company works in the wine world?
We are on the tender list for many airlines and ferry companies and bid for the business. We represent some of the finest wineries in the world, and source wines to bottle in a variety of sizes and materials.
You’re very active in the airline wine sector. In your mind what wines are best suited to drinking onboard, and why?
Any wine served has to be fruit-driven with developed tannins that are not harsh.
What is your opinion of the wine category in travel retail?
It needs greater attention.
What is your favourite airport for wine retail and why?
Dubai – simply because of Le Clos. It is a wonderful store, and a great experience for wine buffs.
You have a table for two reserved on the beach at an idyllic island resort. What wine, what food? Why?
Aperitif – Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill (any year). For the main course wine, I refer back to my earlier answer. It would be a white from Zind Humbrecht or a German Riesling from Zilliken.
Food would be a plateau de fruit de mer: Dover sole would be delicious or, if it was a competent chef, a bouillabaisse. Dessert – I just love chocolate fondant with the funny inside, and of course a ’90 d’Yquem. The reason? “If you have to ask, you’ll never know” -Louis Armstrong.
Earlier editions of My Wine Journey:
1. LS travel retail Pacific General Manager Duty Free Ivo Favotto
2. Flemingo Main Board Director Paul Topping
4. Emirates Leisure Retail Group and MMI CEO Andrew Day
5. The Nuance Group Global head of Liquor Kevin Baker
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