Emirates will introduce a new collection of Champagnes and fine wines across its global network throughout 2026, refreshing the Emirates inflight wine list in all four cabins. The rollout covers First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy, and includes the airline’s first English sparkling wine.
For UK companies routing staff through Dubai to Asia, Africa and Australasia, the change lands on some of the longest sectors on a corporate travel programme. Onboard food and drink is one of the few tangible differences between carriers once schedule, seat pitch and fare have been compared. Emirates has spent more than USD 1 billion on its wine programme since 2006 and holds a collection of five million bottles, matured in dedicated facilities in France before the wines ever reach an aircraft.
What lands in each cabin
First Class takes the rarest of the selection. Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017 leads on richness and freshness, alongside Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2015 from Burgundy and Le Petit Cheval Blanc 2023, a limited production white from Château Cheval Blanc. Chile is represented by Seña 2016 and Australia by Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2015 from the Barossa, while Château Mouton Rothschild 2003 gives passengers a mature First Growth Bordeaux with more than two decades of development behind it. South Africa’s Vilafonté Series C 2016 completes the roster, and the wines join the Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2009 already served up front.
Business Class gets La Dame de Montrose 2014 from Bordeaux and a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2024 from the Rhône. Premium Economy, a cabin Emirates has been rolling out across more of its fleet, picks up La Parde de Haut-Bailly 2014 and a Chablis Premier Cru 2024. Economy passengers get a revised list drawn from France and South Africa, chosen for character, freshness and approachability rather than cellar credentials.
An English sparkling wine joins the Emirates inflight wine list
The addition most likely to register with British travellers sits in Premium Economy. Wiston Estate Brut NV, grown on chalk soils at the foot of the South Downs in West Sussex, is the first English sparkling wine Emirates has put on board. It follows English fizz into premium cabins on other carriers, and confirms the category has moved from curiosity to fixture on serious airline wine lists.
Where it has been placed is the interesting part. Premium Economy is where a growing share of UK corporate travel policy now sits, particularly on mid-length routes where Business Class is out of policy but a standard Economy seat does not work for someone due in a meeting the next morning. A recognisable British name in that cabin is a direct pitch to those bookers and the travellers they look after.
Why buying years ahead matters
Emirates secures limited parcels several years before the wines are poured, then holds them until it judges them ready, a strategy set out in the airline’s own newsroom announcements. That is why a 2003 Bordeaux and a 2015 Burgundy can appear on a list rolling out in 2026, and why several of these bottles are hard to find on the ground at any price.
For travel managers the practical read is narrow but real. Wine will not move a programme on its own. It does feed the onboard experience scores that travellers cite when they push back on a preferred carrier, and it strengthens the case for Emirates on the 13 and 14 hour sectors where staff are most vocal about comfort. The list phases in across routes through 2026 rather than switching on everywhere at once, so what is poured on any given flight will depend on when that route is updated. Anyone booking a First Class seat specifically for the Mouton Rothschild would be wise to check the route first.
