Stefan, could you first tell us a little about yourself?

Sure! My name is Stefan Muigg, I joined SWISS in 2011 and I’ve been a maître de cabine on our short-haul network since 2016. I’m also a trained sommelier: I completed my course – which included acquiring professional experience at the two-Gault-Millau-toque Julius Meinl am Graben gourmet restaurant in Vienna – back in 2018.

What would you say are the chief characteristics of a rosé wine?

Well, as the name suggests, rosés are pink-coloured wines, though the range of hues here can extend all the way from salmon-pink to cherry-red. As a rule, they’re made from red wine grapes, but they’ve been made with very little contact between the grape juice and the grapes’ skin, seeds and stems. This is what makes them so fruity and light.

Lightness aloft! So why haven’t we had rosé wines on board before?

Rosés have been growing in importance, and they’ve been a popular choice for some years now. At SWISS we always strive to move with the times. And that’s why we’ve now decided to trial these wines on board. At the same time, though, we’ll still be offering our Swiss wines as an integral part of our SWISS Taste of Switzerland inflight culinary programme.

How should people choose what wines to drink with their meal?

As a basic rule you should begin with light, fruity wines and then gradually progress to the tannic full-bodied reds. Rosés have a general lightness about them, and are light in tannins, too. And this makes them the perfect accompaniment to a wide range of dishes.  

In a classic meal, cheese will be served after the main course and before the dessert. And if our inflight guests now opt to leave the traditional path of having red wine with their cheese, they’ll actually be on a better track: interestingly, most types of cheese go much better with white or rosé wines.

So what you’re saying is that we should choose rosés more…

“Think local” is what I’d urge us all to do most. Whatever people eat in the various winegrowing regions will generally go well with the local wines. The two rosés that we are newly offering our SWISS First and Business Class guests both come from Provence in France. And from shellfish to classic casseroles, traditional French cuisine pairs excellently with rosé. From this June onwards, we’ll also be serving meal creations from the award-winning Aux Trois Amis restaurant in Canton Bern aboard our flights. And here, too, I’d strongly recommend one of our new rosés to accompany them.

What dishes do rosés go with best?

They really are very versatile. They make a great aperitif: they’re light and not too lavish, and they don’t have that much alcohol, so they won’t overwhelm. They also pair very well with any fish dish, with the kind of heartier fare that we’ve mentioned already, with casseroles and stews and last but not least with cheese.

For me it’s a matter of finding the right dish to go with a particular wine: I choose my wine first and then focus on the food. If your wine is complementing your meal, the whole dining experience is enhanced.

How does our senses’ appreciation of a wine change when we’re aloft?

The altitude reduces our ability to taste both sweet and savoury flavours by around 30 per cent. The air pressure in the aircraft cabin is about what you’d get at 2,000 to 3,000 metres above sea level on the ground – lower, in other words, than where most of us would be. As a result of these conditions, a wine that is very tannic or acidic will taste more aggressive aloft, while an aromatic wine will tend to taste better.

Wine connoisseurs have often been dismissive of rosés in the past. Where did this ‘old-fashioned’ image come from?

Yes, rosés were overlooked for some time – unfairly so because, as people have since discovered, they offer a range of enjoyment experiences that is pretty much unmatched by any other wine, from straightforward fresh and fruity examples all the way through to wines that can hold their own in the highest of company and are wonderfully multi-faceted.

As for the image, I think what we’ve seen here is a change in consumer tastes. In the past, it was loud and opulent wines with a lot of alcohol and tannins that people sought most. In the last few years, though, the trend has been more towards lighter and more elegant alternatives. The rosé is a classic wine that hides its muscles under its tux!

And how is a rosé best served?

Slightly chilled. On no account too warm!

Cheers!