TOKYO February 05, 2013- ANA, Japan’s largest airline group, today announces that it is to serve a range of premium drinks on international flights from March 2013.

Wine
ANA will serve Business Class passengers travelling between Tokyo and Europe / North America a range of regional wines jointly developed by ANA, a winery and Ned Goodwin. The range will be on offer from March until the end of August 2013. Goodwin, who holds the prestigious industry qualification of Master of Wine, has produced a special range of wines which reflect the subtle differences in taste and scent passengers experience when flying. The wine was blended and matured by Hecht et Bannier, a leading boutique winery from the southern France.

Passengers can enjoy the Languedoc Red Ned Goodwin MW Selection 2011 Hecht et Bannier, a smooth-bodied red wine offering a delicate balance between crisp acidity and subtle astringency, and the Languedoc White Ned Goodwin MW Selection 2011 Hecht et Bannier, a fresh and fruity white, with notes of citrus contributing to the rich taste.



Each year, ANA spends approximately six months carefully choosing its in-flight wine list. The process, which begins in March, begins with a review of written submissions of approximately 2,100 different wines and involves selecting 250 wines for the final round of tasting by our wine advisers, in-flight-meal chefs, and cabin attendants with sommelier qualifications.

Japanese green tea
In March 2013, ANA will introduce a new range of delicious Japanese green teas. ANA will be offering a selection of high-quality brands carefully chosen from renowned tea-producing regions across Japan.

First-Class
Gyokuro (Gyokuro-sensui): Gyokuro tea is among the most exquisite of teas, and is made with the first handpicked leaves of the new season. Gyokuro, which is grown in Shizuoka City, produces a relatively light-colored infusion with a complex, refined aroma and deep rich taste.

Roasted green tea (Kaga-houji-cha): This fine tea is produced by gently roasting the first, fresh leaves of the season. Passengers can enjoy the refreshing aroma and delicious flavor of this traditional houji-cha from Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Seasonal tea: (Sosakuwako-cha): This Japanese style flavored tea is a great way to enjoy the taste of green tea accompanied by other flavors, which vary depending on the season. The tea, from Shizuoka City, will be served in three varieties: cherry blossom, summer citrus fruit and apple.

Business Class
Yamecha: This tea is made by special blending and processing the bud tea (kona-cha) produced from the buds of the first green tea harvest in Yame City, Shizuoka Prefecture, before adding powder tea (macha), also from Yame.


Green teas served in First Class
(from left, Sosaku-wakocha, houji-cha, gyokuro)

Japanese sake
ANA offer sake produced by Iwaki Kotobuki Junmai. The beverage was first brewed in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, which was impacted by the Great Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Iwaki Kotobuki, which has been a favorite of fishermen since Japan's feudal period, is often used to accompany celebratory occasions. The brewer's storehouse, located on Japan's Pacific Coast, was completely destroyed by the tsunami, but, in a stroke of good fortune, some of the yeast used to brew the brand survived at a research institution owned by the prefectural government. The brewery Suzuki ShuzoTen Izo purchased the Iwaki Kotobuki brand and was able to use the saved yeast to restart production in Yamagata Prefecture from 2012.

Iwaki Kotobuki will be offered on all First and Business Class flights to Europe and the North America from March 2013, as well as Business Class flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Delhi and Mumbai.

About Ned Goodwin
Ned Goodwin is the first resident of Japan recognized as a Master of Wine. He works as Wine Director for one of Asia's largest restaurant groups and also serves as a consultant on Asian markets to a well-known champagne house. He is deeply involved in wine education, enthusiastically passing on his passion for wine to his restaurant staff. He has participated in ANA's in-flight wine selection since 2011, and became one of ANA's official in-flight wine advisors in 2012.

About Hecht et Bannier
Hecht et Bannier is a Negociant en vins established in 2002 in Languedoc-Rousillon, southern France. Founders Gregory Hecht and Francois Bannier purchase and blend only the finest selected wines to create their own finished products. Hecht et Bannier's wines are easy to drink, with a good balance of light and bold flavors that invokes a Mediterranean feel.