Below I provide my completely honest and unbiased opinion regarding the in-flight wine and cheese selection amid a luxury airline.

As we all know, Spirit Airlines has become synonymous with luxury air travel. Their cushionless seats that remain at a rigid 90 degree angle truly allow one to stand at attention and “Catch the Spirit”. If you resist the ample legroom provided on other, lesser airlines, and are less than 5 feet tall, then Spirit’s cozy confines are perfect for you.

The Selection

On a recent trip amid Spirit airlines, I decided to sample the in-flight wine and cheese selection. This was in addition to the water I purchased. Unlike other airlines, Spirit humbly requests that passengers purchase any amount of water needed while on board the aircraft. This undoubtedly guarantees fresher, cleaner water since we all know the old adage that you get what you pay for.

After perusing the extensive menu, I selected the “Cheese Tray” for $7 that includes Sharp Cheddar, Smoked Gouda, American Cheese, Crackers, Dried Apples and Cranberries. I am such a cheese aficionado that I always sample the local cheeses while on my world travels, and that includes while in the air. For the wine, I carefully decided on a white wine to pair with these cheeses and ordered a 2017 Trinity Oaks Pinot Grigio (a world-renowned vintage).

The Presentation

The cheese spread was served in this convenient plastic packaging, thoughtfully demonstrating Spirit’s commitment to protecting the environment; while the bottle of wine was delicately encircled in bleached white napkins like tissue paper, giving one the sense of unwrapping a very special gift.

The Tasting

After preparing my hors d’oevres on the spacious dining table, I was ready to begin.

If you know me, you know what a wine snob I am. While in college I never drank anything but the high-brow labels of Franzia, Sutter Home, and Boone’s Farm. Imagine my delight when I saw that Spirit Airlines carried the famed Trinity Oaks. I once sampled wine on a centuries old vineyard in Italy outside of Rome, and let me tell you, this bottle of Trinity Oaks is incomparable.

The complex bouquet delighted the nose with aromas of black currant, leather, and pure alcohol. The taste on the tongue had a high acidity as all the best Pinot Grigio’s do, with a delicate balance of tannins, smoke, dried apricots, Spanish olives, ripe melon, muddy earthiness, diamond minerality, blanched broccoli, fresh spinach, tropical fruit, dark coffee, Amazonian rubber, milk chocolate, and grapes.

For the cheeses, I first sampled the sharp cheddar. As I chewed, the delightfully waxy texture coated my palate. I then bit into one of the crackers, which were clearly aged. The package did not provide a vintage of the crackers, but I would estimate they were first baked around the year 2000.

The Alpine-Smoked Gouda and American curiously tasted exactly the same. Perhaps, my palate is not refined enough to discern the subtle differences. In all, the cheeses were impressive in the amount of processing. Spirit’s partners sure did not spare effort by way of processing the process cheeses.

As a final course, I finished with the dried apples and cranberries. The cranberries tasted like cranberries, however the “apples” were impossible to identify without the label. I allowed my husband to sample a dried apple, and he did not know what he was eating. The flavor and texture must have been too overwhelming for him to comprehend, because he actually spit it out on his napkin and could not finish, the experience was so great.

Conclusion

Take it from me, the next time you plan a trip, splurge on the bare fare and take Spirit Airlines. It is worth it to sample this extraordinary wine and cheese delight.