Wine: Finns are the toast of the skies

The Finnish are at the start when it comes to wining passengers on planes. Their national airline, Finnair has been voted best airline for wine in a survey carried out by Business Traveller magazine.

British Airways did not take part, but Virgin Atlantic came fourth. The judges said Finnair's wines showed "remarkable consistency of quality". Second was Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways, with America's Continental third.

Best red wine was the Chateau Gruaud-Larose 1993 - a "rich deep" Bordeaux, served by Asiana Airlines. The Dutch carrier, KLM, had the best white wine - a Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 1996, a New Zealand wine described as "fresh, slightly pungent and delicious".

Virgin's Boschendal Pinot Noir Chardonnay 1995 tied for second place in the white wine category, while All Nippon's Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut, a lovely, lingering, lightly toasty" offering, took the sparkling wine award.