BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Air China recently attended the world famous Hospices de Beaune auction held in Burgundy, France's top wine-growing region and picked up 2013 young bottles for its First Class passengers on international routes. This is also the third consecutive year that Air China attended the auction.

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It's been over 550 years since Hospices de Beaune auction was held for the first time in 1859, and it is now the world's oldest charity wine auction. In the past hundreds of years, Hospices de Beaune has brought together many vineyards, over 85% of which are top quality ones. So every year, wine dealers and lovers flock to the auction for Burgundy wines.

The 153^rd Hospices de Beaune auction, held on November 17, 2013, showcased the 2013 vintage wines from Burgundy's 43 wine-producing regions, including Corton, Batard-Montrachet, Mazis-Chambertin, Meursault and Beaune. Air China's onboard duty-free wines procurement team picked up 17 barrels of 3 brands of reds and 2 brands of whites.

Before the auction, Air China's relevant staff did in-depth research into the domestic and foreign wine markets, and participated in wine workshops to learn about the historical backgrounds, sales prices, colors and flavors of the wines to be auctioned off at the Hospices de Beaune auction, and came up with three plans ensuring that Air China could get the best deals.

Air China has been serving up top-quality wines for its First Class passengers on long-range international flights, and is the first domestic carrier to pick up wines from a top wine auction in the world. Provision of fine wines in First Class/Business Class on international long-range routes has been an essential part of Air China's endeavor to improve its onboard dining experience. The French vintage wines of classified growths, selected by Air China's team of wine connoisseurs, have been offered on European/U.S. routes operated with B777-300ER. Air China aims to build its "Sky Wine Cellar." In 2014, Air China will also serve top quality wines onboard its newly delivered B747-8.

In future, Air China will continue to attend Hospices de Beaune auction to pick up quality wines which impress with their color and mellow aroma.

SOURCE Air China