California, Here We Come

This spring, I flew to California for the 40th Los Angeles Marathon. It was my very first time flying “fancy class,” and the JetBlue Mint Wine List was a highlight.

Crafted by Parcelle, an online wine shop with a fantastic restaurant and wine bar in NYC, these were wines you’d actually order outside of an airplane, served in glasses, not tiny bottles.

The options were awesome:

• Cava
  a Spanish sparkling made like Champagne

• Albariño
  a light Spanish white

• Skin Contact
  an orange wine from Oregon

• Beaujolais
  a chilled light French red

• Napa Cabernet Blend
  a big bold California red

Since I was celebrating my 21st marathon and the flight was at 7am, I went with the Cava (no orange juice, please) and it was really flippin’ nice. Bubbly & refreshing, the citrus and floral flavors were sophisticated, not sweet. I liked it so much, I ordered it on the way home too.

The guys at Parcelle do a great job of selecting cool wines and telling you awesome, easy to understand facts about what you’re drinking. You could learn a lot about wine just from reading their write-ups on the JetBlue Wine List, which is why I’ve linked to it here.*

Chin!

*I flew JetBlue in March of 2025, but the April-July 2025 Wine List is the same. The link above takes you to their Drinks Menu page, which updates regularly, so you can see what they’re pouring right now.