Don't Bother Ordering Top-Notch Wine On An Airplane

It might be tempting. You booked a flight to an exotic location, or are simply flying home from a long and grueling trip, and you want to celebrate your travels by ordering a truly impressive and top-shelf selection of wine on your flight. This is a tempting idea, but one that you might want to avoid, because that wine simply won't taste the same at 30,000 feet. 

For years, jokes have been made at the expense of airplane food; it's bland and dull with very little flavor. But, as it turns out, the airline food is not at fault. Rather, our sense of taste and smell is heavily impacted by flying, making food and drink taste less flavorful than it does on land. There are a few reasons why our sense of taste dulls when we're in the sky.

According to the CDC, the humidity in airplanes is very low — usually around 10% to 20% — which is lower than many deserts. This, combined with low air pressure, can cause a drop in taste sensation, which also causes sensitivity to sweet and salty tastes to drop significantly. This is because the dry air and the low pressure in planes cause the mucus glands in our noses to dry up, meaning our smell (and therefore, much of our taste) dries up as well. For these reasons, you might want to skip — or at least put off — opening that fine bottle of champagne while you're flying.

Of course, the flavor-altering impacts of flying are often more noticeable on longer flights and tend to become more notable as the flight goes on. So, snacks and drinks consumed earlier in your flight might taste better than those consumed towards the end of a flight, especially if it's a long-haul journey.

But just because flights can dull certain tastes, that doesn't automatically mean that all foods and drinks taste worse in the sky. Spicy, bitter, and sour flavors are minimally affected when flying. Additionally, umami flavors (found in tomatoes, mushrooms, and soy sauce) tend to hold up particularly well on planes, offering a savory pop to an otherwise dulled dish.

With this in mind, several drinks actually find their flavors upgraded while in the sky, making for a more delicious experience compared to your top-notch wine. For example, ginger ale works well in mixed drinks and is known to taste particularly good mid-flight. The drink's spicy ginger flavor is enhanced and its sweetness is dulled, which allows its unique taste to shine through while in the air. And a tried and true Bloody Mary, which blends the umami flavors of tomato juice with spicy hot sauce, is also perfect to order on a flight. The saltier tastes of the cocktail are minimized while the more complex and satisfying umami elements are amplified, creating a flavorful mid-flight beverage.

However, you might want to skip alcohol altogether if you're in the sky. Alcohol can increase dehydration, especially in the dry environment of an airplane. This, combined with the fact that the effects of alcohol are felt with greater intensity while flying, means that reaching for the plane's cocktail menu might not be the way to go — especially if you're hoping to reach your destination without an intense headache. With that being said, it's worth it to consider taking a break from drinking on your flight and sticking with non-alcoholic options.

But that doesn't mean that you have to be any less creative with your drink order. Plenty of non-alcoholic drinks might be a delicious way to pass those traveling hours by. You can always order that tomato juice sans vodka, with a splash of Bloody Mary mix to get an extra umami kick. And ginger ale isn't just a delicious mixer — it can (and should) be enjoyed on its own. Adding a squeeze of lime to any drink will pack a punch in the sky, considering its acidic taste. You also can't ever go wrong with sparkling water — which won't necessarily pop on your palate, but with a splash of lime, it might just be the boost you need to keep you hydrated on your flight. Regardless of your drinking habits, it's safe to say that you're better off saving that top-notch wine for when you land.