The two wines of my sample
The only consolation for an “economy-class-only-frequent-traveller” is the use of the airline lounges. Although Beijing does not offer wine, Shanghai does even if one has to drink the fermented grape juice from paper cups.
My favourite airline lounge is the Lufthansa Lounge at Berlin Tegel Airport, but the one in Frankfurt is also acceptable.
If time permits I usually conduct a private tasting. That’s what I did last time.
The white was a ‘2009 Hugl Gruener Veltliner’, very fresh, spicy and very pleasant. Weingut Hugl, a family-owned wine business, is located in Ketzelsdorf-Poysdorf, a part of Austria they call the northern “Weinviertel”. Martin Hugl and his wife Sylvia are young and enthusiastic vintners. About 70% of their production is Gruener Veltliner.
The red I tasted was a Rioja Barbaro, a bit oaky but still with lots of fruit and very round. Overall a pleasant experience and the highlight of my trip.
The Man from Mosel River 
Sounds brilliant
Hi… I want to say that both the wines are best at their own place and both have their own qualities. We cannot compare red and white wine with each other. I like to say that this post is very good and informative.
Thanks for the lovely comment. You are of course right. But try to visualize the circumstances: you hurry to the lounge, tired from the first flight, you have about 45 minutes to your connecting flight and the prospect of 12 hours in economy class, squeezed in with many other human beings, are not bright. I drink first the white and then the red. And relax when the wine is good (as it was).