Alison Webster, Qantas executive manager customer experience says: "We pride ourselves on developing a selection of wines, from the latest wines made by boutique winemakers to the iconic drops that form the very base of Australia's great winemaking legacy."

And it seems this national focus has paid off for the airline, who earlier this year, won six accolades at the Cellar In The Sky Awards, a 27-year-old internationally-recognized competition that focuses on naming the airlines with the best wines annually.

Joseph says that for countries like Australia, who have strong wine production industries, showcasing a national wine selection is not unusual.

"You could argue that for airlines like Qantas, that's not so difficult. Air France... you could argue that they would find it easy. The Turkish airline for example, there are some very good Turkish wines but you've got a smaller range to choose from," he says.

"There is a question of how open is the tender? The ideal is obviously an airline with deep pockets that is prepared to buy wine from a broad range of countries and is aware of what you need to have to be serving wine in the air."