British Airways Club World vs First Class Wine Tasting
Prepare your palate for take‑off. We’re delighted to welcome British Airways’ first-ever Master of Wine, Tim Jackson MW, on board the Leander Club 777 for a unique blind tasting that pits Club World wines against those served in First Class. Will you be able to tell the difference?
This is the fourth Leander Wine Club gathering, and we expect tickets to disappear faster than an upgrade at the departure gate.
🍷 About Tim Jackson MW
Tim is one of only 415 Masters of Wine in the world and the first to join British Airways. A former coxwain who has competed at HRR, an Oxford Chemistry graduate, and an MBA from London Business School, Tim earned his MW in 2017 and now curates the airline’s entire onboard wine programme. He is the only MW employed full-time by any airline in the world. Tim first competed at Henley in 1997 and subsequently reached the final of the Thames in 2005 with Lady Elizabeth BC, and the Britannia with London Rowing Club in both 2010 and 2011. This year will mark 20 years as a member of LRC, though mostly retired.
🥂 What’s Pouring
We’ll welcome you with a glass of Digby’s Leander Pink, celebrating its upcoming debut in British Airways’ premium cabins. Tim will then guide you through a blind tasting of six wines, complete with scoring sheets so you can record your votes.
🍽️ Dinner & More
A two‑course dinner will follow the tasting, and you’re warmly invited to bring a bottle from home (without corkage charge) to share with your neighbours – always a highlight of these evenings.
Leander Wine Club is an informal, open group; all members and their guests are welcome.
🎟️ Booking
Friday 17 April, 6pm
Tickets: £70pp – Click here to book!
MENU – please specify choices on booking
MAIN COURSE
Coq au Vin: slow-braised chicken in a rich red wine sauce, served with crème fraîche mashed potatoes and grilled tenderstem broccoli
or
Stuffed roasted peppers, filled with a seasonal vegetable stuffing, served with crème fraîche and grilled tenderstem broccoli
DESSERT
Chocolate pot de crème with Chantilly cream and almond tuille
or
Cheese course (+£5 supplement)
or
Fruit salad and sorbet
Tim’s biography
Tim first stepped into a coxing seat on a frigid December day on the Isis in 1993. Over the intervening 32 years, he’s steered for a wide range of colleges and clubs in the UK and Ireland. He first competed at Henley in 1997 and subsequently reached the final of the Thames in 2005 with Lady Elizabeth BC, and the Britannia with London Rowing Club in both 2010 and 2011. This year will mark 20 years as a member of LRC, though mostly retired.
Tim’s love of wine began only 6 months later, with a trip around Burgundy and the Loire valley in the summer of 1994. He completed his first wine course, the WSET Level 3, in 2004, between finishing his MBA at London Business School and going back to work. The WSET Diploma, passed with Distinction, followed in 2007-09 during a gap in full-time rowing. In 2013, he ensured his full retirement from rowing by enrolling in the Master of Wine study programme, becoming a Master of Wine in 2017.
He then quit his job as marketing director of a specialist mortgage business to move into the wine world, professionally. In 2019, while writing for renowned critic, Jancis Robinson MW, Tim had the opportunity to consult for British Airways on their drinks programme. Following the pause of Covid, Tim then joined British Airways in February 2022, as the only Master of Wine employed full-time by any airline around the world.
