First Hull Trains’ customers enjoy wine tasting at 125mph

Travellers from London King’s Cross to Hull were treated to a wine tasting experience with a difference on Tuesday 15 March.

The company’s head of customer service delivery and his onboard team served free glasses of wine as First Hull Trains’ looks to reshape its food and menu offering from May 2011. A new selection of red, white and rose wines from a range produced by Jackson Nugent Vinters Limited were sampled by customers as they headed home from a busy day in the Capital.

Andrew Acum from Walkington, said: “It was a very pleasant surprise. I travel with First Hull Trains on a regular basis and always find it a nice way to relax and unwind after a long day in London. The staff are very friendly indeed. I don’t normally partake in anything alcohol-related on my way home but I do find the company’s general product range to be very good. The sips of wine I sampled today were very tasty. Wine tasting at 125mph is certainly very novel and not something I will forget in a while!”

Darren Fennah, head of customer service delivery at First Hull Trains, said: “We try to change our menus fairly frequently as part of our desire to offer a wide variety of quality products. I like to gather feedback as we go along and what better way to assess whether something works or not than asking the very people who will be taking advantage of them in the future.

“Feedback was generally very positive and the comments we received will be used to help shape our next menus which we’ll introduce in May.”

The wines tested on board the train included:

White Wines:

• Burgundy – Chablis 2009; Italian – Trentino Pinot Grigio 2009; New Zealand – Tindall Vineyard Sauvognon Blanc 2010; and Chile – Casa Silva Reerva Chardonnay 2010.

Rose Wine:

• France (South of France) – Gerard Bertrand Autrement Grenache Gris Rose Organic 2010

Red Wines:

• Bordeaux – Chateau Haut Piquat 2005; Chateau Callac Graves 2006; and Chile – Casa Silva Reserva Cabernet Suavignon 2009.

Champagne:

• Guy Charbaut Brut NV

The new menus will be introduced during week commencing 15 May 2011.