solairus aviation blog

One of the best experiences flying a private charter jet to wine country is taste-testing the latest vintages straight from the winemakers themselves.

Good news for those flying in a private charter jet to Sonoma in 2012: Sonoma County’s Starlite Vineyards just released their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, and according to first taste-testers, the Bordeaux-style wine is primed to make a bold first-impression.

Starlite Vineyards, located in the Alexander Valley, is one of Sonoma County’s boutique wineries and the makers of European-style wines including the famed Cabernet, which is what Starlite is known for among top sommeliers. While the Cabernet is its tour de force, Starlite was honored with a 92-point nod from Wine Enthusiast for its 2006 Zinfandel.

Now comes the latest vintage from the vineyard, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. The new cab is said to be “seductive” and “silky” with hints of plums and smells of vanilla and chocolate. While a heavy and hearty Cabernet isn’t all that rare in Sonoma and Napa Valleys, the Starlite Cabernet is the most recent Cabernet to be released from a boutique vineyard in the region.

“We had to go outside the Bordeaux varietals to find a blend for this wine that would make it stand out in the crowded Cabernet Sauvignon space,” said Starlite Vineyards’ Owner Arman Pahlavan. “The resulting wine is gorgeous and very much Bordeaux in style to the point that at one of the blind tastings in New York City, one of the great sommeliers called it a 2000 Bordeaux.”

In addition to the release of the 2007 Cabernet, Starlite Vineyards also recently released two other wines; their 2007 Zinfandel, a Claret-style wine soft tannins, rich fruit, and ruby color, and their 2010 Viognier, a Condrieu style wine which exudes scents of orange blossom and honeysuckle along with layers of apricot, peaches, and nectarine.

Feel like a tasting? You can stop by the Starlite Vineyards’ Tasting Room, which is open to the public Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. (winter hours Thursday-Sunday) and on Mondays of major holidays.

Published with permission from Inspirato.com

About Inspirato

We're revolutionizing the way luxury travelers spend quality time with their family and friends.
At Inspirato, we've taken best-of-class service and resort amenities combined with the low cost of villa rental to bring you the premiere club for a new generation of luxury travelers. 

Our membership plan is simple and affordable. 
You pay a one-time membership fee of $15,000, a small annual renewal fee of $2,500 and that's it. You can book any home in our portfolio, as often as you like, even during peak times… and pay only for what you use. Depending on the location, your savings over market rates can cover the membership fee in just a few trips.

    
In partnership with Solairus Aviation's private charter jet services, Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ has searched the world in order to find unique experiences to tempt the adventurer, gourmet, or romantic in you.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World ™ is an unrivalled portfolio of some of the world’s finest small independent hotels offering an infinite variety of memorable experiences.  Comprised of  over 520 hotels in more than 70 countries, the variety of hotels is diverse; from spas, country houses, golf resorts, island retreats, city sanctuaries, to game and wilderness lodges.  

Joining The Club of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ is complimentary and allows you to enjoy immediate benefits.  As a private charter jet client of Solairus Aviation, you will be upgraded to our “Loved" membership status, giving you complimentary room upgrades*, continental breakfasts, late check-outs*, and exclusive offers and rates from your very first stay.

Welcome to a world of benefits!

With a fleet of over 50 managed private aircraft, Solairus is one of only 85 Aviation Research Group/US Platinum-rated charter operators in the world. After completion of an intense operations and safety systems audit, the ARG/US Platinum rating is awarded only to those who have demonstrated that their procedures exceed industry “Best Practices” in all phases. Solairus has also received the NBAA Commercial Business Flying Safety Award and is an IS-BAO certified private charter jet company.


For more information about Solairus Aviation’s safety program, please visit: solairusaviation.com/safety.and.standards

Greetings,

Last year, Solairus was chosen by Inspirato as the growing vacation club’s Private Jet Charter partner. Inspirato is a private club that combines five-star resort services with privileged access to a rapidly expanding portfolio of the most spectacular villas in the world. Over the past several months, many Inspirato members have experienced first-hand why Solairus’ name has become synonymous with service excellence in the private jet charter marketplace. We share Inspirato’s goal of creating Exceptional Experiences and we are proud of our continued affiliation with such a fine organization and the opportunity it has provided to demonstrate our commitment to the perfect luxury travel experience.

Working together, Solairus and Inspirato provide their mutual clients with a wide range of member benefits and special vacation promotions. Our latest offer, good until May 31, 2012, gives Solairus clients who join Inspirato ONE HOUR of complimentary flight time in ANY Solairus private charter jet for flights to/from Inspirato destinations. Additionally, when you join Inspirato by May 31, 2012, your first year's annual membership fees will be waived.

Thank you for your continued trust in Solairus as your private charter jet provider. We remain completely committed to your safety and total satisfaction with your experience with us. If we can be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact our team directly at 800.359.7861

Thank you,

Dan Drohan
Chairman and CEO
Solairus Aviation

Brian Moss, a Solairus Aviation Private Charter Jet Flight Coordinator,was recently selected as Air BP’s Aviation Professional of the month. Brian was featured in a full page print ad, along with nearly the entire Solairus Burlingame office staff in the December 2011 issue of Professional Pilot.

Brian Moss grew up in an aviation environment. His dad, Don, was a dispatcher for Pan Am at JFK in the 1960s. While in college Brian worked for an FBO at FRG (Farmingdale NY). Computers were his college study field and following graduation the thrill of the burgeoning Internet industry attracted him to Silicon Valley. For 7 years he worked there. But the pull of aviation was too strong. His dad owned Long Island-based Sportsflight, a charter jet sales organization for sports teams. Brian went to Sportsflight's SFO office and sold charter. In 2007 he transferred to TAG at SFO and continued to sell charter jet flights. Brian joined Solairus in 2009 and became a flight coordinator. The following year he moved to Denver to open a Solairus office at APA (Centennial, Denver CO). Today Brian manages 5 aircraft from APA—a Gulfstream G550 based at SFO, a Challenger 604 headquartered at AUS (Austin TX), another 604 and 605 tied down at BFI (Boeing Field, Seattle WA) and a Hawker 800XP at MDW (Midway, Chicago IL). Brian arranges all logistics for crew and pax including ground transportation, lodging, FBOs and catering. Chris Halverson, Solairus manager of flight coordination and dispatch, says, "Brian's sunny disposition and customer focus come shining through on every charter jet flight."

Solairus Aviation Dispatcher, Darren Nolan, recalls his recent opportunity to fly with Solairus Pilot, John Kibler, in one of the company's Citation CJ3s!

The world looks pretty amazing from 45,000 feet above sea level. I had the amazing opportunity to see this wonderful view last week when John Kibler, private charter jet pilot of one of our Citation CJ3s, invited me along for a flight from Novato, CA to Sun Valley, ID and back. I had taken flight lessons about 13 years ago in a Cessna 152 out of the very same airport, which was the last time I sat in the cockpit of any airplane. Up until this point, my only experiences riding in a private charter jet have been in the cabins of commercial airliners, so this was really quite a special experience for me.

After we taxied onto the runway at Novato, John pushed the throttles to full takeoff power and I was truly awed by the acceleration that these private charter jets have. This was no slow, lumbering takeoff roll like you would expect to feel in a fully loaded 747; we accelerated fast and were airborne in what seemed like a few seconds. The climb-out was not trivial by any means either as we reached our initial assigned altitude, once again, in a matter of seconds. Having only flown a Cessna 152, I had no real appreciation for how busy the cockpit is during the takeoff and climb-out of a jet. If can't multi-task, then flying charter jets is not for you.  John flew the airplane, worked the radios, and manipulated the flight computer like the pro he is making it look easy the whole time as we leveled off at 45,000 feet. One of the major advantages to flying so high is that you get over just about all the busy airline traffic and can fly straight to your destination rather than going waypoint by waypoint, which can add extra time to your flight. The avionics on this particular airplane were impressive as well. It’s an all “glass cockpit”, meaning the instruments are displayed on computer screens rather than gauges, dials and gyros. We were able to pull up the approach plates on the center screen and plan our descent long before the air traffic controller (ATC) actually instructed us to begin descending. The weather in Sun Valley was not great and there was some question as to whether or not we could actually land there – something we would not learn until we were on final approach. Things got busy again after ATC instructed us to begin our descent. Even though the runway and airport were obscured by clouds John was able to fly the private charter aircraft in on instruments and seconds before we reached our minimum “decision height”, the runway appeared from behind the clouds and John made a perfect “10” landing.

Needless to say, it was quite an experience and I'm proud that I work for a private charter jet company that employs and trains pilots of John's caliber for the dozens of flights we make everyday.