(Wine Spectator) - Plus, Champagne in space! Saperavi on Mars? Bubbly-flute beer cans, comically big bubbly flutes, and a dance party at Clerc Milon

Pope Francis last week flew to Geneva to ring in the 70th birthday of the World Council of Churches, but as a cool guy who knows wine is essential to any celebration, he got the party started early, popping bottles on the plane before he'd even touched down in Switzerland! 

Unfiltered got word that Francesco sipped an appropriately Piemontese pour on his flight over the Alps last Thursday: the Enrico Serafino Alta Langa Brut Spumante Metodo Classico 2013, a tasteful traditional-method sparkler of Pinot Nero and Chardonnay aged on the lees at least 36 months. According to Nico Conta, president of the winery, the bubbly was specifically selected by the Pope’s sommelier and served on the Alitalia flight to Francis and his whole entourage. It was the first time Serafino had been anointed in-flight wine on the papal plane. 

"The Pope’s team informed us that the Alta Langa Enrico Serafino was very appreciated onboard," Conta told Unfiltered via email, hopefully "opening the doors to future presences." 

Given Francis' reputation as a particularly worldly man of God, Serafino is an aptly international choice: The winery has a 140-year history in the hills of Piedmont, but was purchased from Gruppo Campari in 2015 by American businessman Kyle Krause and his family. But it was not, as Unfiltered readers know, Pontifex's first flight of American vintners' wine.