Wines at the State Dinner for Prime Minister Cameron

[Jenise]

Many of you have probably already read about this, but Eric Levine of Cellar Tracker fame was invited to this dinner (though he kind of claims it was his wife who garnered the invitation, not him). Anyway, he posted on the wines. While Personally proud that the main course wine came from my home state, have to add that I'm a bit surprised that they chose such a baby, a 2008 Leonetti. Would think the White House would have access to literally just about anything they wanted--if not a well-stocked cellar to prevent having to serve young'uns.

Eric's tasting notes are a good read:

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/event.asp?iEvent=17172

A user over on eRP had a fantastic suggestion, so along with some reflections I have added this footnote to my tasting event on CT: https://www.cellartracker.com/new/event ... vent=17172

FURTHER REFLECTIONS ADDED 3/17/2012:
Attending this State dinner was a once in a lifetime event for me, and having committed the faux pas of publishing the names of the wines served I am perhaps ensuring that with utter certainty. The thing is, in this day and age of social media, a list of wines served at a state dinner can't be treated as a state secret. Of course the world and the country have greater troubles what with a historically difficult economy, millions of people out of work, continuing war and the threat of terrorism. So any meal or wine looks like a ridiculous indulgence in that light. At the same time, I am incredibly proud of the American wine industry. I have several friends who are winemakers, and they are all so amazing and do such incredible work as artisan farmers. Many are small family businesses toiling away for decades, and the honor of having their wines served to world leaders (and lucky schmucks like me) at a State Dinner is something to celebrate and be proud of. Whether a wine is $10 or $100, it is a magical creation made to be shared in a social context and to celebrate life. I am going to put forth a simply fantastic suggestion given to me in the hopes that perhaps someday it might be implemented and forever more put to rest the politicization of what wines are served:

Kudos on getting invited to a State Dinner Eric. I'm a religious user of cellar tracker and a big fan of yours. Since you have the President's ear, why not pitch him on the idea of actually establishing a White House wine cellar. I know American vineyards would readily donate their finest wines. If there was an official cellar, perhaps the Administration wouldn't be embarrassed about the politics of the price of the wines (the cost to the taxpayer would be zero), and the White House could, over time, begin to serve some properly aged wines. For the life of me I don't know why the White House Mess won't just do this -- you'd think prohibition had only been repealed a few years ago, as the stigma associated with fine wine and the White House is still extreme.

P.S. And since it is so insane, here is a short list of articles spurred by this simple list of tasting notes: Dr. Vino, Inside Scoop SF (San Francisco Chronicle), Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Decanter, StarkInsider, and even FoxNews.

Would think the White House would have access to literally just about anything they wanted.

Why would you think that? Especially for small production wines that sell out, I don't see the White House bidding at auction, especially in these days and times. And with all the turnover thanks to our democracy, a well-stocked cellar is probably too complicated to arrange.

Would think the White House would have access to literally just about anything they wanted.

Why would you think that? Especially for small production wines that sell out, I don't see the White House bidding at auction, especially in these days and times. And with all the turnover thanks to our democracy, a well-stocked cellar is probably too complicated to arrange.

Add in the vintage variations, and the turnover (wonder how interested Bush II was in maintaining a great wine cellar?), and the marketing importance to the various wineries, and you'd have a rat's nest of problems there.

What happens when you accept the "donation" (probably out of the goodness of their hearts and their love of democracy) of Corporate Producer A, but deign to even consider the offerings of Corporate Producer B? Would that be 'fair and balanced?' And is accepting the donation of well-heeled corporations fair when the small prodcuers can't afford such largesse?

What would happen to international relations when you served the Screaming Eagle to the English ambassador and you served "only" the Sutter Home to the Prime Minister of Uzbeki-beki-beki-stan-stan? (Depending on the tastes and cultural mores of either, it might be a mortal blow to peace in our time.)

And remember: a significant portion or the citizenry in this country DO NOT DRINK alcoholic beverages, for personal or religions reasons. A smaller percentage thinks it is a terrible, terrible thing to do so.

[Jenise]

Why would you think that? Especially for small production wines that sell out, I don't see the White House bidding at auction, especially in these days and times. And with all the turnover thanks to our democracy, a well-stocked cellar is probably too complicated to arrange.

Because state dinners as well as smaller-scaled social events for visiting foreign dignitaries is an ongoing and necessary part of governing and diplomacy. Buying wine for same--I'm fairly sure there is a white house sommelier, must check--seems as natural and obvious as keeping flour in the pantry--it WILL be needed. Further, i'm just naive enough to presume that such a cellar could exist somewhat independently from party lines and get passed on from administration to administration. Would bet that 10 Downing Street does just that.

Jenise, the SF Chronicle article says that the usher, Daniel Shanks selects the wines to be served. He has worked at Domaine Chandon.

I'm all for a WH wine cellar, but keeping stock fraught with problems as mentioned.
If you buy, what politician wants to spend money for something that people think are elitist, AND it get consumed in someone else's term? If you ask for donations, only the richest wineries will want to donate 5 cases of an ultrapremium wine (my guess for minimum amount needed to do one pour at a state dinner) with no assurance that it would get consumed (and any glory for it being served) in the CEO or community relation VP's tenure.
Then there's the whole thing "well, why HAVEN'T you served a Oklahoma wine yet?"
Eric, congratulations on your experience and your report.

Sounds like an incredible experience, though Eric I'm impressed you could even keep some notes/impressions of the wines there.

Agree with the logistic issues posed by a White House cellar, and at this time with economic issues and the degrees of petty political sniping, providing any wine for a dinner seems like a lose-lose situation where someone will find a way to politicize the issue.

Because state dinners as well as smaller-scaled social events for visiting foreign dignitaries is an ongoing and necessary part of governing and diplomacy. Buying wine for same--I'm fairly sure there is a white house sommelier, must check--seems as natural and obvious as keeping flour in the pantry--it WILL be needed.

Sure, they need wine. But I think the geek/gourmet factor is not near one of the top priorities for these dinners.

Of course I have no firsthand information, but my impression is that these events should be nice, respectable, well-presented, etc. But food and wine are far from the focus. And it's not like wine is a scarce commodity. There's plenty of good-enough stuff that can be ordered as needed. Just like for the flour, I can imagine they don't use the lowest grade industrial kitchen brand, but they're probably not geeking out over specialty flours like the most cutting-edge pastry chef either.

But what do I know.

Does anyone here have inside info?

Does anyone here have inside info?

Not really. I have a single data point. Almost 20 years ago now, I worked in a winery in Indiana. There was some White House dinner and I don't recall the reason why but they wanted a wine from Indiana for the menu. So some staffers of the governer or local congressman, I don't remember which, all came to the winery to taste and pick the wine. Well, they really did not have much of a clue and they needed it that night (or maybe tomorrow) so it had to be ready in the quantity they needed. In the end, we sort of told them what they wanted and they went with it.

Not much, but a little.

Worked for a couple of days at a wine and food pairing event with the former White House Chef who worked for the Clintons (and a short stint with the Bushes, but he couldn't stand it). We talked a bit about wine (since I was the one doing the wine pairings) at the White House.

He said EVERYTHING gets bureacratized and politicized in one way or another. The wine is often handed down to a flunky, but then it has to be stamped by so many officious knownothings who have to be involved that it becomes an exercise in frustration and idiocy. In the end, the last thing of importance is the actual quality of the wine.

Also, long term, it becomes a weapon to be batted around endlessly by the pols of the various wine-producing areas and their waxing and waning influence circles. Wine becomes a bargaining token as much as anything. Thompson, the CA guy and a wine grower in his own right, is enormously powerful on strictly wine terms, but event that just puts him in contention with all the other pols that want things. After all, in the world of Washington, everything and everybody is a special interest group.

[Jenise]

in the world of Washington, everything and everybody is a special interest group.

Obviously what it comes down to. Sad.

in the world of Washington, everything and everybody is a special interest group.

Obviously what it comes down to. Sad.

All these years I was convinced the common denominator amongst the factious Washington politicians is that they all like to dine well and cheat on their wives. I guess I was wrong. They prefer petty bickering to anything else. When even the choice of vegetables Michelle plants in the White House garden is being ridiculed, you know the air is poisoned.

in the world of Washington, everything and everybody is a special interest group.

Obviously what it comes down to. Sad.

All these years I was convinced the common denominator amongst the factious Washington politicians is that they all like to dine well and cheat on their wives. I guess I was wrong. They prefer petty bickering to anything else. When even the choice of vegetables Michelle plants in the White House garden is being ridiculed, you know the air is poisoned.

I believe in equality. How about cheat on their husbands?

A gentleman who served as a chef at the White House under Presidents Carter and Reagan has a restaurant in Panama City Florida that we visit when we travel there for Spring Break. We met him on one occasion and I asked him about the budget for wine at the White House. He told us that the wine budget is very tiny (a few thousand dollars per year), but that wine is donated by wineries and private donors. He also said that only American made wines can be stored in the cellar and served at White House functions. That seems like a quite an isolationist requirement for this day and age. If the PM of France were to make the Pres a gift of some Petrus would he have to dump it down the drain?

A gentleman who served as a chef at the White House under Presidents Carter and Reagan has a restaurant in Panama City Florida that we visit when we travel there for Spring Break. We met him on one occasion and I asked him about the budget for wine at the White House. He told us that the wine budget is very tiny (a few thousand dollars per year), but that wine is donated by wineries and private donors. He also said that only American made wines can be stored in the cellar and served at White House functions. That seems like a quite an isolationist requirement for this day and age. If the PM of France were to make the Pres a gift of some Petrus would he have to dump it down the drain?

It has been reported by numerous sources that Richard Nixon had an unmarked bottle of Margaux at his side while the rest of the guests drank whatever USA wine was being served that day. I see this as a compliment concerning Dick Nixon, he sure as hell didn't deserve many.

yes, I think story was that he had a decanter of Margaux - if anyone asked, it was the wine"preapproved" by Secret Service. Tricky Dick!
Of course those were days when middle class people could drink Ch. Margaux on a regular basis.