Wines at the White House State Dinner

WINE TALK
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It’s a guy named Daniel Shanks. Here’s an interesting article from a couple years ago in Slate:

Even more dismaying, though, was what Shanks revealed about the process of choosing wines for state dinners. He told McCoy that because only 55 minutes are allotted for the actual meal, it is essential that the wines served on these august occasions “have presence.” And what did he mean by “presence”? “A perfectly aged cabernet may be great in the glass,” he explained, “but it can’t stand up to the intense atmosphere of a White House state dinner. You have to have something with youth and vigor.” Delicate wines will be overlooked; only strapping, assertive ones have what it takes to be “noticed in the context of the White House experience,” as Shanks put it. In other words, the desired effect is shock and awe, achieved not with cruise missiles but fruit bombs.

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Two from Washington. Anyone know who made the choices?

edit… ne’er mind.

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Someone with no palate! neener

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Try Kolin neener

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Who was the guy who brought the $50 bottle to this OL? I mean Hu was the guy . . . er whatever.

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I thought Fu was the guy? [scratch.gif]

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Pretty cool that the wines have to be US wines.

And of course I assume that’s the same for everything else involved in the dinner?

The “china”, the glassware, the silverware, the Blackberries our President is so fond of, the air conditioning units or heating units that keep the temps of the room just right, and of course the thermostats, as well as the bootleg copies of Office 2009 that printed out the souvenir menus on the USA-made printers.

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Maybe because Gregoire was there . . . and Arnold wasn’t?

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Not the WH wine tonight, but I’m drinking 2009 Poet’s Leap Riesling tonight. Nice, but nothing spectacular. I had a Boulder Creek Riesling from Colorado tonight that is better…

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Rumor has it President Hu picked up the Dinner tab when President Obama had excused himself to the restroom… [whistle.gif]

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I remember reading somewhere (some time in the past) that when a winery got a call to supply wines for the White House, it was expected that a bill would not follow.

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Of course not. Even if there was one the WSWA would just funnel extra money to stop it. [snort.gif]

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[cheers.gif]

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nice

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From Politico.com:
The menu: D’Anjou Pear Salad with Farmstead Goat Cheese (Fennel, Black Walnuts, and White Balsamic) … Poached Maine Lobster; Orange Glazed Carrots and Black Trumpet Mushrooms (Dumol Chardonnay “Russian River” 2008) … Lemon Sorbet … Dry Aged Rib Eye with Buttermilk Crisp Onions; Double Stuffed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach (Quilceda Creek Cabernet “Columbia Valley” 2005) … Old Fashioned Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream (Poet’s Leap Riesling “Botrytis” 2008). Booklet http://bit.ly/eCBsti" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Whose face turned red after drinking all these wines?

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Maybe Obama will pull a Nixon and have Margaux poured for himself instead of the QC? http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913977-2,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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China owns the USA. They know it and our leaders know it(thanks Helicopter Ben) and Mr. Hu and the Chinese Gov are having the last laugh behind our backs. Once this charade of togetherness is over China will go back to stealing our IP both corporate and military, manipulating their currency and otherwise executing their plan of being the number one economic and military superpower in the next 20 years at our expense. IMO we should not be having state dinners for our enemies.



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Who ate THIS menu at his State Dinner... - Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes - WineBerserkers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;