Duckhorn Vineyards 2007 ($25), Sauvignon Blanc, Goldeneye 2005 Pinot Noir ($52) and Korbel Special cuvee sparkling wine NV ( $14 for a regular Brut) as a dessert wine adorned the luncheon table.
The lunch was attended by 237 guests that included former Presidents Bush, Carter, Clinton and Bush, as well as Supreme Court judges, members of the Congress, senior Cabinet officials and several political and government honchos.
Seafood stew topped with puff pastry had Sauvignon from the Napa Valley on the side while the Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley, also from the house of famous Duckhorn pared well with the 'brace of pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes.'
Korbel Natural 'Special Inaugural Cuvée' , the off-dry bubbly from the Russian River Valley was paired with the dessert, apple cinnamon sponge cake and sweet cream glacé. Korbel has been making sparkling wine for 120 years (and still defiantly calling it Champagne!), using the traditional method of second fermentation in the bottle. It has been popped at the previous five presidential inaugurations and was the preferred bubbly during Kennedy's years at the White House.
While the former occupant, President George Bush was a teetotaller , Obama is a known moderate wine drinker and reportedly has a glass or two of wine daily with food. The selection of wine suggests that at the formal White House dinners, only American wines will be served. Although the lunch had only Californian wines in the Wine List, vintners from other producing states hope that they would have an opportunity to showcase their wines as well.
President Lyndon Johnson started the practice of serving only American wines at White House state dinners and the practise continues, although President Richard Nixon reportedly had a passion for French wines and occasionally drank Chateau Margaux secretly. Kennedys were also Francophiles.
Unlike the Queen' s wine cellars at the Buckingham Palace which stores wine reportedly worth about £ 2 million, there is no formal wine cellar at the White House. A small team selects the wines which are pared with the dishes depending upon the political and social profiles of the guests and are purchased, or even sponsored on occasions on an individual event basis.
Obama has a 1000 bottle wine cellar in his million-plus dollar mansion in Chicago but no one knows his collection so far. |