Wines in the White House

When I visited Pride Mountain Vineyards in Napa this fall, I was surprised and interested to learn how proud they were that their wines have been served over 25 times at the White House over the past two decades. I had never thought about the White House's wine selections, but it led me to an interesting dive into the internet that seems to fit the prompt of wine and historical figures for our required post. It turns out that the White House's wine selections had an important impact on the growth of the American wine industry.

Since the Johnson administration, exclusively American wines are served at all White House dinners. This is apparently a departure from Nixon's famed love of French wines, and Reagan began the commitment to American wines in earnest. He was from California, after all, and the timing coincided with the growing popularity of American wine overall. Some details about the trends that past administrations have helped: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/46416

White House state dinners are a special place for American wines, but presidents' inaugural meals are an even more special occurrence. At Obama's first inaugural supper, Duckhorn wines (Sav B and Pinot) were served to compliment various foods (seafood stew, pheasant, duck) in an Abe Lincoln theme. http://www.latimes.com/style/la-fo-inaugural14-2009jan14-story.html

Wine served at the White House does not come without drama, however. Obama has been in the news a fair amount for his wine choices, in particular his decision to stop revealing the wine pairings from his menus. Price consciousness about the wine selections led him to get slammed in the news, encouraging a new, less transparent approach. Wineries were obviously displeased, as presence at White House dinners is an important feather in their marketing cap. However, he resumed releasing the wines, but began a much more price sensitive approach to wine selection. http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/02/white-house-revives-tradition-of-revealing-wines-on-the-menu

Politics and drama continue around the wine choices. The Obama administration was slammed for serving screw top wine at a state dinner with China. The size of the wine cellar was released. Even when it comes to wine, apparently the president can do nothing without generating buzz. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2557787/White-House-slammed-serving-cheap-wine-state-dinner-French-President.html

http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/06/size-doesn-t-matter-in-the-white-house-wine-cellar