Presidential Wines

                Stags Leap & Robert Pecota's Sauv Blanc were served at this White House dinner

President’s Day is just around the corner.  Did you know that two Presidents were instrumental in the history of the wine industry in the USA?  A third President had a less pivotal role, however, certainly influenced the course of our current day wine scene.

Thomas Jefferson, who was not only one of the Founding Fathers of our country but an author of the Declaration of Independence and a twice-elected President, was crucial to laying the groundwork for wine in the US.  Jefferson had a colossal love affair with wine.  Soon after graduating from college, the young statesman began collecting wines but his real love affair with it began when he was appointed as the Ambassador to France.   Jefferson returned home with thousands of bottles of wine and even planted his own vineyards in Virginia.  His appreciation of wine spread to colleagues such as George Washington and John Adams.  

Another President critical to the role of wine in America was Franklin Roosevelt.  FDR repealed Prohibition in 1933.  Enacted in 1919, Prohibition was revoked with the 21^st Amendment.  It changed the wine landscape entirely.

The third President who played a key role in wine is John F. Kennedy.   JFK, like Jefferson, was a real bon vivant.  While wines had long been served at the White House to accompany special dinners with dignitaries, Kennedy upped the ante on both the quality of food and the wine.  First, let’s remember that the Kennedys brought in a French chef.  Second, they brought in wines that were commiserate with haute cuisine including such stunners as Chateau Haut-Brion and Dom Perignon.   JFK added glamour and style to the “art of dining” at the White House at a time in which the California wine industry was just beginning to blossom.

Below are a few of my favorite affordable wines that have been served at the White House.  Some of them may ring a bygone bell.   BTW...both sides of the house have representation.

     

    ~ Chimney Rock Reserve Cab (George W. Bush)

    ~ Flowers Pinot Noir (Bill Clinton)

    ~ Monticello Chardonnay (Bill Clinton)

    ~ Saintsbury Pinot Noir (Bill Clinton)

    ~ Shafer Hillside Cab (George W. Bush)

    ~ Sonoma Cutrer Les Pierres Chardonnay (George W. Bush)