White House Sommelier

[gfron1]

The things you wake up thinking about...I wondered who the White House Sommelier was. Turns out there's not. From This article:

"Surprisingly, none of these wines were paired by an official White House sommelier — one doesn't exist. In-house ushers sometimes suggest wine matches, according to Laura Bush's Deputy Press Secretary, Tarah Donoghue, but in this case, Bush, her social secretary, and executive chef Cristeta Comerford collaborated on the wine and food pairings."

I wonder if a different President might choose to spend money on a sommelier?

[wkl]

"I wonder if a different President might choose to spend money on a sommelier?"

probably. i don't believe the president or the first lady drink. so, my guess is very little attention, if any, is paid toward wine or liquor.

[Busboy]

I cannot under any circumstances see the White House employing a full-time sommelier. First, even the White House has a limited budget. Second, they most likely don't have dozens or hundreds of different wines in the cellar that have to mixed and matched based on the dinner that night. Third, any competent chef can recommend a pairing for the menu she is preparing; no need to have someone one the payroll. Fourth, since we are not French, the likelihood of any President caring enough about wine parings to employ someone is low -- successful politicians in this country have notoriously little interest in fine dining (Check out the restaurant scene on Capitol Hill). Finally, the politics would be ridiculous: can you imagine the fun the Daily Show and any number of blogs would have with the White House retaining a full-time sommelier?

[JohnL]

This article really supplies all the answers.

The author, a trained sommelier, commends the selections for the wine and food pairings.

"as outstanding examples of fine American wine making."

Thus--is there really any need for a White House sommelier? Sounds to me (and the author) as though the President and Mrs Bush, the executive chef Ms Comerford and the White House staff are doing a pretty good job.

If the President and Mrs Bush "really work to showcase fine American wines" as noted, belies the notion that "...very little if any, attention is paid toward wine or liquor."

In the end the proof is in the pudding so to speak. If a sommelier is writing to commend food and wine pairings then enough said!

[dinwiddie]

Besides, I'm sure that a phone call from the White House usher to any of the local sommeliers would be quickly returned.

[SBonner]

You would think that the White House would have a cellar with verticals and top vintages of some of the finest produced thought out your country for state dinners. In the U.K. the HOP has a splendid cellar of Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy and a splatting of English wine. In Canada we have a cellar on Parliament Hill of various wines produced across Canada for state functions. Brings up a point of interest do more Democrats or Republicans drink wine? I remember years ago when I worked in a wine shop in Vancouver one of my best customers was a left wing labour/union leader who always bought me out of Silver Oaks, Leonetti, and Opus. Politics and wine ~ strange bedfellows.

Stephen Bonner

Vancouver

Edited June 1, 2007 by SBonner (log)

[andrewB]

You would think that the White House would have a cellar with verticals and top vintages of some of the finest produced thought out your country for state dinners. In the U.K. the HOP has a splendid cellar of Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy and a splatting of English wine. In Canada we have a cellar on Parliament Hill of various wines produced across Canada for state functions. Brings up a point of interest do more Democrats or Republicans drink wine? I remember years ago when I worked in a wine shop in Vancouver one of my best customers  was  a left wing labour/union leader who always bought me out of  Silver Oaks, Leonetti, and Opus. Politics and wine ~ strange bedfellows.

Stephen Bonner

Vancouver

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working as an Executive chef for an Ambassador, i can shed a little bit of light on the state departments view of it. State Department allocates wine based on need and consumption for formal entertaining. The Ambassador i worked under had an amazing private collection which was used for his personal consumption and for special occasions, like pulling out a '45 Haute Lafite for the President of Slovakia's birthday. The wines which the state department allocated were quite honestly bad wines, cheaply representing America. We had Kendell Jackson (not even reserve) and Woodbridge at our disposal and i think we did just that. The Ambassador in the end, donated numerous cases of Estancia and chateau st michelle to the cause.

Edited June 3, 2007 by andrewB (log)

[Pan]

[...]We had Kendell Jackson (not even reserve) and Woodbridge at our disposal and i think we did just that.[...]

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Gave it away or poured it down the drain?

[JohnL]

This is pretty illuminating:

White House and Wine

Maintaining wine cellars and serving old Bordeaux and Burgundy vintages is more of a British custom. (even the French prefer to drink their own wines at much younger ages).

As for Mr Bonner's points it makes perfect sense that Canada would cellar and serve wines in keeping with that tradition. Canada being a bit "closer to the Empire" than the US. It appears that we can acquit ourselves nicely serving a nice moderately priced Zinfandel from Paso Robles and a Cabernet franc from Long Island or perhaps a NY State Riesling or a Chardonnay from......

Most wines produced in the US (and really elsewhere in the world) are quite drinkable on release of with a few years of age. Even Bordeaux produces wines that are more approachable at an early age. The article linked in the post that starts this thread and the MSN piece I link here clearly indicate, there is a method to the madness and the results are quite good. The sommelier quoted in the first article is highly complimentary of the wines selected by the White House for the state dinner in question.

As for Kendall Jackson/Woodbridge. These are mostly well made basic wines. I can see the State Department offering/approving them as sort of "house" wines. It would be interesting to see what exactly the policy re: wines and entertaining is, in fact. I am not sure tax payers would be keen on our government maintaining cellars full of old and very expensive wines.

[Vaughan]

Despite all the good reasons not to (budget, Mr. Bush not drinking, etc), I'm kind of shocked that there isn't a sommelier. I would think with all the entertaining that must go on, and assuming the size of the cellar is what I'm guessing, getting the right wine from various areas, serving diplomats you want to impress from wine-savvy countries, would be an important leg up. Shows that Canada is a more civilized society (tongue in cheek!).

[Busboy]

This is pretty illuminating:

White House and Wine

Maintaining wine cellars and serving old Bordeaux and Burgundy vintages is more of a British custom. (even the French prefer to drink their own wines at much younger ages).

As for Mr Bonner's points it makes perfect sense that Canada would cellar and serve wines in keeping with that tradition. Canada being a bit "closer to the Empire" than the US.  It appears that we can acquit ourselves nicely serving a nice moderately priced Zinfandel from Paso Robles and a Cabernet franc from Long Island or perhaps a NY State Riesling or a Chardonnay from......

Most wines produced in the US (and really elsewhere in the world) are quite drinkable on release of with a few years of age. Even Bordeaux produces wines that are more approachable at an early age. The article linked in the post that starts this thread and the MSN piece I link here clearly indicate, there is a method to the madness and the results are quite good. The sommelier quoted in the first article is highly complimentary of the wines selected by the White House for the state dinner in question.

As for Kendall Jackson/Woodbridge. These are mostly well made basic wines. I can see the State Department offering/approving them as sort of  "house" wines. It would be interesting to see what exactly the policy re: wines and entertaining is, in fact. I am not sure tax payers would be keen on our government maintaining cellars full of old and very expensive wines.

←

Among other things, I am both a political hack and a former waiter. As such, I can confidently assert that the Brits do much better with wine than we Yanks. Should you be invited to a reception at the British Embassy you will almost certainly have a lovely but obscure Grand Cru Bordeaux ("claret") with dinner (which will likely be a hideous cliche of English cooking mated with American banquet cooking), and if you get to dessert, they'll pull some Port out of the cellar that will knock your socks off. Afterwards, if you're working the event, her majesty's butler will hand you an expensively embossed envelope with the royal seal on the outside and cash on the inside. Lovely.

When a head-of-state shows up in DC, the White House, regardless of who's living there, tries pay off all its ethnic politics debts by inviting everyone with the appropriate surname to the dinner. I was not cool enough to go to dinner (Liam Neeson was, though), but being of Irish descent, a Democratic party hack, taller than my friend Laura, even in her heels and possessed of a non-rental tuxedo (see waiter job comments above) I got to go to the White House for dessert with the President of the Irish Republic. It's pretty cool. But the wine....not nearly as good as what the Brits trot out.