White House dinner: A big to do about nothing

The White House state dinner last week was a wine revelation. First, and amazingly, none of the four wines that were served were cabernet sauvignon, merlot or chardonnay.  Second, and even more amazing, the fourth wine was a bubbly from Virginia.

So what was the big topic of discussion among wine experts in the Winestream Media about the dinner? That the pairings were inappropriate. There were even calls for Dan Shanks, the White House official who picked the wines, to be fired over his supposed pairing gaffes.

Sigh. What universe do these people live in? The wine world as they know it is collapsing around them, and they're talking pairings. Which explains, of course, why the wine world is collapsing around them.

My pal Dave McIntyre has been doggedly pursuing this story, and we'll no doubt see something hard-hitting in the Washington Post about this foolishness. Dave shared some of his notes with me, and these people genuinely believe they're entitled to be arbiters of what the rest of us are supposed to drink. Nuts to that.

One day, perhaps, they'll understand that the news was that Shanks tried to do something different than what has always been done. He shouldn't be fired for that; he should get a raise.

wine pairings, White House state dinner, regional wine

Comments

[Kasey Carpenter]

For the record, Wine Spectator, the publication most likely to have rocks thrown at it by the rest of the wine media, didn't bash the selections, in fact, they listed the wineries by name - giving them the credit they deserved in being honored in such a way, wannabe-celeb-antics aside.

Personally I think those that want to throw Shanks under the bus need to get a grip, and have a glass of Cristalino! He's thinking outside the box, he's pairing up and coming wines with a new administration - that's actually a GOOD pairing.

[Jeff Siegel]

That should show how silly the whole debate is -- the Spectator and I agreeing on something. How often does that happen?