Dave McIntyre's WineLine

Two Spotlights on Virginia Wine at the White House

Last week's White House state dinner featured Virginia wine in two ways – one positive, one … well, not so positive. As I blogged last week, the sparkling wine served with dessert and for the exchange of toasts between President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the Thibaut-Janisson Brut de Chardonnay from the Monticello AVA near Charlottesville. But this sweet kudo for Virginia sparkling wine was quickly overshadowed by the sensational story of the White House gate crashers.

Turns out the couple who traipsed uninvited into the White House that night were Tareq and Michaela Salahi, of Oasis Vineyards in Virginia's Fauquier County. Oasis is one of Virginia's oldest wineries and has specialized in sparkling wine, with mixed success. The winery was founded and is owned by Tareq's parents, who have been embroiled in a nasty public dispute with their son over the disposition of the winery – they wanted to sell it when the debts piled too high. (The winery is now shuttered and not open for business.) And Tareq and Michaela, who definitely qualify for the term “socialites,” have been auditioning for Bravo TV's “Real Housewives of Washington.”

That's enough – I won't go into the details because I start laughing too hard. You can read all about it in The Washington Post, The New York Times and probably any other major media outlet. Let's just say the Salahi story casts an unfortunate light, however indirectly, on the Virginia wine industry – showing a vain and shallow side and stealing the limelight from the very worthy wine served at dinner that night.

Of course, there was another “scandal” about the state dinner, also involving wine. More on that later.

Photo: Tareq and Michaela Salahi with Vice President Joe Biden at the Nov. 24 White House state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. From the Salahi’s Facebook page. Joe, dear, watch your hands!

Local Wine Bandwagon Gains Steam With Obama's Help

Virginia wine was featured last night at President Obama's first State Dinner. The president, his guest of honor, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and invited members of D.C.'s elite washed down pumpkin pie tart and pear tatin with Thibaut-Janisson blanc de chardonnay, from the Monticello district near Charlottesville.

Thibaut-Janisson is an up-and-coming specialist in fine sparkling wine. Winemaker Claude Thibaut is convinced that Virginia has the climate and terroir to produce excellent bubbly – and evidently the president agrees.

“Here's more evidence Virginia can produce top-notch fizz,” I wrote about this wine last year in my Thanksgiving recommendations in the Post. “Elegant and stylish, with palate-refreshing acidity and subtle fruit that emerges about an hour after opening.”

Other wines served at the dinner included the 2008 Modus Operandi Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley; the 2006 Brooks Winery Riesling “Ara” Vineyard from Oregon's Willamette Valley; and the 2007 Beckman Vineyards Grenache from California's Santa Ynez Valley. The dinner's menu is available on the White House Web site here.

I've always been a big fan of Brooks. The winery farms biodynamically and produces excellent Riesling - the Ara is its best - and Pinot Noir. I had the opportunity to visit the winery last summer during the International Pinot Noir Celebration, and enjoyed the 2006 Ara then. But if you want to taste what the White House guests enjoyed tonight, you'd better hurry - the winery has only a few cases left.

This caps a banner week for Regional Wine. Last week, I wrote in the Post that “the growth of local wineries throughout the country is transforming the American wine industry.” Yesterday, my buddy Jeff Siegel, aka “The Wine Curmudgeon,” offered more proof of the changing face of American wine. Jeff noted that Eric Asimov in The New York Times included a New York wine – Shinn Estate Merlot – in his Thanksgiving recommendations, while Boston Globe wine columnist Stephen Meuse praised Massachusetts Cabernet Franc, even if he didn’t include a specific recommendation for one.

“What's with these big deal wine writers suddenly hopping on the DrinkLocalWine.com bandwagon?” Jeff asked. Not that we're complaining!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Please comment here on what wines you'll be enjoying for the feast.

The Recession Claims Billington

The recession has taken a bite out of the Washington, D.C., wine community with the recent demise of Billington Wines, the Springfield, Va.-based company that helped put South American wines on U.S. dinner tables.

Billington closed its doors May 15, citing the loss of some of its primary clients to other importers, depressed demand for wines because of the economy, and declining sales at Havens winery in Napa, which the company purchased in 2006.

The company’s Web site still had no news of this development as of May 26, but it was confirmed to me by Alfredo Bartholomaus, the company’s founder.

Details are still to be worked out, but most of the wineries in Billington's portfolio will now be represented by Winebow, the New Jersey-based company that grew from an Italian specialty importer into a major import and distribution powerhouse. Many of Billington's sales force, including Bartholomaus and his son, Alex, who has run Billington the past several years, will also work for Winebow.

Alfredo Bartholomaus, who emigrated to the United States from Chile in the early 1960s, started Billington in 1985. His main client then was Cousiño-Macul, Chile's oldest family-owned winery. Working primarily “out of the trunk of my car,” Bartholomaus introduced American retailers and restaurants to the value that Chile produces with inexpensive wines that outperform their competition. His company was one of the first quality importers to spring up in the Washington area – a market that thrives today.

In recent years, the company developed the Big Tattoo line of wines from Chile and Germany, which not only provided tremendous value at $8, but also donated proceeds from each sale to local charities.

“I came to this country with one hand tied behind my back, and I have been fighting ever since,” a defiant Bartholomaus said Tuesday. “I will keep fighting. I will still be around.”

(Some disclosure is in order. Like most wine writers in the Washington, D.C., area, I count Alfredo Bartholomaus as a friend and mentor. He has been a gregarious and effective missionary on behalf of the wines from Chile and Argentina, always with a keen eye, rapier wit and precise palate for the value these wines represent for consumers.)

I will have more on the demise of Billington Wines, both here and on The Washington Post’s Food section blog, “All We Can Eat,” at washingtonpost.com.

Sir Josh

I had the pleasure the other night of attending a dinner at the Portuguese embassy residence, hosted by Ambassador João de Vallera in honor of Joshua Greene, founder and editor of Wine & Spirits magazine. Josh was being presented with the Order of Merit – Agricultural Knight, presumably because his magazine has given considerable favorable coverage to Portuguese wines. In fact, Ambassador de Vallera credited all wine writers for contributing to the success of Portuguese wines. He said Portuguese wine imports to the United States grew 14% last year despite – or perhaps because of – the economy.

I don’t claim any credit for that, but I can understand it. Portuguese wines offer tremendous value. The wines we enjoyed at the embassy were (mostly) quite pricey, for Portugal is pushing the envelope on price as well as quality for its table wines. And Portuguese winemakers are not immune to the conceit that afflicts winemakers everywhere – that they should make big, oaky, alcoholic wines that adhere to some international ideal rather than producing individualistic expressions of national terroir and grape varieties.

That said, Greene, who chose the wines, did start the evening with a stunning bargain – a crisp, refreshing and intriguing vinho verde from northern Portugal produced by Aveleda. It retails for about $9.

Ambassador de Vallera commented on the wine as he presented the Order of Merit, a beautiful medal on a green and white ribbon.

“It is not on purpose that I confer a decoration that is green to a gentleman called Greene on Saint Patrick’s Day, while drinking vinho verde,” he said.

Congratulations, Sir Josh!

Regional Wine at the Obama Inauguration

Yesterday I wrote about a potential diplomatic gaffe in wine choices at next week's presidential inauguration. Tonight I'm happy to report more positive news - that one inaugural gala will feature a regional wine, a testament to how local wine is improving throughout the United States.

Barboursville Vineyards, Virginia's premier winery, will have two wines featured at the Inaugural Conservation Gala in Washington on January 19, the night before President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office. If, like me, you just said, "Huh?" - the gala is hosted by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation, a lobbying group that promotes good resource management practices.

The gala will feature Barboursville's Cabernet Franc Reserve 2006 during the reception and the Octagon 2005, the winery's premier Merlot-based Bordeaux blend, at the dinner. Winemaker Luca Paschina is justly proud of Octagon. He argues that Virginia, in order to prove itself as a world-class wine region, needs to produce top-notch wine consistently over a number of vintages, and that Octagon, now in its eighth vintage, is that wine. Octagon is consistently a stylish, elegant red that resembles Bordeaux more than California.

Congratulations to Luca and the Barboursville team! And remember to Drink Local Wine!

For more information on Virginia wine, including a talk by Luca Paschina on traveling Virginia wine country, click here.

Photo of Luca Paschina from the Barboursville Web site.

Here's Mud in Your Eye, Mon Ami!

One of the first things Barack Obama will do as president of the United States on January 20 will be to insult the French.

Immediately after he takes the oath of office and delivers his inaugural address, the new president will join 200 dignitaries in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol for the traditional Inaugural Luncheon. Congressional leaders have hosted this event every four years since 1897, toasting the new chief executive in a spirit of bipartisan celebration.

The wine that will fuel these toasts? Korbel Champagne Cellars Russian River Valley Natural' Champagne. Korbel has been the inaugural bubbly ever since Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985, the winery said in a January 9 press release.

The use of "Champagne" on American wine labels has been an issue of contention between Washington and Paris (and Brussels, as the Euopean Union has weighed in) for many years. Although the United States agreed to ban the use of most Euopean place names on wine labels, it insisted on and won a grandfather exeption for certain older brands such as Korbel that had been using the word Champagne for decades. They are not allowed to use it on wine shipped to Europe.

The Office of Champagne USA in Washington has launched a nationwide advertising and peitition effort aimed at protecting place names. It has some allies in the U.S. wine industry. The Napa Valley Vintners Association, for example, is very vigilant against wines with "Napa" in their name when the juice is produced elsewhere.

A spokesman for the Office of Champagne USA declined to say anything on the record and indicated the office would not protest the choice of Korbel for the inaugural luncheon. And with the spirit of goodwill surrounding the new administration, I doubt Foggy Bottom will be getting an angry cable from the Quai d'Orsay.

Still, it's an interesting choice for such a high-profile setting to feature a wine that has been at the center of diplomatic disputes. I have nothing against the quality of the wine - Korbel will do just fine for the toasts. But there are many U.S. sparkling wines that would do as well while celebrating the U.S. origin and character without the marketing crutch of pretending to be something they aren't.

Then again, insulting the French is as American as apple pie. Perhaps some viticultural jingoism is not out of place at a presidential inauguration.