Presidential Drinks

When I was a kid, we used to get two 3-day weekends, as we celebrated both Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays. Now we get one 3-day weekend, and not much discussion about the leaders of the United States. So, I thought it might be fun to dig up some little tidbits of information, about the president’s drinking “habits”.

Wine has been with us since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. There are even stories that they landed at the first available spot, because they were out of alcohol…who really knows? What we do know, is that our founding fathers saw fit to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence with "50 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of Claret, and 22 bottles of Port". In fact, the seizure of a cargo load of Madeira, from John Hancock’s sloop, predates the Boston Tea Party.

Wine from Jefferson's Cellar

As for each of the U.S. Presidents, many were known for their drinking habits. It is well documented that Thomas Jefferson was a wine aficionado. As ambassador to France, he developed a keen understanding and appreciation of French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese wines. But French Bordeaux and Madeira seem to have been his favorites. Jefferson is responsible for stocking the wine cellars of the first five Presidents. One of my favorite presidential wine quotes is from Thomas Jefferson: "No nation is drunken where wine is cheap, and none sober where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage. Wine brightens the life and thinking of anyone."

Andrew Jackson was known to drink rye whiskey straight, but liked to serve “Daniel Webster’s Punch” at White House functions. The punch consisted of lemons, sugar, green tea, brandy, claret, champagne, bananas, orange pineapples, cherries and strawberries….basically, “Jungle Juice”.

Martin VanBuren was known to drink for days and not show any signs of being intoxicated, so his friends gave him the nickname "Blue Whiskey Van." In fact, during the 1840 Presidential election, William Henry Harrison's campaign painted Van Buren as an alcoholic, which contributed to him losing the election, or could it have been that during his campaign, the hard cider flowed so freely, that Harrison became known as the “Hard Cider Candidate"?

The only bachelor to occupy the White House was James Buchanan. His inauguration must have been quite a party. The shopping list shows guests were served 400 gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 500 quarts of jellies, 1,200 quarts of ice cream, eight rounds of beef, 75 hams, 60 saddles of mutton and four of venison. Plus, he had a $3,000 wine budget. Not bad for those days!

Ulysses S. Grant

Follow that with Abraham Lincoln, and you have a true contrast. It is noted that Lincoln really didn’t even care much for food. He liked bacon, apples and coffee. But when it came to his Civil War General (and future president), Ulysses S. Grant, There was another stark contrast. Grant was known as a heavy drinker, but also a fierce fighter. When Lincoln was confronted with Grant’s excessive drinking, he is reported to have said, "If drinking makes fighting men like Grant, then find out what he drinks, and send my other commanders a case!”

Chester A. Arthur’s favorite meal was a mutton chop with a glass of ale, or a slice of rare roast beef with hot baked potatoes and fruits. Accompanying this was a glass of claret.

Theodore Roosevelt had a sweet tooth and usually used as many as seven lumps of sugar in his coffee. His biggest gourmet interest was exotic tea. He was not fond of alcohol.

William Howard Taft joined with the temperance movement, and drank "simmon beer," a drink brewed from persimmons.

John F. Kennedy's inaugural dinners emphasized American specialties: crab gumbo, lobster Newburg, even tuna salad. But at formal dinners, classic French cuisine reigned supreme. President Kennedy was known to enjoy cold beer, while Mrs. Kennedy drank daiquiris.

Richard Nixon, was known to serve wines from California (probably the first president to do so), but he still preferred French Bordeaux, and was known to have a secret bottle of Château Margaux at his tableside, while his guests were served something less spectacular. When it came to his famous toast with the Chinese, he served a 1969 California Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc. But in private, he toasted Henry Kissinger with a 1961 Chateau Lafite.

Nixon set the precedent for American Sparkling wine. Reagan and George H.W. Bush poured Sonoma's Iron Horse while ending the Cold War with Gorbachev. And, Chandon, Gloria Ferrer, Roederer Estate, and even Gruet have been added to the rotation of the White House cellar.

Boeger, in El Dorado County, likes to note they were the first Zinfandel served in the White House. It was under Reagan. But, a June 1, 1984, Washington Post article said Reagan's favorite wine was actually Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Barack Obama is no exception to drinks in the White House. On the heels of his "beer summit" in July 2009  he poured Domaine Chandon's sparkling wine (Blanc de Noirs) at all state dinners and other White House events.

With all this talk of wine, did you know that Bourbon is the official spirit of the United States, by an act of Congress? And, it is said that the national anthem of the US, the "Star-Spangled Banner," was written to the tune of a drinking song. Can't say I know that drinking song.

So there you have a little history of the drinks of our country’s leadership. I’ll leave you with one more Thomas Jefferson quote. “I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury.  On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens.” Boy, you gotta love Jefferson….and his birthday isn’t until April 13^th…right at tax time.

Wine for the big party

It is the end of the football season, and time for the Super Bowl. I must admit that I was rooting for the San Francisco 49ers to make it to the big game. An east coast, west coast rivalry would have been fun. But how many people really care who's in the Super Bowl? I've heard that something like 80% of the tickets sold, are to corporations, and those people are just there for the experience. Those of us at home, that don't have a team in the game, are probably there for the commercials, or friends and food.

That's were this weeks article comes in.

photo from ifood.tv

I did some research to find out what the most common Super Bowl snacks were. Not the necessarily the brands, but what foods are served at Super Bowl gatherings. That got me to thinking...what would be the beverage(s) of choice for a Super Bowl party? If you wanted to make sure everyone is happy, which beverages should you have on hand for your guests? Beer, Wine, Soda, hard alcohol? Let's take a look at the top 20 most common Super Bowl foods, and my recommendations for possible pairings:

1. Chili - spicy, greasy, meaty, starchy - got to go with a nice Lager Beer, Fruity Zinfandel, or even a Beaujolais (Gamay grape variety)

2. Pizza - a mixture of flavors, spice, cheese, sauce - Beer, Chianti, Barbera, or Zinfandel

3. Meatballs or cocktail wieners, in sauce - could be BBQ, or tomato sauce - Beer, Zinfandel, Chianti (Sangiovese grape variety)

4. Salsa - spicy, acidic, vegetables - Lager Beer, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Zinfandel, Margaritas

5. Ribs - meaty, grilled, sauce or dry rub - Beer, Zinfandel, Riesling (with pork ribs) Rose

6. Buffalo Wings - spicy, greasy - Beer, Rose, Sparkling Wine, Zinfandel

7. Spinach Dip - vegetal, creamy - Sauvignon Blanc, Beaujolias

8. Guacamole - creamy, mouth coating - Beer. Sparkling wine, Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand, or Chile)

9. Quesadillas - starchy, cheesy, spicy - Beer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Wine

10. Artichoke Dip - vegetal, creamy - Sparkling wine, Rose (go with a dry style as artichokes make wine taste sweeter).

11. Nachos - starchy. cheesy - Beer, Margaritas, Sparkling wine, Zinfandel

12. Hot Dogs, or Pigs in a Blanket - Beer, Rose, Zinfandel, Riesling

13. Deviled Eggs - creamy mouth coating - Sparkling wine or Sauvignon blanc

14. Hoagie/Submarine sandwich - Beer, Soda, Zinfandel, Beajolais

15. 7-Layer Dip - mouth coating, mix of ingredients - Beer, Margarita, Malbec Riesling, Zinfandel

16. Baked Beans - Beer, Shiraz, Zinfandel

17. Hamburgers - Beer, Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel

18. Doritos - can be plain or spicy - Sparkling wine, Zinfandel, Beer

19. Popcorn - buttery, salty - Sparkling wine

20. Chex Mix - salty - Beer, Sparkling wine.

So, let's look at the count....if you are holding a Super Bowl party, Beer must be on your beverage menu, and if you must pick a style, go with Lager. The next must have is Zinfandel. Go with a lighter, fruitier version. Next would be a sparkling wine. Personally, I wouldn't spend the money on a fine French Champagne for the items on the food list. But luckily there are some decent priced sparklers out there. Next, it is close as to which white wine. You can't go wrong with Sauvignon Blanc, or Riesling (go with a dry version from Alsace or California). So you have beer, red, sparkling and white, let's add a dry Rose, and we should have it covered. For those that don't drink, add some soda. And for those that want something a little heavier, add some Tequila and margarita mix, and you are well on your way to satisfying everyone's needs.

Time for the Super Bowl....who are you picking? Giants or Patriots?

German Wines - Understanding the label

Village of Randersacker

Last week we spent some time reviewing some German terms that you might see on the wine label, or in discussion of wine production. Let's take that to the most logical use...understanding the label on the bottle.

German wine labels are probably the most informative labels of any wine on the market, but can also be some of the most confusing. Going back to last week, I mentioned the 13 quality wine growing regions (Anbaugebiete). Think of the Russian nesting dolls (where you have one large doll, and inside that is a smaller doll, and inside that an even smaller doll...and so on), and you'll understand the following: The Anbaugebiete has within it something similar to a district (known as a Bereich). Within the Bereich is a commune or village (Gemeinde). And, within the village, you could have a bunch of adjoining vineyards (Grosselage). A single vineyard is the smallest component (known as a Einzellage).

The nice thing about Qualitätswein (see last weeks article) German wine labels is that they will tell you almost everything you need to know. The label will include the vintage, grape variety, alcohol level, producer, grape ripeness (if it is a Prädikatswein), the Anbaugebiete, the Bereich or Gemeinde, and either the Grosselage or Einzellage, and even where the wine was tested for authenticity. Let's look at the label below and see what it tells us:

Starting at the top...1)the producer or estate is Weingut Schmitt's Kinder; 2) vintage is 2008; 3) the village where the vineyard is located (identified by the -er suffix) followed by another name (often ending in -berg) indicating the vineyard site. Therefore, the name on the label is the "Randersackerer Ewig Leben". This means that the wine comes from the Ewig Leben vineyard located in the village of Randersacker; 4) Bacchus is the grape variety; 5) Kabinett indicates that this is from the initial harvest; 6) we know this is a Prädikatswein (indicating the highest quality level); 7) The AP Number or "Amtliche Prüfungsnummer" identifies the wine and is required for all QbA and QmP wines. It consists of several blocks of numbers identifying the wine:the testing center, where the wine was approved, the village where the producer is located, the code number for the producer, the producer's application number, and the year that the wine was tested; 8) Franken is the Anbaugebiete; 9) the alcohol content is 11%; 9) this label also says "Gutsabfüllung", which means "producer bottled".

Some other terms you may see on a German wine label: "Erzeugerabfüllung", which means "estate bottled". "Trocken" indicates a dry wine without perceptible residual sugar. "Halbtrocken" indicates that the wine is semi-dry.

One thing the label doesn't tell you is the quality of the wine. But, in 2006 we started seeing the VDP "Verband Deutscher Prädikats" symbol on the label or the foil cap. This indicates the top level of quality (Germany's answer to France's first growths). All classifying regions use the same logo to label the wines from this quality level. Designation of these wines in Rheingau = "Erstes Gewachs" ; Mosel = "Erste Lage"; and all other regions = "Grosses Gewachs".

 The biggest "complaint" I hear about German wines is that they are "too sweet". Now that you understand a little better about ripeness (again, refer to last weeks' article) and how to read a wine label, you have a fighting chance to find the style you prefer. Here's a trick..the higher the alcohol level, the less residual sugar (as more sugar has been converted to alcohol). I like the ripe fruit flavors of a Spätlese or Auslese, but I like drier Reisling, so I look for higher alcohol from the producers I trust.

My objective is to prove that German wines are worth trying. Don't be afraid of the label or terms. These are some of the finest wines in the world....and they are not all sweet dessert wines.