Good Morning!

One of my favorite nights in DC was a little more formal than we were for most of our trip. On the night of July 18th, we had a private tour of the West Wing…yes the West Wing where the President and the cabinet members meet and make many decisions that affect the country everyday. To say the least I was beyond excited about this evenings’ event.

My great friend Jon made us reservations at Georgia Brown and it is fairly close to the White House and we arrived and the 5 of us started looking and the upscale southern cuisine menu and wine list. I am always excited when someone else takes charge of the wine list and says, I wanna try this. Tonight the first choice of wines was Bodega Tamari Reserve a Cabernet from 2010 from Mendoza, Argentina. I had never hear of it but you know me, I will try anything in a wine glass. We had ordered several appetizers like fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs made the old school way.

I really enjoyed the liveliness of this young Cabernet, it was not over oaked or the slap you in the face kinda Cabernet. It was subtle and far from that tight feeling you can get from a California Cabernet, it was round and easy to drink. I will say it really only paired with one of the entree’s we had ordered and that was the cowboy cut ribeye, and together it was a great pairing. We had a wide range of dinners so picking a wine that worked with them all would have been a real tricky combination.

One had Mac and Cheese, Shrimp and grits, Gumbo, Salmon and a Caesar Salad…so finding a wine that worked with it all, would have turned my hair gray…but we did not care, this wine was perfect for the occasion and the perfect kickoff to the evening.

What I can say about the West Wing is this….it kinda looks exactly like you think it will, but it feels exactly like you hope it will. It feels powerful and reverent, it feels causal but insanely historic. The photos of all the people who impact what happens there on a daily basis was beyond interesting and the most impacting picture on the wall has a very interesting story behind it…I will give it to you in a shorter version.

The picture shows of two little, not sure the politically correct term to use (black or African American) boys about 4-5 years old wearing mini neck ties and looking adorable, and the youngest little boy is touching the head of the president as he is bent over letting him feel his hair. It’s whimsical and at first it just looks like the president and the little guys are having fun…then our guide told us the story behind the pic and I got the chills. The young boys’ father worked for the White House and on his last day he was allowed to bring in his family and the President would wish him the best on his career move. So when President Obama walked into the oval office the little boy and his brother were standing there and excited to see him and the President told them he had just gotten his hair cut and the younger brother ask him if his hair felt the same as his own hair after it is cut.

I was moved by the depth of the photo and left there West Wing affected by the feelings as I moved through the building and it was pretty cool we could take pictures of ourselves in the Press Room, it’s WAY smaller that it looks on TV.

Anyway, I have many more wines to tell you about from DC, but I will write more tomorrow.

PS…You get red, white and blue M&M’s from the White House when you leave the West Wing! (President Reagan started this tradition by giving out Jelly Beans)

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi