Benzinger Wines Served at the 2010 “Green” Annual White House Correspondents Dinner

Picture: President Obama and the First Lady, Matt Winkler, Bloomberg

Annual White House Correspondents Dinner

Yesterday evening, the White House Correspondents Dinner took place in Washington DC, in the Capital Hilton Hotel. The President and his wife, the White House correspondents and a lot of prominence from Hollywood were among the 2600 guests. The annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner is the premiere black tie event in the nation's capital.

The Obama Foodorama Blog provides an excellent overview of the event, including the President's speech.

A Green Event

This year's dinner had an eco-friendly theme. The White House Correspondents Association partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental organization about green initiatives. Everything from the napkins, to the organic wine, to the menu. General Motors displayed its Chevy Volt electric car. It is the only one in the District. It was also Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's ride to the dinner.

"This will be the most eco-friendly dinner ever hosted by the association,'' said White House Correspondents' Association president Ed Chen of Bloomberg News. "And we encourage our members and guests to join in that effort, such as by car-pooling, using hybrid vehicles and, for long-distance travelers to Washington, buying carbon-offsets."

The Green Menu

Picture: The Menu, courtesy of Christina Wilkie through www.obamafoodorama.com

For the meal, the association made an effort to obtain locally produced and organic food and wine and uneaten meals were distributed to the Washington D.C. Central Kitchen. For the wines, Benzinger wines were served.

Salad
Organic Wheat Berry Terrine and pea tendrils
Corn, Brussels sprouts, shaved fennel
Jonal crab claws
Lemon verbena and opal basil iced tea vinaigrette

Entrée
Herb crusted petite filet
Paired with roasted Halibut
Corn and Dauphinoise, seasonal baby vegetables
Pomegranite demi and basil Gremolata

Dessert
Amaretto chocolate truffle
Green tea crème brulee
Basil cheesecake

Wine
Benzinger Merlot (Sonoma County, CA-no year noted)
Benzinger Sauvignon Blanc (Sonoma County, CA-no year noted)

What is Green Wine?

Before discussing the Benzinger wines, let me just dwell a bit on the various wine terms that are out there…organic, sustainable, carbon–neutral and so on.

Organic

Organic generally means the use of natural as opposed to chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides. The key is: no chemicals.

Organic wines are changing the look of vineyards, literally. Whereas vineyards of the past commanded neat rows rid of all insects, rodents and weeds, organic vineyards are now replacing costly and damaging chemical sprays with environmental partnerships. Pesticides are giving way to introducing low-growing plants between vine rows that host beneficial insects that keep the pest insects in check.

Unfortunately, there is no agreement on what organic wine making as opposed to organic wine growing means. The main issue is the use of sulfur in the fermentation process. In the US, organic winemakers are not allowed to add sulfites during winemaking; an organic wine is a wine with basically zero sulfur. In Europe, sulfites are allowed to be added during fermentation and an organic wine typically contains a modest amount of sulfur.

Biological or Bio

This appears to be just another word for organic, used in Europe.

Biodynamic

Biodynamic is similar to organic farming in that both take place without chemicals, but biodynamic farming incorporates ideas about a vineyard as an ecosystem, and also accounting for things such as astrological influences and lunar cycles. Biodynamic is an approach following the rules and ideas of Austrian philosopher-scientist Rudolph Steiner. In his 1924 lectures, he viewed the farm as an entire living ecosystem starting with the soil which is treated as a living organism and receives special applications to enhance its health.

Sustainable

Sustainability refers to a range of practices that are not only ecologically sound, but also economically viable and socially responsible. Sustainable farmers may farm largely organically or biodynamically but have flexibility to choose what works best for their individual property; they may also focus on energy and water conservation, use of renewable resources and other issues.

Natural

The idea behind natural wine is non-intervention and a respect for nature. For example, only natural yeasts are used, the fermentation is slow, there is little or no use of new oak barrels; and there are no filtrations or cold stabilization. Natural wines are minimalist wines produced with as little intervention as possible.

Vegan

Vegan refers to the process of "finning" the wine. Proteins, spent yeasts and small organic matter in wines are sometimes eliminated from wines with fining agents made from animal products. Fish bladders, egg whites, milk proteins and even bull’s blood (not allowed in the US or France) are all used as fining agents. As an alternative, Bentonite, a specific type of clay, is used for clarification in vegan wines. It’s important to note that vegan or vegetarian wines may or may not be made from organic grapes.

Fair trade

Fair trade wines first came onto the market the US in 2007, following trends in coffee, tea and produce. Fair trade refers to the conditions and wages paid to employees of the winery; it guarantees employees a fair and "livable" wage for their product. Fair Trade certification of wine has been around since 2003 in Europe. The certification means that wineries met certain standards for living wages, environmental sustainability and community improvement. Oakland's TransFair USA just announced that it has begun certifying Fair Trade wines from Argentina, Chile and South Africa for the American market.

Carbon neutral

The carbon neutral label comes from a different angle: global warming. All economic activites have a carbon footprint, including wine making. Carbon neutral wineries are trying to make a contribution to the general efforts of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide.

A major aspect of carbon neutrality however is outside the control of wineries. It is the transport of the wine from the winery to the consumer. For example, the carbon dioxide emission would have been less if the guests at the White House Correspondents Dinner had decided to drink wine from Europe that came over to the US via ship rather than wine from California that was transported on the road. In Washington DC, the carbon footprint of the Benzinger wine was not negligible, though Benzinger wines are among the leaders in the green wine movement in the US.

Benzinger Wines in my Cellar, McLean, Virginia

I bought a case of the 2005 Benzinger Reserve, 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot, Sonoma County, a few years ago. I have not yet touched the wine, but I will open a bottle tonight.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with 2005 Benzinger Reserve


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