Ware says the winery was approached by the White House and asked to choose which of its wines to serve. The price the winery charged the White House was "closer to the $115" than to $399, Ware says, while declining to name the price.
Afterward, he says, the winery's profile in Asia got a "pretty significant" boost.
The White House selection drew derision.
The day after the Hu dinner, the anti-Obama Web site Gateway Pundit carried a posting entitled, "Sacrifice Is For the Little People ... Obama White House Serves $399 Bottles of Wine at State Dinner."
Comedian Stephen Colbert said that, given the U.S. debt held by China, the Hu dinner "should have been a sweatpants-potluck with box wine and a sleeve of Oreos."
Social Secretaries
Other changes were taking place at the White House at the time. Between the Chinese and German state dinners, the White House changed social secretaries, hiring Bernard that February.
Since the start of his presidency, aides also have avoided endorsing specific brands such as which golf clubs Obama favors.
Not all wines served by the administration are shielded. At Vice President Joe Biden's dinner last month for Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the list included a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Hall winery in California's Napa Valley. The wines sell for $22.99 and $48.99 per bottle, respectively, on the wine.com Web site. Vintner Kathryn Hall was U.S. ambassador to Austria during the Clinton administration. She didn't return calls for comment.
Wine has been regularly served at the Executive Residence since 1800, except from 1877-1881 under President Rutherford B. Hayes, Shanks wrote in 2007 for an article for the Journal of the White House Historical Association.
In the 20th century, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were known for their familiarity with French wine. The policy of serving American wine took hold in Lyndon Johnson's administration, according to an article in last month's Wine Spectator. Ronald Reagan, a former actor and California governor, raised the profile of his home state's wines.