In honor of President’s Day, here are 10 facts your probably don’t know about our presidents and wine:
- Schramsberg could hold the unofficial title of favorite White House sparkling wine. Every president since Nixon has served it at least once.
- Presidents Jefferson and Washington both tried and failed many times to grow vineyards on their estates
- President Johnson enacted an unofficial policy to only serve American wine at state dinners and subsequent presidents have followed suit.
- Thomas Jefferson built a wine cellar under the White House and stocked it with more than 20,000 bottles of European wine, which he left for his successors.
- George Washington really enjoyed his booze, especially Madeira wine. From 1775 to March 1776 he spent more than $6,000 on alcohol.
- The first time wine was served at an official White House function when Lincoln was president.
- Woodrow Wilson received a special exemption to move his wine cellar from the White House to his home when he left office because the transportation of alcohol was banned.
- Ok, not all presidents loved wine. Rutherford B. Hayes banned all wine and other alcoholic beverages from the White House.
- Unsurprisingly, Ronald Reagan served a lot of California wines when he was in office. Wineries often saw a spike in sales when their wines were served at the White House.
- Richard Nixon reportedly enjoyed Chateau Lafite Rothschild but reportedly served less expensive wines to his guests, with the bottles wrapped in towels to hide their labels.