For the second year in a row (which is only as long as I’ve been keeping track, could be more), Estancia was poured at the WHCD. The Washington Hilton tweeted out this pic:
It looks like Chardonnay and maybe Cab, although the green foil on the red is throwing me because their Cab has a red foil cap:
The green cap could just be a special bottling for the White House though – not sure. Or maybe the light is just weird and it’s the Reserve Meritage. But I also saw this pic on Instagram:
The Estancia Cab is clear (and with black foil now). And now we have Estancia Pinot Grigio in the bucket (the white stripe and screw cap give it away). But now there’s a totally different red on the table at the right. This is definitely not Estancia, and in fact looks like Mount Veeder. It’s too blurry to tell for sure but look at the resemblance:
This is like Watergate proportions of mystery. Will update if I hear anything else.
FYI, all the Estancia wines are under $20 and the Mount Veeder is about $40 (and really good, fyi).
And last, here’s Conan’s grapefriendy joke:
“Things are so tough for old media that — this is a true story — Reuters is having its after-party right here at the Hilton. Nothing says ‘we’rehaving a great year’ like having your after-party at the same table where you just had dinner. With that in mind Reuters is asking everyone to leave a little wine at the bottom of their glass.”
grapefriend 
would they really do a special bottling for a dinner? Maybe they have different foils for direct buys vs. distributor sales? I’m totally stumped- but we may never know.
Great point – could be!
didn’t mean to be anonymous above…
I bet you are right about the Mount Veeder wine. Wouldn’t surprise me if the yellow label wines were Clois du Bois. All these labels are under the Constellation Wine umbrella.
Figured out the yellow top – it’s the Estancia Pinot Grigio. Still don’t know why the red wine has a bright green foil in the first pic though… Great point about Constellation!
The official menu: White House Correspondents’ Association dinner : “Salad: Orange and Beet Terrine With Shaved Chard, Fennel and Pistachios, Topped with Jumbo Crabmeat, Green Chili and Ginger Mayo … Bread Presentation to include: Seven Grain Rolls, Sourdough Rolls, White and Wheat Rolls, Flatbreads and Butter … Entrée: Broiled Petite Filet with Béarnaise Sauce, Paired with Poached Halibut with Sun Dried Tomato Chutney, Onion Marmalade Soufflé Whipped Potatoes, Seasonal Baby Vegetables … Dessert: Lord Baltimore Cake, Yellow Cake with Almonds, Brandied Cherries, Macaroon Crumbs, Encased in a Fluffy Meringue … Freshly Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee … Variety of Regular and Herbal Teas … Wines: Estancia Chardonnay , Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Thanks! (Although we have yet to get our Mystery Red confirmation…)
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Two of our favorites :0) Nice to know we’re drinking with the “in” crowd. too bad we have to pay for our own LOL
PS. Sent your blog to my husband & told him to subscribe. Only blog I’ve recommended to him other than my own!
That’s so cool, thank you! Cheers (and gorgeous pics, btw).