Additional Information
Winner of twelve national and international awards, Wine and the White House is a comprehensive journey through the history of White House hospitality that explores every president’s experience of wine. Whether you’re a devotee of presidential history, a lover of wine, or both, Wine and the White House: A History is sure to prove informative and entertaining. The fully illustrated pages also feature memorable presidential toasts, menus from historic White House gatherings, a catalog of vintages served, and spectacular photography of the White House glassware collection. This new edition has been expanded to include entertaining during the Biden presidency.
Early presidents recognized the important function wine played in entertaining at the White House. While some appreciated and enjoyed wine, others considered it merely a ceremonial necessity. Still others campaigned to outlaw wine and banned it from the White House; their successors celebrated its return. More recently, all presidents, regardless of whether they enjoyed wine themselves, have used the White House as a venue to showcase the fine wines produced in the United States.
About the Author
Frederick J. Ryan, Jr., the former publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, has been an aficionado of both wine and White House history for most of his life. Growing up in Italy and California, he developed an early interest in wine and its production, and has extensively studied winemaking and its history in the years since. Ryan’s fascination with wine parallels his lifelong interest in the American presidency. He served in a senior staff position in the Ronald Reagan White House and as Reagan’s post-presidential chief of staff. Ryan currently serves as chairman of the White House Historical Association’s White House Endowment and Acquisition Trust, the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, and the Wine Committee of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C.