April 18, 2006
Hu's on first
Prez Hu of China is guest of honor at state dinner chez Gates tonight. Typical chicken-shit: Gov. Gregoire is official host but event is privately financed. Saving grace: decent wines! Would be hard-pressed to find two more worthy representatives of Washington viticulture than this pair:
* Chateau Ste. Michelle, the 2003 Canoe Ridge Estate Chardonnay
* Leonetti Cellar in Walla Walla, the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
Both wines come from mature vineyards with well-identified characteristics; both exhibit the subtle signatures of their terroir rather than the flashy hands of a splashy winemaker. Elegant apple and citrus for the chard; ripe berries and cedar for the cab.
How civilized that our business and political elite can sit down with a visiting potentate without false modesty or phony displays of temperance, even if they did have to drum up corporate underwriting. Ya think the earnest voices protesting Hu's visit could raise a glass to the notion of cooperation, consensus & comity?