WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) — A Walla Walla wine — Chester-Kidder red blend 2009 — was on the menu with wines from California and Virginia at the White House state dinner for French President Francois Hollande, the biggest social event yet of President Barack Obama’s second term.
Chester-Kidder is one of seven signature wines under the umbrella of Long Shadows, founded in 2003 by former Chateau Ste. Michelle president Allen Shoup. Chester-Kidder winemaker Gilles Nicault, who is French, described the wine served to the presidents as a “smooth, refined wine with a lot of flavor and complexity.”
It’s a blend of 50 percent cabernet sauvignon mixed with syrah and petit verdot grapes, all grown in the Columbia Valley around Walla Walla and the Horse Heaven Hills, barrel-aged 30 months.
