 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Thomas Jefferson had such a galaxy of interests and accomplishments that he is sometimes referred to as the Leonardo da Vinci of America. Many of his interests were so intensely pursued that they can be classified as passions. Clearly, wine and food were two of his life-long passions. He called wine a "necessary of life." His wine interests went far beyond just drinking wine. He was interested in its viticulture, making notes on German and Italian grape growing and examining "the details relative to the most celebrated wines of France." He planted vineyards at Monticello and experimented with grape growing in his Paris garden on the Champs-Elysees. He encouraged Philip Mazzei, John Adlum and others in their vineyard efforts and accurately predicted that America would, some day, make wines as good as those of France. He was a wine adviser to Presidents Washington, Madison and Monroe.
Throughout his life he was an advocate of the virtues of wine, arguing that "no nation is drunken where wine is cheap; and none sober, where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage." His wine advice to merchants and friends opened channels for the importation of wine into the United States from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. To encourage the importation of wines he effectively lobbied for a reduction in U.S. taxes while serving as Secretary of State, as President, and later in retirement.
Jefferson was the most knowledgeable wine connoisseur of his age and his tastes in wine covered the world: France, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, Madeira, Portugal, Spain and, of course, America.
His love of good food and the pleasures of dining are well documented in his account books, letters and other records. Jefferson's early Monticello dinners included ducks, geese, chickens, partridges, game, beef, fish, oysters, anchovies and an incredible array of vegetables and herbs that he grew in his garden. However, it was during his five years in France that he became serious about the pleasures of the table.
Fourteen months after his arrival in Paris and his appointment as our minister, he moved into a new home, the Hotel de Langeac, located on the Champs-Elysees. Over the next four years the Hotel de Langeac became the scene of many lavish dinners where France's best wines were served to an appreciative coterie of friends, both American and French.
President Jefferson turned the White House into the most interesting social center of the new city. His staff included two Frenchmen; to administer the White House, Jefferson hired Etienne Lemaire, and as his chef, 42 year old Honore Julien.