text: When British Prime Minister David Cameron visits President Barack Obama this week, one detail may stay bottled up: the labels on the wines the White House pours at the state dinner tomorrow night. 
   
   For Obama’s first three state dinners, honoring the leaders of India, Mexico and China, the White House released the name, year and appellation of wines -- all-American -- paired with each course. 
   
   Part of a tradition observed by previous presidents, including George W. Bush, that disclosure stopped after Obama’s dinner last year for Chinese President Hu Jintao. One of the wines served on Jan. 19, 2011, was a top-rated 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington state that originally sold for $115 a bottle and went for as much as $399 by the time of the dinner. The price the White House paid per bottle was not made public. 
   
   At the next state dinner, on June 7, 2011, for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the menu made public by the White House didn’t include details on the wines. 
   
   “An American wine will be paired with each course,” stated a note at the bottom of the menu released by the White House. So went as well the menu released for the Korean State Dinner honoring President Lee Myung-Bak on Oct. 13, 2011. 
   
   Tyler Colman, who writes the Dr. Vino wine blog and teaches at New York University, said in an interview that the shift in menu protocol may reflect political considerations given the sluggish U.S. economy. 
   
   “They’re probably sensitive to displays of wealth at a time when the economy is not firing on all cylinders,” said Colman, whose blog had noted the absence of wines on the German state dinner menu the White House released. 
   
   No ‘Picnic’ 
   
   Still, keeping the wine list under wraps undercuts promotion of U.S. winemakers at a time when markets in developing nations such as China have potential to be “really hot” for U.S. labels because of the rising middle- and upper- income classes, he said. 
   
   A state dinner “isn’t a picnic or casual get-together,” and it’s justifiable from diplomatic and trade standpoints for the White House to spend money to showcase fine American wines, Colman said. 
   
   Dorothy Gaiter, wine and food editor for the quarterly France Magazine and a former wine columnist for the Wall Street Journal, said Obama was private about his wine preferences before his election. 
   
   ‘Good for America’ 
   
   If the Obama White House has decided to stop publicizing which American wines are served at official events, she said, “I don’t understand this. It’s good for America.” 
   
   Rick Small is co-owner of the Woodward Canyon winery in Lowden, Washington, whose 2009 Chardonnay was among the wines poured for the German dinner. 
   
   He and his wife noticed the shift because they had gotten billing on the menu when their wine was served at a Clinton administration dinner. He said he didn’t know why the practice was changed and that it probably does help the industry overall to have U.S. wines publicized by name. 
   
   At the same time, Small said, it’s an honor to be chosen at all. “You’re not going to get pushy about it since they picked your wine,” he said. 
   
   The White House declined to comment for this article or to make available Daniel Shanks, the usher who has managed wine selection since the Clinton administration, or social secretary Jeremy Bernard. First Lady Michelle Obama’s office referred questions to the White House press office. 
   
   No Disclosure 
   
   White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest declined to disclose which wines were served at the German or Korean state dinners, identify wines from non-state dinners, make menus of past meals available for inspection or answer questions about the shift in practice. 
   
   Earnest also declined to say whether the White House would release the names of wines at the Cameron dinner. 
   
   The White House has promoted its release of other documents and data. On March 8, it announced a website, www.ethics.gov, to expand access to government databases tracking White House visitor records, lobbying disclosures and Federal Election Commission reports. 
   
   “From the day he took office, the president committed his administration to work towards unprecedented openness in government,” said the official statement announcing the site. 
   
   At the state dinner for Hu, the 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley from Washington state, one of the wines poured that night, was $115 a bottle at release, the winery’s general manager, John Ware said in an interview. 
   
   Turning Point 
   
   The wine earned a rare 100-point rating from wine critic Robert Parker. By the time of the White House dinner, Ware said, it sold for $300-$350. It was listed for as much as $399 per bottle, according to wine websites. 
   
   Ware said the winery was approached by the White House and asked to choose which of its wines to serve. The price the winery charged the White House was “closer to the $115” than to $399, Ware said, while declining to name the price. 
   
   Afterward, he said, the winery’s profile in Asia got a “pretty significant” boost. 
   
   The White House selection drew derision. 
   
   The day after the Hu dinner, the anti-Obama website Gateway Pundit carried a posting entitled, “Sacrifice Is For the Little People... Obama White House Serves $399 Bottles of Wine at State Dinner.” 
   
   Comedian Stephen Colbert said that, given the U.S. debt held by China, the Hu dinner “should have been a sweatpants- potluck with box wine and a sleeve of Oreos.” 
   
   Social Secretaries 
   
   Other changes were taking place at the White House at the time. Between the Chinese and German state dinners, the White House changed social secretaries, hiring Bernard that February. 
   
   Since the start of his presidency, aides also have avoided endorsing specific brands such as which golf clubs Obama favors. 
   
   Not all wines served by the administration are shielded. At Vice President Joe Biden’s dinner last month for Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the list included a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Hall winery in California’s Napa Valley. The wines sell for $22.99 and $48.99 per bottle, respectively, on the wine.com website. Vintner Kathryn Hall was U.S. ambassador to Austria during the Clinton administration. She didn’t return calls for comment. 
   
   Wine has been regularly served at the Executive Residence since 1800, except from 1877-1881 under President Rutherford B. Hayes, Shanks wrote in 2007 for an article for the Journal of the White House Historical Association. 
   
   Kennedy and Nixon 
   
   In the 20th century, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were known for their familiarity with French wine. The policy of serving American wine took hold in Lyndon Johnson’s administration, according to an article in last month’s Wine Spectator. Ronald Reagan, a former actor and California governor, raised the profile of his home state’s wines. 
   
   Ulises Valdez, 42, of the Valdez Family Winery and Tasting Room in Cloverdale, California, said he is “still celebrating” having his 2008 Silver Eagle Vineyard Chardonnay served at the White House for the Mexico state dinner on May 19, 2010. 
   
   Valdez snuck into the U.S., from Mexico, as a teenager and found work picking grapes. He got amnesty during the Reagan administration. Today he owns a vineyard management company and the winery. “This is the beauty of the U.S. --if you’re a hard worker and good and honest you can do it,” he said. 
   
   White House menus can be a point of pride and business builder for individual vintners whose wines are chosen. 
   
   China Sales ‘Quadrupled’ 
   
   Kerry Murphy, proprietor of DuMOL Wines in Orinda, California, whose wines have been served at the White House since 2002, said he’s become a collector. “God knows how many menus I have -- I love ’em,” he said. 
   
   “I’ve been blessed by the association,” Murphy said. “It sets the wine to high standards,” he said, because the White House “can buy whatever they want.” 
   
   His Chardonnays sell for $50-$60 per bottle. 
   
   After his 2008 Russian River Chardonnay was served at the Hu dinner, he said, “our sales in China quadrupled.” 
   
   “I think that has a lot to do just with exposure from that one dinner,” he said. ’’It makes me feel good because we’ve got some dollars coming back’’ to the U.S. from China. “That’s a patriotic thing in itself.” 
   
   To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.net 
   
   To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net ||||| President Barack Obama is giving an enthusiastic visitor, British Prime Minister David Cameron, his first taste of college basketball _ and for Obama a chance to tap into a sports audience in Ohio, a state important to his re-election hopes. 
   
   President Barack Obama and Britain Prime Minister David Cameron attend the Mississippi Valley State game against Western Kentucky in a first round NCAA tournament basketball game, Tuesday, March 13, 2012,... (Associated Press) 
   
   President Barack Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron greet fans as they arrive for the Mississippi Valley State versus Western Kentucky first round NCAA tournament basketball game, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
   
   President Barack Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron eat hot dogs as they attend the Mississippi Valley State versus Western Kentucky in a first round NCAA tournament basketball game, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
   
   Obama, an avid basketball fan, on Tuesday took Cameron to Dayton on Air Force One for an NCAA basketball tournament game between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky. 
   
   Obama's verdict on the game during a halftime interview on truTV was that "both teams are shooting terrible" in the low-scoring contest, but that maybe the teams were nervous. 
   
   Cameron said he was enjoying the fast-and-furious action in what marked the British leader's first college basketball game. 
   
   Cameron quipped that Obama was going to help him fill out his bracket. 
   
   THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. 
   
   Basketball fan-in-chief President Barack Obama is giving British Prime Minister David Cameron a front-row seat to March Madness, taking his European partner to an election swing state for an NCAA tournament basketball game. 
   
   Amid cheers, the two leaders entered the University of Dayton Arena on Tuesday for a "First Four" matchup between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky, a gesture of goodwill during Cameron's official visit to the United States and a way for an incumbent president to reach sports fans in an election year. 
   
   Adding to the heavy hoops flavor of the day, Obama announced his NCAA tournament bracket picks to ESPN, the sports network he watches on a daily basis. On Tuesday, the network teased Obama's selections by revealing his Final Four picks: Kentucky, Ohio State, Missouri and North Carolina. 
   
   It was the fourth straight year that Obama filled out an NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN. On the women's side, he selected Baylor, St. John's, Connecticut and Notre Dame to advance. 
   
   ESPN will reveal the president's full men's bracket Wednesday. 
   
   Cameron's sporting tastes run more toward tennis, cricket and soccer. Tuesday's was the first college basketball game he's seen. 
   
   The White House said the trip to the NCAA tournament game was intended to showcase the special relationship between the two key allies during Cameron's three-day visit. Obama and Cameron will discuss the upcoming NATO and G-8 summits on Wednesday, followed by a state dinner at the White House. 
   
   Obama and Cameron were scheduled to appear in a live halftime interview on truTV, which was airing the game, with sportscaster Clark Kellogg. Kellogg interviewed Obama at halftime of a Duke-Georgetown game in 2010 and spoke with the president later that year during a White House game of "HORSE" aired on CBS during the NCAA tournament. 
   
   Joining Obama at the game was Ohio's Republican Gov. John Kasich, who greeted Obama with a big handshake at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kasich gave Obama two letters, which his office said were from the governor's twin daughters, who wanted to welcome the Democratic president to the state. 
   
   Still, other Republicans panned the trip, saying many Americans would prefer Obama to focus on more pressing issues. 
   
   "While showing off our amazing college basketball teams is great, many Americans struggling to find jobs, dealing with soaring gas prices, or concerned with our rising deficit and debt would probably like the president spend at least as much time dealing with those issues," said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee 
   
   Obama's quick trip to Ohio gives him a chance to connect with basketball fans and generate attention in Ohio, which he carried in the 2008 election and is considered one of the top toss-up states in 2012. The trip comes one week after Republican front-runner Mitt Romney captured Ohio's GOP primary. 
   
   It also lets Obama lavish praise and attention on Cameron at a time of weighty foreign policy challenges in Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. Britain has been an important U.S. ally in Afghanistan and the bombing campaign in Libya that led to the removal of Moammar Gadhafi. 
   
   Cameron is frequently spotted running near his official Downing Street residence, flanked by his security detail. But he's not much of a basketball fan; British Ambassador Peter Westmacott told reporters in Washington on Monday that Cameron was "busy briefing himself on March Madness." 
   
   Basketball has been a big part of Obama's life. At his Hawaii high school, Obama frequently carried a basketball along with his school books and bonded with his teammates on the court. His brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, played college basketball at Princeton and is now head coach at Oregon State. 
   
   The president regularly plays pickup basketball and keeps close tabs on his favorite NBA team, the Chicago Bulls. In a recent interview, the president said he gets League Pass on his iPad, letting him watch out-of-market NBA games on his tablet computer. 
   
   Obama kicked off the basketball season with a Veterans Day game between Michigan State and North Carolina on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson in November, enjoying a game on the aircraft carrier that took Osama bin Laden's body to a burial at sea after the U.S. raid that killed the al-Qaida leader. 
   
   The president said in an interview last month with journalist Bill Simmons that the "mythology of sports" is deeply embedded in the U.S., allowing viewers to discern who is winning and who is losing _ a principle that could easily be transferred to politics. 
   
   "People _ for all our differences politically, regionally, economically _ most folks understand sports. Probably because it's one of the few places where it's a true meritocracy," Obama said. "Ultimately, who's winning, who's losing, who's performing, who's not _ it's all laid out there." 
   
   ___ 
   
   Associated Press writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report. 
   
   ___ 
   
   Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas
target: – Last night, British PM David Cameron enjoyed his very first taste of March Madness, compliments of President Obama. At tonight's state dinner, he'll likely enjoy some American wine as well—but don't expect too many details about the winery, year, or appellation. That's because Obama put a stop to the tradition of revealing said info after his third state dinner ... following a brouhaha over the price tag. In honor of Hu Jintao's visit, the Chinese president was served a 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington state that garnered a 100-point Robert Parker rating. The White House didn't say how much it paid per bottle, but it originally retailed for $115, and was selling for $300 and up by the time of the Jan. 19, 2011, dinner. So when Angela Merkel was honored at a state dinner in June, the released menu said nothing more than "an American wine will be paired with each course." Ditto for South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak's Oct. 13 menu. And while the move may ostensibly make sense ("they’re probably sensitive to displays of wealth at a time when the economy is not firing on all cylinders," says one wine expert), many argue the move hurts, instead of helps. Promoting top winemakers "is good for America," says one wine editor, and Bloomberg notes that state dinners provide a prime opportunity to show China and other new big wine importers what the US has to offer. To wit, Quilceda Creek saw a "pretty significant" uptick in Asia after Hu's dinner.