The Chinese have boring palates

Remember all the controversy surrounding the wines for the first Obama state dinner, with the prime minister of India? There won't be any of that after last night's state dinner with Chinese president Hu Jintao. The menu, at the request of the Chinese, was about as exciting as listening to a lecture about varietal clone variation, and the wines were even less exciting.

California chardonnay with the lobster. Washington state cabernet sauvignon with the prime rib. If the Chinese are going to take over the wine world, as many have predicted, they still have a long way to go.