columbian royal banquet, wines
Queen Elizabeth II and Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos at Buckingham Palace.
(Image credit: Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Getty Images))

Gusbourne, Blanc de Blancs 2007 was served to Colombia's president at a royal state banquet, held at Buckingham Palace this week.

Colombia royal banquet: The wines

The President Juan Manuel Santos de Calderon and his wife attended the banquet at Buckingham Palace on 1st November.

The English sparkling wine was followed by Dog Point Chardonnay 2011 from Marlborough, New Zealand.

Bordeaux also made an appearance on the menu, serving Château Pichon-Longueville au Baron, 2ème Cru Classé, Pauillac 1990.

English sparkling wine continues to be used for UK diplomatic events.

When Xi JinPing visited in October 2015, Ridgeview Grosevnor 2009 was served at the royal banquet. Earlier this year, Chapel Down became an official wine supplier to Downing Street.

The Columbian State dinner finished with Champagne Pol Roger 1988 and Taylor’s Vintage Port 1977.

For the starter, the guests were served Dover sole with Morecambe Bay shrimps in a light saffron cream, followed by pot-roasted Windsor estate pheasant with pickled cabbage, port and truffle jus, broccoli and potatoes.

The dessert was a light mango and passion fruit cream entremets.

View the full menu here:

Columbian royal banquet

The menu from the banquet.
(Image credit: @RoyalFamily Twitter)

Serving wines at official functions

Writing on politics and wine for the latest issue of Decanter, Julian Hitner said ‘the uninhibited use of select wines for political benefit remains unabated.’

As well as the pairing well with the menu, cultural factors are also observed when choosing wines for these events.

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Ellie Douglas
Ellie Douglas
Digital Editor

Ellie Douglas is digital editor at Decanter.

She has worked at Decanter since 2013, when she joined as editorial assistant, then moving to the web team as assistant web editor in 2015.

Over her years at Decanter, Ellie has helped to significantly grow Decanter’s social media presence and with the launch of Decanter Premium in 2017.

She holds her WSET Level three in Wine, and in 2018 was shortlisted for PPA Digital Content Champion of the Year.