The short, (and maybe flip) answer is: ask the Clintons. They hired Daniel Shanks (who bought the wine served at this dinner and has been doing so for over 13 years): http://www.northjersey.com/food/wineandbeer/The_politics_of_the_White_House_cellar.html
I understand people may have very visceral feelings against the current president but let’s try to separate those from the fact that this is as much part of the protocol as any (like paying for security and transport of foreign dignitaries) and Barack Obama will continue this tradition as will his successors because it is the proper thing to do. It is ridiculous to present this situation in analogies of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

The long answer is that this has been the protocol in good times and bad times and under Democratic and Republican administration.

The White House cellar is a calling card of an aspect of American Culture. When you consider that wine is a multi-billion dollar industry for the US, (one that exports all around the world) the White House should be putting its best foot forward here – no matter what has brought those diplomats together.

Because the taxpayer benefits from that multi-billion dollar industry – either through excise tax revenue or the development of a tourist infrastructure in wine country (which brings jobs and economic stability to generally rural areas), it is absolutely appropriate to use tax dollars for things like the white house cellar.

In the grand scheme of things, the cost of these wines pales in comparison to other expenditures (more or less questionable). If the wine retailed for $210 per bottle at the time of release and the White House served a case (12 bottles) the cost of the wine to the taxpayers of this country is somewhere around $1260 (here is something to give people a sense of what expensive wine really is: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=a4wYdUiuWiyY&refer=muse).

But let’s not get hyperfocused on the affordablilty of a $100 to $200 dollar bottle of wine to a single individual when that individual is likely to spend similar amounts of money on sneakers or other items they could purchase for a third of the price or less. Very few single individuals can afford Air Force One, a tank, a military grade Humvee, a highway, aqueducts, dams, hospitals and other things that benefit a greater good, so the cost is distributed to the society.

Explain to me why taxpayer dollars should be used so that a bunch of foreign leader can drink bottles of wine that most Americans can’t afford.

The CNN folks either got sloppy or intended to sensationalize a non-topic.

This is not a case of callous and insulated-from-reality bourgeois quaffing delicate elixirs while the streets burn. This is a diplomatic dinner with foreign dignitaries. The White House should serve elegant foods and wines that showcase the finer side of American culture no matter the topic of the meeting or political or economic climate. Protocol dictates that we host the guests graciously, honoring them and the countries they represent. Two Buck Chuck just would not do that.