The billionaire owner of a wine cave that recently hosted a fundraiser for Pete Buttigieg was upset with the attacks that came at his industry after Elizabeth Warren called it out.
During Thursday night’s PBS/Politico debate, Warren, 70, attacked Buttigieg, 37, for having a closed-door fundraiser, saying, “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States.”
This exchange triggered a flurry of “wine cave” jabs between the Democratic candidates for the remainder of the evening. Craig Hall, the owner of Hall Wines, was upset that the Democratic candidates chose to bash wine caves instead of focusing on policy issues.
“I’m just a pawn here,” Hall, 69, told the New York Times. “They’re making me out to be something that’s not true. And they picked the wrong pawn. It’s just not fair.”
[Read: What exactly is a wine cave?]
Hall and his wife, Kathryn Walt Hall, have given Democratic causes more than $2.4 million since the 1980s, including donations to candidates such as Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi. The couple found it offensive that candidates such as Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders have spoken down about the party’s billionaire donors.
“These people don’t know who they’re talking about when they throw me in the class that they did,” he explained. “As much as it’s frustrating, it’s more disappointing to me that Democrats are fighting with each other when we have a common goal, which is to get back to the White House.”
The businessman claimed that he would struggle to vote for a Democratic candidate if it ended up being Warren or Sanders.
“I hope I don’t face that question,” Hall explained. “It may be difficult. But I really want to support whoever the nominee is, and I plan to, but there may be some holding my nose.”
Hall noted that Buttigieg was his personal front-runner despite not having completely settled on a candidate to support in the presidential primary.
Although wine caves have had a lot of negative press in the last week, many have noted that caves are essential for the aging process of wine because of the low temperatures and high humidity. The Halls were not alone in their defense of the wine industry. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also condemned the candidates for attacking wine caves, saying, “It’s one of America’s great exports. It’s my business. It’s how I started.”
