What Exactly Is a Wine Cave, Anyway?
Tensions ran high at the sixth Democratic debate on Thursday evening, with presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren going after opponent Pete Buttigieg for his choice of fundraiser venue. In order to draw attention to his former promise to keep fundraisers open, Warren noted that a Buttigieg event earlier this month “was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served $900-a-bottle wine. Think about who comes to that. He had promised that every fundraiser he would do would be open-door, but this one was closed-door.”
In response, Buttigieg quickly pointed out that he was the only non-millionaire or billionaire present at the Democratic debate, but the damage was already done; searches for “wine cave” immediately surged on Google, and a talking point was born. As Warren likely intended, the term “wine cave” evokes something sinister and vaguely Caligula-esque, but what on earth was she talking about?
Simply put, wine caves are subterranean structures for the storage and aging of wine. If you’re curious about what they look like, Recode writer Teddy Schleifer managed to unearth photos of said Buttigieg event. Mother Jones editor Clara Jeffery noted on Twitter that wine caves are a part of every vineyard, adding that they help the U.S. wine industry—which has taken a beating from the California wildfires, among other factors—get by. And while Warren deployed the term to imply a kind of rarefied space for the ultra-wealthy, apparently, you can rent a Los Angeles wine cave for just $69 a night on Airbnb.
While Warren’s comments were meant to provoke progressive ire against the more centrist Buttigieg, she inadvertently awakened a long-dormant subset of society that was eager to share its thoughts: wine cave owners and appreciators. California Governor Gavin Newsom, in particular, was displeased, according to one reporter:
If, despite their new infamy, you can’t rest easy until you’ve had your own wine-cave experience, America’s cellar masters will likely—as evidenced above—welcome you with open arms. Why not pay a visit to Newton Vineyard, which has a cave set in Napa Valley’s Mayacamas mountain range? Or try the guest house at Archery Summit in Willamette Valley, where you can sample the offerings in Oregon wine country’s only cave system. Bonus: If you like it, you can even get married there.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
