Article snippet: RUTHERFORD, Calif. (AP) — The California winemakers who hosted a dinner at a “wine cave” for Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg are defending the fundraising event. Buttigieg’s political rivals used the fundraiser to criticize the South Bend, Indiana, mayor for soliciting campaign contributions from wealthy donors at Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate. Craig and Kathryn Hall, who own the Hall Rutherford winery in Napa Valley, said Friday that they took issue with how their wine cave has been portrayed in the media. “It seems someone’s intentionally trying to create a different image than the reality. And that’s unfortunate,” Craig Hall said. A dispute over big-dollar donors and fundraising between Buttigieg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren erupted on the presidential debate stage Thursday. Warren described a lavish Buttigieg fundraiser featuring $900 bottles of wine and crystal chandeliers, noting that, unlike the South Bend mayor, “I do not sell access to my time.” “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” she charged. Warren for weeks has pushed Buttigieg to open his fundraisers and be more transparent about donors. His campaign has said he doesn’t solely rely on big-dollar donations and has received an outpouring of small donations averaging $32 during the last three-month reporting period. Buttigieg, who has surged into the top tier of the Democratic Party’s 2020 primary in part because of... Link to the full article to read more