While Los Angeles burned—as rocks and bottles rained down on federal officers and National Guard troops deployed by presidential order—California Governor Gavin Newsom was sipping wine in Napa Valley, at an estate where the flagship Cabernet sells for $360 a bottle.
On June 7, as rioters assaulted police, torched cars, and smashed windows across downtown Los Angeles, Newsom attended a wine tasting dubbed “Vineyard Vibes” at the Odette Estate Winery, an elite property he co-founded in 2011.
According to Christopher Rufo and Ryan Thorpe at City Journal, the event served up live jazz, wood-fired smash burgers, and promotional copy so breezy it bordered on delusional:
It’s the perfect kick-off to summer fun. The fête will take place on the Winery Crushpad, where we’ll gather for music, food, conversation, and delicious wine!
And about those wines—they were “contemporary yet sophisticated.” Do tell.
That “kick-off” unfolded as mobs flooded the streets of Los Angeles, rioting in protest of the ICE deportation raids targeting criminal aliens.
By the time Newsom clinked glasses with guests, President Trump had already authorized 2,000 National Guard troops to restore order.
But you wouldn’t know it from the governor’s itinerary—or his wine selection.
Newsom stayed for at least 90 minutes, according to eyewitnesses.
One source photographed him mingling with guests and later told City Journal: “I couldn’t believe it. He was just walking around like this was an everyday occurrence.”
When the party ended, Newsom reportedly retreated into private quarters at the winery.
If the juxtaposition feels jarring, it’s because it is.
As one California descended into anarchy, the other was likely sipping the 2021 Odette Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon—priced at $720 for a two-pack.
According to its tasting notes, the wine features “vermillion spice” and “strikes of graphite on a canvas of ripe blueberry and cassis,” with tannins described as a “youthful tannic structure epitomizing the ‘iron fist in a velvet glove.’”
That’s not a tasting note—it’s a mission statement.
Or maybe he was sipping from the “Cheers” etched magnum—the 2019 Odette Reserve Cabernet—for a mere $943 (and no sense). A wood box is included—sustainably sourced, of course, since it is, after all, wood.
That’s nearly a grand for 1.5 liters. At that point, we’re well into Hunter Biden territory when it comes to elite hubris. Maybe he can design the label art for the next vintage.
As Los Angeles burned, Newsom lingered with a smirk among the velvet-draped Napa set, pairing live jazz with smash burgers on brioche and pizzas no doubt adorned with whatever organic toppings best complement cultivated detachment.
Suffer, plebes.
The party must go on for the patrician progressive pack—no doubt quietly grateful for the wage-suppressing blessings of illegal immigration: cheaper servers, cheaper farmhands, and fatter margins for the Odette shareholder class.
Indifference was on the nose—arrogance on the palate.
As an aside, one vineyard photo shows bare feet stomping grapes. Surely not the Governor’s—though these days, it’s hard to tell where the performance ends and the wine list begins. Let’s hope not.
The Governor’s office later attempted cleanup—regarding the event, not the price points or whether the Governor was the barefoot crusher—clarifying that it was a fundraiser for the UCSF Cancer Center “in honor of his mother.”
But no one disputes he was there. Nor does anyone dispute his deep personal and financial ties to the vineyard—part of the PlumpJack Group, the luxury hospitality portfolio he helped build. The event was also affiliated with the PlumpJack Foundation, chaired by his sister.
Gavin keeps it in the family; it seems—vines, vintages, and influence alike.
#PlumpJackLife
This isn’t the first time Newsom’s elite habits have collided with his public duties. In November 2020, he infamously dined at the French Laundry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, violating his guidance against holiday gatherings.
He later issued a mild mea culpa: “I need to preach and practice, not just preach.”
But there was no apology this time. Then again, sipping opulent reds while Los Angeles burned does feel a bit, well, Versailles-adjacent.
Instead, he sipped from a crystal wine glass—and watched the Guard deploy from 400 miles—and a world—away.
Newsom’s instinct, as always, is to appear thoughtful while acting aloof—to wag a finger at others while shielding his indulgence behind a bottle etched with “Cheers!” in elegant font.
But while California convulses—while violence rattles its streets and institutions—the image is now fixed: Gavin Newsom, a man once touted as the party’s future, quietly sipped “contemporary yet sophisticated” wines and engaged in clever repartee on a sun-drenched crush pad—while chaos reigned to the south.
A Nero for this moment.
Odette means “wealthy” or “prosperous”—but in this case, it reeks of something else.
With its curated menus, velvet metaphors, and photo-op fundraisers, the scene had all the earmarks of the nouveau riche: self-satisfied, image-obsessed, and utterly divorced from the crumbling streets of the state he’s meant to govern.
But “an iron fist in a velvet glove?” It takes a particular kind of politician to wax poetic about tannins while saying next to nothing about lawlessness in his own state. And for someone with national ambitions, it’s a curious image to endorse.
For Gavin Newsom, Odette doesn’t just mean wealth. It now also means oddly out of touch.
Charlton Allen is an attorney and former chief executive officer and chief judicial officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He is founder of the Madison Center for Law & Liberty, Inc., editor of The American Salient, and host of the Modern Federalist podcast. His commentary has been featured in American Thinker and linked across multiple RealClear platforms, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearWorld, RealClearDefense, RealClearHistory, and RealClearPolicy. X: @CharltonAllenNC
Image from Grok.