This year at her seder table, US Vice President Kamala Harris served the best wine globally available: Psagot Wine, from the Jewish community (aka Settlement) of Psagot in the Binyamin region.
The vice president and her Jewish husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, hosted their seder for Jewish members of their staff at the Vice President’s Residence.
Emhoff revealed the beverage of choice in a photo of the event that he tweeted with good wishes for the Passover holiday.
Tonight, @VP and I were honored to celebrate Passover with our hardworking staff by holding a Seder at the Vice President’s Residence.
Whether you’re celebrating with your family, your work family, or the family you have chosen, we wish you all a Happy Passover! pic.twitter.com/g9qLOHqFUM
— Douglas Emhoff (@SecondGentleman) April 16, 2022
Damage control began immediately, with a tweet issued by the Vice President’s senior adviser for communications, Herbie Ziskend, who said in his statement the choice was in “no way intended to be an expression of policy.”
The wine served at the Seder was in no way intended to be an expression of policy. https://t.co/ONLP3UU0ZF
— Herbie Ziskend (@HerbieZiskend46) April 17, 2022
The couple obviously are educated in the basics of vintage. Psagot Winery has won bronze, silver and gold medals for its wines nearly every year since 2006. Its Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard wine won gold medals in 2007, 2011, and 2013.
The award-winning wine ranges in price from $22.99 to $119.99 for the standard bottle, but some of the more expensive varietals are out of stock.
CEO of Psagot Yaakov Berg said in a statement that the Harris and her husband, Jewish Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff “have shown that they understand wine” and “have shown respect to Israeli wine.”
He also pledged that if Harris “continues in a positive direction, for example by opposing the Iran nuclear deal,” the winery would name a wine in her honor as well, Israel Hayom reported.
Predictably, leftists were outraged. “Psagot’s vineyards are on stolen Palestinian land. It’s not cool. It was the Trump that ‘legitimated’ the theft,” James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute complained in a tweet.
A bottle of Psagot Pompeo Special Edition 2020, named for America’s former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo as thanks for his condemning the European Court of Justice ruling on settlement products, costs $49.99.
“Next year I would recommend that the Second Family serve the “Friedman” vintage from the Psagot winery. I may be biastd but I think it’s very good,” tweeted former US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
Next year I would recommend that the Second Family serve the “Friedman” vintage from the Psagot Winery. I may be biased but I think it’s very good. https://t.co/EJ1Po34f6F pic.twitter.com/icThSUi7xZ
— David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) April 16, 2022
There is, in fact, a “Friedman” vintage at Psagot as well.
