Wine Snapshots in the Time of COVID

Photo by Taryn Elliott from Pexels

The wine world has been turned upside-down right along with the rest of life.  Here are a few random observations and links…

The Biz

It is hard to tell if the current situation is the best of times or the worst of times for the wine industry.  Best: people seem to be drinking more wine while sheltering at home.  Retailers and wineries are upping their digital game by developing virtual tastings and offering special direct-to-consumer discounts (and much more).  Worst: Restaurants are taking a beating and that is getting passed on to wineries.  The slump in “on-premise” (consumed in a restaurant or bar) sales has led some producers to scale back the amount of wine they are making in 2020. And in-person tastings are still off in the distant future… a challenge to the business models of smaller wineries that rely on tasting room sales.

 Here is an article from Sunset Magazine on the topic.  

 Eric Asimov’s Wine School feature in the New York Times is a great way to expand your wine repertoire while stuck at home.  He writes, “Informed debate and discussion is the purpose of Wine School. Our aim is to promote exploration and understanding, first and foremost, as well as comfort and ease with wine.”

 I bought some delicious Loire Valley Chenin Blanc from Ian Blackburn this month.  If you’re in the Los Angeles area, check out his Merchant of Wine site, especially the Zoom into Wine offerings.  While they ship wine all over the country, you can get the wine for the Zoom tastings delivered locally very quickly.

Black Wine Matters

The BLM marches are bringing forth a long-overdue discussion in the wine world about its lack of diversity.  Featured in all three Somm Movies, sommelier DLynn Procter stood out against a very “white background.” Props to the makers of the movies for including this amazing and accomplished man, but we need to learn more as wine lovers and as citizens who care about equality.

So much of the wine world – at least in the “new world” regions – seems to be trying to step away from the mystique and “high-cost-of-entry” that many associate with wine (see the first entry in this blog for more about some of these issues).  Wine brings people together, it is often said, and so this moment offers the opportunity for us as wine lovers to seek common ground over the beverage we love – and open our eyes to see much about the industry that has been “hiding in plain sight.” This article in PUNCH by Miguel DeLeon describes his experiences as a Filipino wine professional and calls the wine world to be better. His words are important for white people like me to take in right now - and then to act upon.

Newsweek: List of Black-owned Wineries

Kolumn Magazine: 31 Black-owned Wine Businesses

 Sunset Magazine: Black winemakers report boom in sales

 Wine for Normal People Podcast: Elizabeth Schneider’s Interview with Tahiirah Habibbi, founder of the Hue Society.

We have to keep in mind that wine is an agricultural product.  Farmers and the businesses that make up their supply chain are always at the mercy of weather and other factors beyond their control.  COVID-19 is an extreme test of their resilience, but there may be positive new “habits” that form as a result of the pandemic – both for those who grow the grapes, and we who enjoy them.