Washinigton Wine & Coronavirus Pt 3
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Since the coronavirus orders began to stay home-stay safe, Washington wineries have had to be creative, finding ways to let wine lovers know they’re still out there and wine is still available.
Washington Wine Commission president Steve Warner says the success rate for these new promotional strategies has been a bit of a mixed bag …
WARNER … “I mean, honestly, there’s been some that have seen really good success because they were able to adapt based on their geography and timing to, basically an opportunity to where you can either order directly from the winery and have it delivered, say you’re within a certain radius, so they would hand deliver the wine to your residence. Or, you could come by and do curb-side pickup or you could even come into the tasting room and pickup, buy you couldn’t stay. So, we’ve seen some success across the state but, again, it varies by size and location.”
Asked if this pandemic will cause any casualties among our wineries, Warner says …
WARNER … “It’s so hard to say. So much depends on how quickly we can reopen and how quickly consumers are to get out.”
If nothing else, Warner says we’ve learned a greater appreciation for what we do …
WARNER … “That’s one good thing that’s come out of all of this is people really, I think more than ever, are starting to understand that supporting local, particularly when it’s high-quality products at a lower price, is really important to the life-blood of the small businesses which include small farmers. Our farmers, our wineries, winemakers, and all those adjacent businesses that support the wine industry.”
Warner is hoping the stay in place orders are lifted soon before we get too far into the summer tourism season.
