You might think that once we found ourselves in the tragic truth of experiencing a pandemic that wine tastings as we know them would have to come to an end. After all, how could a wine tasting be successfully accomplished if social distancing and wearing masks are our new reality? If we don’t conform and abide by the new rules how will we improve the situation and keep everyone safe?
Viewpoint is certainly one level of the discussion; Is the glass half full or half empty? If you’re an optimist then one thing is for sure, many wineries have become very creative in how they do things in this new world. Some of those additions have even been helpful in developing new markets.
First, let me say that our winery, Spoto Family Wines, is a different animal. Family operated for three generations of wine-making with every generation creating their vintages in their own way. Due to our ultra-boutique stature that allows us to operate out of our specially designed home that pre-pandemic was open to guests for tastings but now we find ourselves mandated to operating only outside for spaced out tastings. This would be all well and good except for the fact that as I write this blog I am sweltering in 112 degrees of a nice dry heat. I don’t know about you but not too many people want to be tasting wine in this sort of heat.
Pre-pandemic we would journey to various states to share and expand our wine club. These were trips where we had either won a competition or various country clubs would request our presence as a small production winery that provides the attention to detail that only small wineries can. Now that travel has reduced significantly how does one get the word out about their wines?
Spoto Family Wines had to think outside the box- that’s how! We offered four, five and six bottle packages on our website (Spotowines.com) allowing customers to purchase the best option for them. Additionally, with their purchase of the wines we offered the addition of a Coravin device. We sent their purchase to them and then scheduled Zoom calls so that even though we weren’t together physically, we could sit across the computer screen from one another and discuss what they tasted and tell them all about our winery and answer any questions that they had along the way.
If you have not heard of the Coravin you’ll be pleased to learn about it now. The Coravin device is used to access wine from the bottle without opening the bottle. A cylindrical needle is inserted into the bottle thought the capsule and cork into the bottle down into the wine. The wine is accessed via the needle and replaced with medical grade Argon which lays a blanket on top of the wine to keep the oxygen off and keep the wine fresh.
This nifty device has changed the way that wine lovers can drink wines. If you are an individual who wants a glass of wine but doesn’t want to drink the whole bottle the Coravin is your answer. Wine stays fresh for up to 6 months if utilizing the Coravin. Also, if you are a wine connoisseur you can check an old vintage wine to see if it is ready to drink or if you’d like to enjoy several bottles of wine in an evening without drinking them all the Coravin saves the day once again. We were able to reach people across the country that we wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise with a tasting of this nature. We’ve enjoyed conversations with folks from Chicago, Orlando, Nashville and we didn’t even have to wear our masks.
Sure, tastings during a pandemic aren’t what they used to be…a warm handshake of greeting, a hug goodbye after several hours of lively discussion over a topic that we all are passionate about. This too shall pass and we are grateful for everyone we have had an opportunity to share our gift with and cherish the time that we can all be together enjoying the fruits of our labor.
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The views expressed in these blogs are solely the opinion of the author and does not represent the views of others.