Everybody likes predictions and the nice thing about them is readers forget what you predicted when it doesn't come to pass. Besides, I need a break from all the stupid crap going on now. Extrapolating from what is already going on is easier so this is more figuring out which trends stay, which ones go.
Naked Wines is a 12 year old online wine retailer based in the UK. It's a different sort of wine club and you can read about how they run their business elsewhere if you wish. They've been quite successful, but nothing like "pandemic successful."
With all the stay at home orders and people ordering everything online their fiscal half year that ran from last April through September saw an 80% growth in revenue over the previous year.
Their UK offerings of Christmas specials during the December lock down brought in so much traffic that it temporarily crashed their website.
This new year starts dark, but improves as the vaccines are rolled out. It's just that no one knew at the time how the new mRNA formulation would change everyone's sense of taste and smell. Suddenly chardonnay tasted like soap, cabernet like candy corn.
A look at the main stories covered in this blog for 2020. Yeah, guess what, the Covid pandemic tops the list as it related to the wine business. Second on the list were the wildfires.
There are a number of what you might call odd events that happen throughout the year in Sonoma County. You might not see anything quite like this back home.
Unless you're a local to Sonoma County you've probably never heard of Agoston Haraszthy or even know how to pronounce his name. The Anglicized version is sort of ah-gas-ton hair-as-tee. He is the father of premium wine in California.
The people usually getting the credit are wine makers (deserved) or winery owners (not necessarily deserved). Like any successful company it's the people you hire that do the actual work. In small wineries, as any small business, a person will wear multiple hats. What are their roles in the wine industry?
It won't be happening. Sonoma County announced a stay-at-home order effective December 12, 2020 through January 9, 2021. Tasting rooms are closed, restaurants are closed except for take-out, hotels are closed.
How about Napa? As of the day I'm posting this Napa has not shut down, but they are near record levels for Covid cases so you have to expect it's coming.
Stay safe. Sonoma County Stay At Home Order
12/16/20 Update: Napa County is about to close down also.
You probably heard about the wildfire in Napa Valley during the 2020 grape harvest. Maybe you even thought, "OMG the wines are all ruined!" Well, no. There were localized loses to California grapes, but there is plenty of wine being made and it sounds like it's been a pretty good to an outstanding year.
Following are some regional reports for the main premium wine grape areas. The info is from the 2020 Harvest Report from the Wine Institute.
Chances are you aren't much of a zinfandel person if you live outside California because, unfortunately, most of the zins that make it into the distribution channels to your local stores are mediocre or, worse, pink.
