WINERIES MUST PLAN FOR CHALLENGES OF REOPENING

B.C.’S chief public health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has asked the business community to think about what their reopened establishments might look like across British Columbia after COVID-19.

We haven’t heard much from local wineries, either as one voice or individually, about how they will tackle reopening, but we have been looking at what some of the challenges and solutions might be.

It’s not all doom and gloom, according to Rob Mcmillan, a U.S. industry insider who blogs at SVB on Wine. We know there has been an unexpected rise in demand for wine at retail due to COVID-19, and retail data points toward total off-premise wine sales up 32 per cent from March 1 through April 11.

Even with near-zero sales in tasting rooms and restaurants closed, the amount well exceeds the projected 22 per cent required by producers to remain even with PRE-COVID-19 sales numbers.

At first, most of that demand was thought to be due to stockpiling the pantry. But as time passes, it seems there are other factors, especially in British Columbia.

The sheer convenience of buying wine in grocery stores was already taking off in B.C. before COVID-19, and it has only accelerated as restaurants and winery tasting rooms closed.

The shine has also returned to many stand-alone retailers, who are being offered a wider selection of products once destined for restaurants, or that never left tasting rooms. They are also getting prices not seen in some time, reflecting the limited size of retail and a large amount of wine sitting around unsold.

There are other factors, some part of the new normal.

Dining at home, with wine, is way cheaper. Suddenly that $60 restaurant wine is only $25. You can buy two bottles, and still have money left over. Most days, there is no driving involved, so having a glass of wine could also be contributing to increased sales.

I know that as the guy with the busiest blue box in the lane most weeks, I’m falling behind many of my neighbours, who are embracing their new inner wine explorer.

It is clear large wine companies, like large chain restaurants, will survive throughout the crisis, drawing on deeper inventories and pockets and, even more important, far-reaching delivery lines.

The challenge will be at the small estate model, where the people who tell the stories, who support the culture of wine and most every fundraiser in the community, are going to be severely tested.

As the crisis drags on, many of their best customers, like aging baby boomers, are the least likely to return to old habits — namely spending a good portion of their discretionary income on wine and travel.

Many have already lost more than 60 per cent of their normal income from the tasting room and restaurant sales. Relying on the personal touch is coming back to bite them and their business where it hurts most — on the bottom line.

The question is, what can be done when the doors open again? What should wineries be saying to Dr. Henry and her team about how they will reinvent the on-site visitor experience and how they will roll that out to consumers?

When you do open the doors again, the consumer and purchase patterns you knew before March will be different.

Mcmillan believes winery visitors will be younger and more interested in having fun. That could mean less terroir talk and more music in the tasting room.

Young or old, consumers are going to hold onto their wallets a little tighter. Tastings will likely be by appointment, and there will be no more community spittoons. Tasting fees could disappear for a while, or be reduced.

Mcmillan says: “Wineries should be thinking about creative ways to use the space outdoors to get closer to normal capacity, even if it is a pop-up shade covering two barrels and a plank.”

Then there will be Dr. Henry’s input. Tasting rooms will need to be bulletproof when it comes to community spread. Everything will be under the microscope, from glass handling to dishwashing and tasting room cleaning schedules.

Will we pick up our glasses from a washing rack? What about

employees wearing masks and gloves? Will social distancing require two-metre separation if we arrive in the same car?

It is going to be a whole new world, and it is right around the corner.