Paul and I began this blog 15 years ago due to our desire to promote excellent wine being produced by Virginia winemakers. This has become both a hobby and a passion for both us, and we sorely miss being on the wine trails due to COVID-19 restrictions. The phase 1 of re-opening begins this weekend, and we are sure that winery owners and winemakers are relieved to see some light at the end of a bleak tunnel. Trust me, we are eager for a return to normal that includes a resumption of our local wine travels. However, we are taking a cautious stance on this matter and will be waiting a bit longer before hitting the wine trails. Here is why:

1. Health—-Paul suffered a heart attack in December and therefore belongs to a demographic that would struggle to recover from this vicious virus. He (and I, his spouse) would prefer to wait a while longer to be certain that it is indeed safe to venture out to the wineries. This leads me to reason #2:

2. Behavior of others during phase 1—-I predict that wineries will be descended upon by hoards of stir-crazy customers including “re-openers” who have been agitating for this to happen. We have seen similar scenes of crowds at beaches, restaurants, etc. in other states that have re-opened, and it was frightening to see the lack of regard for safety protocols put into place for re-opening. No face coverings + lack of social distancing=disregard for the health of others. Will a similar scenario play itself out at Virginia wineries? This leads me to reason #3:

3. Winery practices during phase 1—-We will pay attention to plans put forth by wineries to keep customers safe. Will there be enforcement of safety protocols? If so, how? Will there be a limit on crowds? Larger crowds=more touch points to maintain. Is it realistic to expect that bathrooms, for example, will be sanitized on a constant basis if unlimited numbers of customers are allowed to frequent the winery? If we decide to hit the wine trail later in phase 1, we intend to favor wineries that implement a reservations only/limited numbers approach, because that seems to be most realistic way of maintaining control over all factors mentioned here.

In the meantime, we will continue to order wine from Virginia wineries, participate in virtual wine tastings (we have learned so much from these), and pour Virginia wine at our virtual happy hours. To those who intend to venture out this weekend, please abide by safety practices put into place by the wineries so that they can indeed continue to carefully re-open. Of course, do enjoy yourselves, and let us know of a new release that you savored. Did you visit a winery that you read about on this blog? If so, please mention to your server that Virginia Wine Time sent you!