2LT National News

At Montes Wines, a tasting typically involves sipping cabernet sauvignon in its feng shui-inspired building nestled between verdant, rolling slopes in Chile’s Colchagua Valley.

Now, with much of the world in lockdown, tasters in Brazil, Mexico and Germany are swishing and swirling in front of laptops as the winery joins the global trend of using meeting apps like Zoom to connect with clients.

“They have the same wines that I’m tasting, so we go together and we discuss the flavor and the color and the way it’s performing,” said co-owner Aurelio Montes.

It’s a scene playing out around the world, from California to Cape Town. Centuries-old wineries and vineyards are reassessing their businesses at every step as the pandemic roils everything from labor and transportation to vital tourism and hospitality industries.

“There will be a large number of small operators that don’t come out the other side of this,” said Tony Battaglene, who heads industry group Australian Grape and Wine.

Retail, online and mail order sales are showing signs of improvement, said Brian Smedley, chief executive of the South Australian Wine Industry Association.

Italy’s Cantina Tramin sells most of its wine to restaurants and bars in its home country, all of which remain closed. The wine cooperative is active on social media and sells its flagship Gewurztraminer and other varietals online.

Export concern

At Quinta do Vallado in Portugal’s Douro Valley, about 25% of sales are to tourists visiting the estate. That segment completely dried up as the wine shop and hotel shuttered, said CEO Joao Alvares Ribeiro. Meanwhile, exports to key markets including the U.S., U.K., Brazil and China slumped, pushing down total sales by about 60% in March.

The lockdown is also presenting problems at vineyards, with grape growers facing logistical hurdles in bringing temporary workers in from other regions and countries. In California, now is the time when many seasonal workers arrive in wine country to do everything from ensure irrigation works, training the vines and setting the grape-growing strategy for the year.

In Australia, Argentina and Chile, the virus-related movement restrictions came in the middle of the 2020 vintage harvest, meaning a rapid response was needed to allow work to continue. All three countries deem the industry as essential, meaning harvests and wine making can proceed, albeit with challenges.

“It challenges us to sell our brands with different methods, to be more creative, to use technology,” said Angelica Valenzuela, sales manager at Wines of Chile. “In the end, when things return to normal, we’ll have our regular channels and the new ones developed during the coronavirus crisis.”