Coronavirus has put us in lockdown. As winelovers, we need to keep fulfilling our passions to lift our spirit. Here’s a list of 10 things you can do to preserve your sanity and love for wine
We will remember the year 2020 for a long time. After all, it was the leap year that brought the first globalised pandemic of modern times, self-seclusion and time away from the maddening crowd. It is a year that brought fear but also – I hope – solidarity.
Wine might not be our first thought in these grim days, but it’s nevertheless something that highlights the best characteristics of humanity. The stories that wines offer can provide an escape. They can also act as a reminder of the beautiful places and passionate people that we will visit again once this nightmare is over.
In my previous article I expressed my thoughts about coronavirus from a winelover perspective. In this post I would like to move the conversation forward and call for action. I’ll show you how people who adore wine (like you and me) can continue to feed our love for our favourite beverage, just in a slightly different way than usual. How? I’ve compiled a list of 10 things any winelover can do in a time of self-isolation. Let’s begin…
1) Purchase wine on-line
Luckily we face the planetary threat of coronavirus equipped with 21st century technology. A capillary network of home delivery services exists in most areas. Even now, my partner’s shopping habit has not slowed and she is using this network. We can also use home delivery for wine.
Most countries have several shops that dispatch wines to your doorstep. It’s an easy and convenient way to buy wine without interrupting your self-isolation. Today, shipping costs are relatively low. In fact, a number of distributors don’t even charge a fee when your order surpasses a certain threshold.
By doing a brief on-line search, you can find the wine stores that deliver in your local area. It’s simple! Furthermore, wine guru Jancis Robinson recently published this fantastic list (200 names in 15 countries) of wine retailers who will provide their products to people stuck home.
2) Support your local wine merchants
When stocking up on bottles to make your self-isolation more bearable, consider using your local independent wine merchants. If you are lucky enough to have such a store nearby, use that as an excuse to go for a walk. Having a short stroll to the shop (as long as you respect the correct social distancing) is beneficial when spending most of your time at home. Second, local businesses are going to be hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. It’s a good idea to support them in this difficult time.
3) Read a wine book
We often lament that our busy lifestyles prevent us from pursuing relaxing activities, such as reading an old-fashioned book. Well, this is a good time to make up for that.
I feel a well-written wine book can give you at least the same pleasure as a great bottle of wine. Nurture your mind and deepen your knowledge about wine tasting, winemaking, wine regions and other vinous matters. It will also enhance your appreciation of future wines.
4) Watch a wine show / movie / documentary
If a sofa and tv are part of your natural habitat, you can enjoy one of the many shows, movies or documentaries that have wine as a subject.
Wine Folly have just published a list of “22 wine movies you don’t want to miss”. Admittedly I haven’t watched any but I have heard some great things. Perhaps now is a good time to catch up. The most popular streaming services also include wine series and documentaries in their (now gargantuan) offerings.
5) Browse the Web for wine-related resources
The Internet is a gold mine for information on pretty much any topic. Even better, most of these resources are completely free. Youtube channels, magazines and blogs (like this one!) offer a wide range of material for winelovers of any level of expertise.
Now you have plenty of time not just to read the mainstream sources, but also to peruse the hidden corners of the Internet. For example, listen to the voices of less notorious writers, alternative points of view or unconventional winelovers. The web is your only (and indeed vast) limit.
You can start with this blog: browse the different sections of Wine and Other Stories and see if something arouses your attention. Anything missing that you would love to read? Let me know in the comment section!
6) Chat over the Internet with other winelovers
The web is a highly interactive tool. Apart from reading a great deal of information, you can also get in touch with like-minded people, share your interests and communicate with your peers.
Live streams, Twitter chats (you find an extensive list of wine-related ones here) and virtual conferences (like the “Real Business of Wine” organised by Robert Joseph and Polly Hammond) are great tools to communicate with other winelovers. There is no need to lose human contact even in a time of forced isolation.
7) Attend or organise a virtual wine tasting
This is an area in which I see great potential, but for the time being it’s underdeveloped. I appreciate there might be some technical difficulties, such as providing all participants with the same wines. However, with a bit of effort (and fantasy) I think we can easily overcome these issues. In my article The perfect virtual wine tasting I outline the 7 must-have features of my ideal virtual wine tasting.
At the time of writing I know only of a few virtual tasting initiatives. In the UK, the Wine Society has an active on-line community and it’s been organising virtual tasting events for a while. In the USA, Dirty and Rowdy is setting up a series of free interactive wine tastings. If you know about any other initiatives in this direction, feel free to let me know or write a comment. I will be glad to update this article with more examples.
8) Plan your next trip to a wine region
The coronavirus crisis will not last forever. We will get through this and be able to enthusiastically return to our normal lifestyle.
Why don’t you use this time at home to research and plan your next trip? Being a winelover, I bet it will be in one of the hundreds of wine regions across the world. Where will you head to? The beautiful medieval city of Saint-Emilion on the Right Bank of Bordeaux? Colmar and the fairy-tale towns of Alsace? Or the splendid rolling hills of Chianti?
9) Revisit your tasting notes
Having more time, you can take a closer look at your prior experiences. For example, reviewing and organising past tasting notes, refreshing your memory and planning your future purchases. Personally, I have a huge backlog of tasting notes I need to look at and copy into a digital format…
Reading a well-written tasting note is almost like tasting the wine for a second time. This exercise can help you figure out what wines you liked most, what styles or countries you favour… and which ones you should explore further!
If you are not sure about how to write tasting notes, and what elements you should look out for, my series about wine tasting can help you.
10) Cook more! Explore food and wine pairings
As an Italian, I firmly believe good wine and good food are natural companions. Since we will all be spending more time at home these weeks, we will have the perfect opportunity to hone our cooking skills.
Provided you have a satisfactory stash of bottles in your household (if not, see point 1 and 2), you can now experiment with food and wine pairings. Try different matches and see what works for you… it could be fun!
I left this point as the final one in my list because I would like to give you a sneak peek on what’s upcoming on Wine and Other Stories. In the immediate future, I will be writing a series on food and wine pairings (UPDATE: My semi-serious guide to food and wine pairing is now available!!). I will try to answer all of your questions on the matter then.
Afterthoughts
We are living in challenging times due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some countries (Italy, Germany, France, Spain) are in complete lockdown. Others are advising less stringent forms of social restrictions. However, the unanimous suggestion is the same: stay at home as much as possible and avoid social gatherings.
We can wait for a better time to attend wine festivals and explore the wine regions across the world. But now, during this period of adversity, we need to keep fulfilling our passions to lift our spirit and preserve our mental health. As winelovers, we can and should continue to feed our love for wine. Albeit in a slightly different way.
We will get through this… And when we do we’ll celebrate in full regalia. With wine of course!
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