WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Some Washington wineries are seeing an uptick in sales as people load their pantries and stock up during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Wineries have had to make some major changes to survive during the pandemic since the industry relies on three main avenues for sales: distribution to restaurants, grocery stores and online sales.
Chris and Kelly Sparkman own Sparkman Cellars in Woodinville. They remember a time when distribution froze entirely.
"It's kind of been a contraction, a little expansion, a little contraction, but we're figuring it out," explained Chris Sparkman.
Sparkman Cellars has been keeping a steady flow of guests with reservations. Customers are able to enjoy their wine and stay warm on the property inside the winery's spacious outdoor tent on the front patio.
"There's a widely under-publicized pandemic going on of love and caring, really, people -- it's just been amazing to see what people are willing to do for us," said Chris Sparkman.
Sparkman Cellars opened up its new location inside the old Redhook Brewery building in Woodinville just weeks before Washington’s COVID-19 restrictions forced customers out.
"We are working as hard as we can to survive this, we get more and more creative every day," said Kelly Sparkman.
The winery has had to shift from social distancing inside it's tasting room, to curbside pick-up, outdoor seating only and even new ways to do wine tastings.
"We're in the middle of the holiday season, so there's some opportunities that are happening with other businesses, budgets for entertainment that need to be spent before the end of the year so we are doing a lot of virtual wine tastings," said Chris Sparkman.
"I expect January, February and March we will see what we are all made of," he continued.
The Washington Wine Commission has started a campaign to support local wineries, restaurants, hospitality and tourism. For more information, visit the Washington Wine Commission Instagram page.