Flickr: Ren Kuo

In Food & Wine, Sara Ventiera reports on how restaurateurs and sommeliers around the U.S. are unloading their wine collections as they try to stay afloat. “But this is not just happening in New York City, one of the cities ordered to stay at home. All over the country, restaurateurs and sommeliers are making tough decisions as they try to avoid complete financial catastrophe.”

In Eater, Leah Rosenzweig also reports on the top restaurant wine lists that are turning into bottle shops.

Esther Mobley surveys the California wineries rushing to offer virtual wine tastings in the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to Wine Spectator, Carlos Falcó y Fernandéz de Córdova, Marqués de Griñón, an innovator in Spanish wine and olive oil, died March 20 in Madrid from COVID-19. He was 83.

In Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray reports on how the coronavirus is impacting the Chilean vintage.

Hannah Selinger explores the wines of the American Southwest in Wine Enthusiast.

In Forbes, Liza B. Zimmerman looks at how the coronavirus continues to disrupt the wine industry.

In the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague on “sleeper wines.” (subscription req.)

France has officially recognized a natural wine designation, reports Diana Macle on WineBusiness.com. “After 10 years effort, the French wine industry has obtained the right to market wines officially recognized as “natural”. In collaboration with the French Ministry for Agriculture, the French National Institute for Origins and Quality (INAO) and the French Fraud Control Office, the newly created Natural Wines Union, presided by Loire Valley vintner Jacques Carroget, has established a list of criteria and a screening protocol dedicated to this new designation.”

It’s time to end wine shipping bans, says Tom Wark in Wine-Searcher. “If ever there was a moment that demonstrated both the utility and necessity of allowing consumers to receive shipments of wine from out-of-state wine retailers, it is now, as we isolate and require Americans to migrate even more of their lives into an online setting.”

In Wine Enthusiast, Virginie Boone, Jim Gordon and Matt Kettmann report on how the California wine industry is adjusting to the new not-normal.

The Institute of Masters of Wine has cancelled upcoming MW exams in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Bloomberg, Elin McCoy reports on the online wine-buying boom that’s resulted from the COVID-19 outbreak.

On Tim Atkin’s site, Andy Neather ponders wine and writing in the age of the coronavirus.

Renato Vacca, one of Barbaresco’s most talented winemakers, died March 14 after a yearlong battle with cancer, reports Bruce Sanderson in Wine Spectator. He was 51.

Victoria James discusses her new book, Wine Girl, with Megan O’Neill Melle in Parade.

In the New York Times, Eric Asimov pens an obituary for Michael Broadbent, who died on March 17 at the age of 92. “When commercial wine auctions got going in Britain in the 1960s, they were largely illegal in the United States, a result of archaic Prohibition-era laws and lobbying pressure from the wine and spirits industries. But Mr. Broadbent noticed wine being shipped by American collectors to London for auction only to be then bought by Americans, who shipped their purchases back to the United States. He wanted to get in on that market.”

“I’m not alone when I say that I’ve never been through anything like this and didn’t see it coming. I had no way of imagining such a circumstance: a world-wide pandemic that closes down the US and World economies?” Rob McMillan surveys the wine industry to get a sense of how the coronavirus is impacting business.

Napa Valley’s Heitz Cellar closed its tasting room, but is still paying its staff, reports Chris Matyszczyk in Inc.

After originally postponing it to a later month, Vinitaly 2020 is now officially cancelled and postponded to 2021.

Victoria James discusses her new book, Wine Girl, on NPR.

VinePair talks with Esther Mobley about covering wine in a pandemic.

Meininger’s pulled together a list of virtual wine events to join in the age of social distancing.

Alice Feiring highlights all the places you can buy wine in the age of COVID-19.

Vineyards in Napa Valley. (Source: Wikimedia)

In VinePair, Tim McKirdy looks at how American wineries are weathering the COVID-19 pandemic. “With crucial vineyard and bottling work on the horizon, grape growers and winemakers must juggle seasonal winery operations while also navigating “shelter in place” orders, staffing decisions, and sales disruptions throughout the supply chain. The confluence of these events could result in one of the most challenging vintages in recent memory.”

In SevenFifty Daily, Courtney Schiessl reports on how wine retailers are managing in the coronavirus era.

First came the U.S. tariffs, then came coronavirus. In Meininger’s, Jason Sych speaks with industry professionals to understand how the wine industry is faring.

Virginie Boone offers a guide to buying wine online in Wine Enthusiast.

In Forbes, Jeanne O’Brien Coffey report son how COVID-19 is driving cheap shipping deals for wine.

This year’s Food & Wine Classic in Aspen has been cancelled in response to the coronavirus crisis.

In Thrillist, Adriana Velez talks to Dante DeCicco, co-owner of The Natural Wine Shoppe, about natural wine.

In Wine-Searcher, Vicki Denig explores the role of texture in wine.

(Source: Wikimedia)

Uncork a bottle of wine, it might just help save a small business, says Dave McIntyre in the Washington Post.

The world may have been turned upside down, but that should stop you from drinking wine. More from Don Kavanagh in Wine-Searcher.

In Meininger’s, Felicty Carter reports that wine retailers are seeing a surge in wine buying during this pandemic.

In Wine Spectator, Robert Camuto reports on how COVID-19 and a quarantine Italy is impacting an early spring in vineyards.

In the Robb Report, Sara L. Schneider highlights a handful of virtual wine tastings.

In the Buyer, Peter Ranscombe on why Syrah is the unsung hero from Washington State.

Jancis Robinson explores the Anderson Valley. “Anderson Valley, while being decidedly cool – too cool to ripen grapes at all on some valley-floor sites – makes wines that have fragrant charm rather than austerity, and can be relatively reasonably priced. It also, as I found out on this recent trip, has a special hidden, homespun quality about it.”

Robert Joseph remembers Michael Broadbent MW, who died on March 17 at the age of 93.

Fiona Morrison also remember Michael Broadbent in Wine & Spirits Magazine.

(Source: Wikimedia)

In Wine Enthusiast, Emily Saladino reports on how coronavirus is transforming wine retail. “No matter what the new circumstances are, many small business owners are struggling to adapt. They have to transform their operations every time nearby offices require their employees work from home, or when a governmental decree shutters all bars and restaurants. But surprisingly, the news has not been all bad for retailers, so far.”

JancisRobinson.com highlights 200 wine retailers around the world who deliver to those quarantined at home due to the coronavirus.

Chris Wilson also looks at how wine merchants are getting creative during COVID-19 uncertainty in Decanter.

In New York Magazine, Brian Feldman talks to Mark Schwartz of Little Mo Wine in Brooklyn about how the rapidly escalating coronavirus pandemic in New York has positively impacted business.

Going into lockdown presents specific challenges for the wine trade. But there are tried and tested ways to deal with them. Felicity Carter reports on them in Meininger’s.

In Bon Appétit, Alex Delaney offers a guide to buying wine online.

In Wine Enthusiast, Anne Krebiehl remembers wine writer and auctioneer Michael Broadbent.

The shock of COVID-19 is transforming the world. In Meininger’s, Robert Joseph asks what it’s going to mean for wine. “The focus on the need to sit at a table and break bread together or to walk through the cellars or vineyard has blinded us to the more basic need to communicate with as efficiently as possible. But COVID-19 and the need to fight climate change which it has overshadowed, will force us all to rethink.”

On WineBusiness.com, Jon Moramarco considers the lasting impact of COVID-19 on the alcoholic beverage industry.

Wine Spectator reports on how West Coast winery tasting rooms are trying virtual tastings and other creative strategies in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.

How essential are wineries? And can we live without them? W. Blake Gray explores the answer in Wine-Searcher.

Michael Broadbent MW, “prolific wine writer and a leading light in the trade for decades,” has died, reports Chris Mercer in Decanter. He was 92.

Jancis Robinson also pays tribute to Michael Broadbent.

In Grape Collective, Christopher Barnes talks to Autumn Stoscheck of Eve’s Cider about cider’s potential in the Finger Lakes.

In Wine Enthusiast, Anne Krebiehl offers a guide to whole-bunch fermentation.

In Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray reports on the confusion surrounding California governor’s order for wineries to close. “California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all of the state’s more than 4000 wineries to close on Sunday, along with all bars and pubs, as part of a lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19. He seemingly meant “tasting rooms,” but he wrote “wineries”…. As for the governor’s order saying that “wineries” should close, the California-based Wine Institute has interpreted it to mean “tasting rooms”, but calls to the governor’s media office seeking confirmation have not been returned, nor has the word been updated.”

In response to the coronavirus crisis, Napa Valley winery Clos Du Val launched a virtual wine tasting program to bring the winery experience to guests in the comfort of their own home.

In Wine Enthusiast, Emily Saladino reports on how bars and restaurants are reckoning with the coronavirus pandemic.

Elsewhere in Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss looks at how French crossbreed Alicante Bouschet became Alentejo’s new variety of the moment.

In Forbes, Thomas Pellechia ponders the lasting effects of the global coronavirus pandemic on wine tourism.

Brian Freedman highlights 29 bottles of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir to look for in Food & Wine.

Mark Stock explores the burgeoning world of Japanese wine in the Manual.

“Under orders to socially distance ourselves, isolate and even self-quarantine, communal activities cannot be taken for granted. And what’s more communal than drinking wine?” Eric Asimov writes in favor of drinking wine alone during these trying times in the New York Times. “…coronavirus has put us in a different situation now. The concern is not drowning sorrows at the hotel bar or the isolation felt even in the middle of a crowded party. The question is about drinking when literally alone, at home, when doing one’s best to comply with the new protocols of a public health crisis.”

Rob McMillan explores how the coronovirus pandemic will affect wine sales. “This is NOT a situation that will impact long term wine demand. This is a short term demand shock.”

With the entire nation in isolation, Wine-Searcher’s Tom Hyland talks to members of the Italian wine industry to find out how they’re coping with the coronavirus crisis.

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announces closure of all Fine Wine & Good Spirits state stores indefinitely.

In Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss explores the winemakers in Southwest France working to revive rare, native grapes like Fer Servadou and Petit Manseng.

In Decanter, Sarah Jane Evans on Interpretación, the new project from Vega Sicilia’s former technical director. (subscription req.)

(Flickr: Kudosmedia)

In Forbes, Liza B. Zimmerman talks to Rob McMillan about how the coronavirus is affecting the wine market.

In Wine Spectator, Robert Camuto shares what the shutdown in Italy has been like, and looks ahead to what he hopes for the country’s future. “The world will soon need inspiration. Italy needs to tap into its well of imagination and creativity and can help show the way. And emergency or no, it is always better to drink and eat well.”

In the Dallas News, Alfonso Cevola reports on how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting local wine retailers.

In the New York Times, Eric Asimov offers notes on the most recent Wine School, Valpolicella, and announces what’s up next: pairing wine with roast chicken.

In the New York Times, Dave McIntyre explains why you should take a second look at Bordeaux for more contemporary and affordable wines.

On the blog for First Vine, Tom Natan tells the story of the couple that started Maremma’s Bulichella winery.

In Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray profiles Pierre LaBarge, and looks at what he learned during his year of working at cult producer Sine Qua Non.

In Oregon, Erath Winery has closed the doors to its Dundee Hills tasting room. Knudsen Vineyards will resume control of the property to open their first-ever tasting room this summer, reports Michael Alberty.