SLO County wineries reopen after coronavirus closures. Here’s how tastings have changed
As California looks forward to the lifting of more coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses, San Luis Obispo County wineries are adjusting to new ways of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some local wineries have remained closed to wine tasting on site, others have reopened their tasting rooms under Stage 2 of the state’s reopening plan. They’re serving meals — catered, pre-packaged or prepared in kitchens on site — to pair with their wines.
Meanwhile, local wine production remains “rather unaffected,” said Sarah Farley, tasting room manager for ONX Wines in Paso Robles.
Wineries were deemed essential businesses at the start of shelter-at-home orders, allowing them to continue to produce and sell their wines, as long as they prohibit public consumption on their premises and comply with social distancing requirements.
State officials say full-service tasting can’t take place before Friday, which Stage 3 of the reopening plan is expected to start. Before that, wineries must perform a detailed risk assessment and implement a site-specific COVID-19 plan that must be reviewed and approved by the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department.
Specific guidelines for tasting include using a clean glass for each tasting, removing wine dump buckets and staggering reservations to minimize group contact.
SLO County wineries reopen with social distancing rules
Throughout San Luis Obispo County, wineries are putting an emphasis on social distancing efforts — spacing tables at least six feet apart and limiting tastings. Rules vary by business, such as occupancy and reservation requirements.
ONX Wines limits two groups per time slot every 90 minutes to follow social distancing rules. Located in Tin City, the North County’s hippest industrial park, the winery has partnered with San Luis Obispo caterer LouLou Cheese Girl “to do custom pairings of cheese or meat plates based on our flight of wines,” Farley said.
Opolo Vineyards, which reopened May 22, is allowing groups of only six or less.
The Paso Robles winery requires reservations and features three different wood-fired pizzas in addition to spring salad, sausage, potato salad and burritos.
“We wanted to reopen our hospitality experience as quickly and safely as possible to welcome our local friends back,” Opolo Vineyards owner Rick Quinn said. “I think we had all been waiting for this moment — to get back out and do the things we love to do here on the Central Coast.”
Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles offers wine tasting by reservation only and requires customers to wear face coverings when they enter its Adelaida District estate. For $65, customers can get a flight of five wines and an al fresco meal, including Italian sandwiches and salad.
Visitors aren’t allowed wander the hillside site on their own, though guided tours are offered.
At Wolff Vineyards in Edna Valley near San Luis Obispo, food truck service is available on the weekends with outdoor seating only at tables limited to six people. (Recent food truck partners included Hurricane Kitchen, Beda’s Biergarten and Beachwalk BBQ.) Although it’s not required, reservations are encouraged.
During the week, the winery offers catered and prepacked foods such as charcuterie as part of its tasting fee.
Business impacts of coronavirus restrictions
While some of the larger wineries in San Luis Obispo County are greeting customers in person again, others haven’t been so quick to welcome them back.
Cutruzzola Vineyards in Cambria doesn’t have the space to accommodate visitors under current social distancing guidelines.
“We have a tasting room that’s very small, where eight people can be seated at a little bar,” Cutruzzola Vineyards general manager Reyna Jonas said. “We don’t have a big lawn like some places do.”
“And we have a large number of older customers in Cambria as well,” she added, an age group that is particularly vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
Jonas said the winery’s small operation depends heavily on a loyal customer base, and business has been impacted with the tasting room closure. But shipments, pickups, and virtual tastings have been vital in maintaining connections with clientele.
Cutruzzola Vineyards offers 20% off to Cambria customers, and has reunited with customers in Los Angeles and the Bay Area using popular video conferencing app Zoom.
“We’ve tried to deepen the connection and that has been very cozy and comforting,” Jonas said. “Having a conversation about our wines on Zoom with people offers a sense of intimacy, especially because some people are lonely right now and feel stuck in their homes.”
A lack of space has also prevented Kaleidos from reopening its Paso Robles tasting room, although it’s offering limited curbside pickups for local customers. The Tin City winery shares space with Turtle Rock Vineyards and Monochrome Wines.
“We’re definitely on the small side,” acknowledged Steve Martell, Kaleidos, owner, winemaker and winegrower. “I’m in the fortunate position where we’re small enough that I do all the work myself.”
During his winery’s coronavirus-related closure, Martell said he’s relied on direct-to-consumer sales — offering discounts to drive new wine club member sign-ups and newsletter subscriptions.
“Certainly not having a tasting room open is a big hit,” Martell said, although he received a stimulus loan from the Small Business Administration to pay rent and other bills. “(But) it really will only cover three or four months of operating expenses.”
Unlike larger wineries with bigger marketing budgets and customer bases, he predicted, “The smaller wineries are definitely going to struggle.”
Virtual wine tasting, online sales help wineries stay afloat
Online and phone sales have helped San Luis Obispo’s Tolosa Winery to stay financially afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Tolosa general manager June McIvor said.
“For us, e-commerce has been an important part of our strategy for the past few years,” McIvor said. “The crux of that is building your relationship with your consumer. You know them. You know what they like to drink.”
To nurture that relationship, Tolosa has been hosting virtual wine tastings and other special events, such as winemaker talks and online yoga classes that pair yoga and wine, via Zoom.
McIvor said that the winery, which received a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the Small Business Administration, has avoided furloughs and layoffs.
“We were able to keep all of our (full-time) team on board,” she said, in part by pivoting tasting room staff to direct-to-customer sales.
Meanwhile, Tolosa has continued wine production as usual under shelter-at-home orders. “We’ve got half our business going strong like nothing happened, which is the production side,” she said.
In late May, Tolosa reopened for weekend wine tasting with meals provided by artisan food trucks. The winery currently takes reservations for three daily seatings on its outdoor terrace — at 11 a.m. 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. — on Saturdays and Sundays.
McIvor said the winery can seat about 120 people, about half of its normal capacity.
In addition to following federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines, Tolosa employees are required to practice social distancing, wear masks and gloves and have their temperatures checked at the beginning of each shift. All common areas are fully sanitized between seatings, the winery said.
Vina Robles Winery reopened for tasting on June 5 under a new name. The Bistro at Vina Robles serves food and wine outdoors with a new menu for the summer.
Concerts at Vina Robles Amphitheatre, adjacent to the tasting room, are on hold pending state guidelines, but could potentially still happen later this summer for those bookings that haven’t canceled or postponed, said Catherine Jaeger, winery marketing director.
The Beach Boys are scheduled to perform at the concert venue on July 5, but state guidelines will determine when live music performances can resume. Nightclubs and concert venues are currently allowed to reopen under Stage 4 of the state’s plan.
“The pandemic definitely hit us hard,” Jaeger said. “But we’re lucky in a sense because we distribute a fair amount of our wines nationally in retail and groceries. And across the country, retail is where a lot of people are buying their wine. In March and April those numbers went up, though not enough to compensate for a normal year (of business overall).”
At Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles, which now offers wine tasting with dine-in food service, curbside pickups and shipments have helped create “valuable connections” with customers, said Clarence Chia, the company’s senior vice president of marketing, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer.
“We’ve also embraced the virtual tasting format via both Instagram Live and private video where our founder, Justin Baldwin, along with our team of wine educators share in-depth stories and tasting notes for wines across the Justin portfolio,” Chia said. “So far, we’ve had great feedback and have enjoyed watching how these platforms are keeping us connected with existing customers, while also building a new community of Justin fans.”
Justin’s wine tasting with dine-in is open at its downtown tasting room currently, and it anticipates opening its estate tasting room starting this weekend.
Update Friday, June 12: Beginning Friday, Justin’s downtown tasting room is open for full service with reservations required and available at: https://www.opentable.com/r/justin-downtown-tasting-room-paso-robles.
The Justin Estate will reopen June 18 for both tastings and dine-in lunch service. Dinner is not yet available. Reservations are required and can be made at: https://www.cellarpass.com/profile/justin-vineyards-and-winery.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 1:35 PM.
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