Wineries still serving guests with changes, colder months will add challenges

October 14, 2020

Anissa Lopez,

DELMARVA- Wineries are often a hit during the Fall season, as many love to go on wine tours and do tastings.

And even though we’re still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, local vineyards we spoke to said they’re still seeing a steady flow of customers.

“This Fall has been record breaking believe it or not, and that’s been some of the challenge, we’re getting tons and tons of people coming because again we are outdoors,” Adrian Mobilia, owner of Salted Vines Vineyard and Winery, said.

Although people are showing support for these businesses, we’re told the experience isn’t the same due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Layton’s Chance Vineyard and Winery, in Maryland, said they needed to adjust things like seating, and they’ve stopped renting out their event room.

“While we still do tastings it’s not the same experience of where we get to tell them talk about the wines, it’s much more they take it to their own area to enjoy it,” Jennifer Layton, general manager of Layton’s Chance Vineyard and Winery, said.

Meanwhile, at Salted Vines Vineyard and Winery, in Delaware, they stopped doing tastings and are not doing any tours.

“Instead we are offering a wine flight, that way you’re not standing in front of a wine pourer or standing next to people for 30 -40 minutes doing a tasting, ” Mobilia said.

While they do have both their outdoor seating and indoor seating, we are told the colder months will likely make things more challenging.

That’s because more people will not want to sit outdoors.

So, capacity will be limited, and that could hurt finances.

“We know our gross revenue is going to fall significantly, probably by a factor of three most likely, so we are going to really have to watch expenses,” Mobilia said.

But even with the challenges ahead, wineries say they are grateful for the support they have gotten so far, and they are still continuing to come up with new ideas for the future months.

Both Salted Vines and Layton’s Chance are open seven days a week.