Navigating a cautious reopening of winetasting rooms in Monterey County
Featured article in the Monterey County Herald:
Not unlike that uneasy moment of peeking outside one’s shelter after the storm — or, in this case, while the pandemic persists — our community is beginning to open its doors, as we move into the next phase of reopening the local economy. Among the various businesses easing back into service starting Friday are the winetasting rooms throughout Monterey County...
...When the shelter-in-place order went into effect, Morgan Winery’s Taste Morgan in the Crossroads Shopping Center of Carmel, went from serving wine seven days a week to shuttered. As it eases into “tasting in the time of COVID,” it has condensed its week to three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday — for now.
“We want to do this right, so we’re limiting ourselves to three days, and reservations for three parties per time slot to give people a safe, social distance,” said Jackie Lee, sales administrator for Morgan Winery. “We are fortunate to have both indoor and outdoor seating to adequately accommodate our guests, and those seated outside can bring their dog.”
Reservations, one hour apart, will give guests 45 minutes of wine tasting, and reserve 15 minutes for staff to sanitize the space for the next round. Also, Taste Morgan is supplying disposable masks for patrons who need them, as well as disposable spit buckets and Govino glasses, the “go anywhere, shatterproof, reusable, recyclable” wine glass guests can take with them when they leave.
“Govino glasses don’t give quite the same experience as something in a stem,” said Lee, “but they’re not Solo cups, either. We don’t have to wash or reuse glasses, and customers get to have a really fun, cool memento.”...