JOIN LOCAL WINERIES FOR "OPEN THAT LOCAL WINE" NIGHT

From The Cork Report, a website that examines North American wine country with open minds and intrepid palates. "We investigate and celebrate the special people and places that make for delicious and distinctive wines." Find the original article here.

Join Local Wineries for “Open That Local Wine” Night on Saturday, March 28

By Lenn Thompson

This is a tough time for local wineries, no matter where local is for you. Tasting rooms as we know them are closed down. Curbside pickup and online sales are helping keep wineries afloat, but no one really knows how long they’ll need to operate like this – or how long most will be able to, financially.

You can help by supporting your local wineries directly. 

Social distancing is the right thing to do right now, but the disconnectedness many of us feel right now, coupled with all of the unknowns in the world right now have been a bit on edge.

Early last week, Cork Report contributor Gina Shay and I were messaging back and forth about some sort of virtual tasting to bring the wine community together, but we didn’t come up with any hard and fast ideas.

Enter fellow East Coast-based wine writer Frank Morgan who on Friday proposed making Saturday, March 28 “Open that Bottle of Virginia Wine Night.” Frank borrowed the idea from Dorothy J Gaiter and John Brecher (formerly of the Wall Street Journal) and put a Virginia spin on it, as he always does.

After getting Frank’s okay to do so, Gina, the rest of the Cork Report team and I have decided to blow this thing up and instead make Saturday, March 28 “Open That Bottle of Local Wine Night.”

This is meant to be a celebration of all of the great local wine we all love and have in our cellars. If you have a bottle of local wine that you’ve been holding onto for a special occasion, we’d like to encourage you to open it with us (virtually) on Saturday night. Or, you can always buy a special bottle from your favorite local winery.

Don’t get caught up in the “special” aspect of this though. It doesn’t need to be a fancy or expensive bottle. Find a bottle of local wine and join us on Saturday, March 28.

To take part in “Open That Bottle of Local Wine Night” all you need to do is:
1. Get a bottle of local wine (or cider) and open it Saturday, March 28.
2. Enjoy it with a nice meal – either home-cooked for takeout from your favorite local restaurant (they need your help too!)
3. Post picture(s) of the wine or wines online – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter using hashtag #openlocalwine. Share why you picked that wine (or wines) and who you are sharing it with.
4. Raise a glass to the winemaker who made it.
5. Drink it and enjoy it with your family.

If you do join us for “Open That Bottle of Local Wine Night” please also @ mention the winery/winemaker as well as me on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram (I’m @lennthompson on the latter two) as well as Frank Morgan at @drinkwhatulike on the same platforms. That way we can share your posts around and really make this feel like a celebration.

All are welcome. That means you’re going to see posts from wineries, wine writers, sommeliers and wine lovers from every corner of wine country (we hope).