Category: UnWineding – A COVID-19 Podcast

On March 25, 2020, UnWineding began following three wine industry professionals in the hospitality capital of Orlando, Florida. Like many of their peers, the COVID-19 pandemic had turned their professional and personal lives upside down. Bars, restaurants, hotels, and theme parks had shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Six months later, Florida’s governor announced bars and restaurants could reopen completely. The pandemic is by no means over, but in this episode, we close Season 1 of the podcast with a look back at what the past six months have meant to our guests.

Season 2 will cast a wider net across Central Florida’s wine community. Follow Orlando Wine Blog on Facebook and Instagram @orlandowineblog for details.

Subscribe to UnWineding on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Thanks to Orlando composer Julian Bond for providing original music for UnWineding, Amy Tardif for editorial guidance, and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance.

In a move that took many Floridians by surprise, Governor Ron DeSantis has moved the state to Phase 3 of its reopening plan. Most businesses were allowed to reopen at full capacity less than two weeks after bars emerged from a months-long total ban on alcohol service. Not long after the governor’s move, Disney announced it would lay off 28,000 employees, including at least 6,700 at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

Episode 28 was going to be the final episode of UnWineding Season 1, but events have overtaken those plans. The final episode is still in the works, however, and it will premiere on October 8th at 6:30pm Eastern Time at a virtual listening party and wine tasting hosted by Orlando Wine Blog, Swirlery Wine Bar, Digress Wine, and 90.7 WMFE. 

We’ll taste and talk about some fun and unusual wines, which are available for pickup now at Swirlery and Digress. Then, we’ll unveil the final episode and look back at the past six months of the podcast in a conversation moderated by WMFE’s Brendan Byrne. All profits will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, and you can join from anywhere in the world!

You’ll find all the details here and registration links here.

Subscribe to UnWineding on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Thanks to Orlando composer Julian Bond for providing original music for UnWineding, Amy Tardif for editorial guidance, and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance.

Florida’s bars reopened for service this week, almost six months after the state first banned onsite alcohol consumption in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. And after six months of unemployment, one of our regular guests on UnWineding is finally back to work. In this penultimate episode of Season One, the celebration is tempered by concern about a possible second wave but buoyed by a sense of relief, optimism, and gratitude.

Subscribe to UnWineding on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Thanks to Orlando composer Julian Bond for providing original music for UnWineding, Amy Tardif for editorial guidance, and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance.

COVID-19 cases are still high in Florida, but the daily increases have dropped significantly from their massive spikes in June and July. Hospitality businesses are steadily reopening, and industry workers are relieved they’re starting to find employment again, just in time for Labor Day. There’s still a ban on alcohol service at bars, but many are getting around the restrictions by launching food service, and some are resuming onsite tastings. While things are by no means back to normal, there’s a sense of cautious optimism in the air.

Subscribe to UnWineding on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Thanks to Orlando composer Julian Bond for providing original music for UnWineding, Amy Tardif for editorial guidance, and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance.

Some Florida bar owners are turning to food licenses to get around a ban on alcohol service that has been in place almost continuously since mid-March, but business is slow to return. With bars still effectively shut down and more restaurants closing for good, prospects for the state’s food and wine professionals is still shaky at best.

Subscribe to UnWineding on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Thanks to Orlando composer Julian Bond for providing original music for UnWineding, Amy Tardif for editorial guidance, and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance.

 

As Florida’s slow summer season drags on, bar owners are still playing a waiting game, while state and local governments consider when it might be safe for them to serve drinks again. The state’s out of work bartenders, servers, and sommeliers face a financial cliff, now that the federal unemployment benefit has expired and the status of a presidential executive order reinstating it is unclear. 

Subscribe to UnWineding on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Thanks to Orlando composer Julian Bond for providing original music for UnWineding, Amy Tardif for editorial guidance, and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance.

 

Florida’s beverage industry is reaching a breaking point. The state’s traditionally slow summer season is as slow as ever, and bars are still not allowed to serve drinks. Regulators have started touring bars and breweries around the state, trying to determine how and whether they can be allowed to operate again without prompting the spikes in new COVID-19 cases that were tied to the previous reopening attempt. Many struggling bar owners have decided they can’t afford to wait for the state to act. They’re exploring food service options that would allow them to resume service and bring in much-needed revenue before it’s too late.