Judith Smelser Wine News

Florida bars can serve onsite again starting Monday – Orlando wine bars relieved

Drinks can start flowing again in Florida’s bars at 12:01am Monday, September 14 — almost six months to the day after the state first banned onsite alcohol service at bars, pubs, and nightclubs. 

“Obviously, I’m elated,” said Rob Chase, owner of Digress Wine in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood, after Thursday night’s announcement on Twitter from Department of Business & Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears.

“There will of course be a lingering fear of yet another shutdown, but it also seems highly unlikely that the state would go for Round Three,” Chase said in an email.

Continue reading “Florida bars can serve onsite again starting Monday – Orlando wine bars relieved” →
Judith Smelser UnWineding - A COVID-19 Podcast, Wine News

Episode 25: Jobs for Labor Day

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.

Judith Smelser UnWineding - A COVID-19 Podcast, Wine News

Episode 24: Christina Peebles on Wine

Orlando sommelier, bartender, and server Christina Peebles has been in the service industry for fifteen years. Over the past five months, we’ve heard about the jobs she lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, her struggles with unemployment, and even a COVID health scare in her own family.

But this week, she talks about her journey in the wine industry – from having her first glass of wine while working for one of Orlando’s most colorful characters … to entering the world of fine dining and scrambling to build her wine knowledge … to dealing with customers who’d rather show off their knowledge than take advice from a young female somm.

Christina Peebles, Orlando sommelier, bartender, and server

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.

Judith Smelser Wine News

Edible Orlando Highlights Local Wine Community Innovations in the Face of COVID-19

  • Mary Montalvo, co-owner of Luisa’s Cellar in Sanford, leads a wine webinar.
  • Matt Coltrin, owner of The Parkview in Winter Park
  • Melissa McAvoy and Damian Roman, co-owners of Swirlery Wine Bar in Orlando’s SoDo district
  • Rob Chase, owner of Digress Wine in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood

My latest column for Edible Orlando is all about the spirit of innovation Central Florida’s wine community has shown in the face of the adversity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From virtual tastings to webinars to mystery cases, local wine businesses have pulled out all the creative stops to continue serving their customers and keep themselves afloat.

Read the full story here.

Judith Smelser UnWineding - A COVID-19 Podcast, Wine News

Episode 23: Crawling Back

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.

Judith Smelser UnWineding - A COVID-19 Podcast, Wine News

Episode 22: Rob Talks Wine

 

UnWineding’s editorial advisor Amy Tardif likes to joke that the podcast’s dirty little secret is that it’s not really about wine. Indeed, many of UnWineding’s stories transcend the wine industry, reflecting the struggles of so many people trying to get through the COVID-19 pandemic and everything else that’s been going on these past four and a half months.

This week, we take a step back and talk about wine. I asked the UnWineding trio about their journeys in the wine industry, and this episode is the first of those occasional conversations, with Rob Chase of Digress Wine in Orlando’s College Park Neighborhood.

Rob Digress 040320
Rob Chase, owner of Digress Wine in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood

 

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.

Judith Smelser Wine News

Swirlery Wine Bar Reopens Friday with New Food License

Swirlery Wine Bar in Orlando’s SoDo District will reopen for service on Friday, August 14, after receiving a permanent food license from the state of Florida.

Like all Florida bars, coronavirus restrictions have prevented Swirlery from serving drinks for almost five months, with the exception of a brief reopening in early June. The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation reinstated the alcohol service ban after just two weeks, when Florida saw huge spikes in new COVID-19 cases, with many outbreaks tied to bars that failed to follow social distancing rules.

Swirlery has relied on retail wine sales to stay afloat so far, but co-owner Melissa McAvoy says that was never a long term solution, since about 80% of her business comes from onsite consumption.

“I just don’t know how long we’re gonna go on this rollercoaster of ‘let’s open and close bars,’” she told the UnWineding podcast in mid-July. “This is like survival now.”

Continue reading “Swirlery Wine Bar Reopens Friday with New Food License” →

Judith Smelser UnWineding - A COVID-19 Podcast, Wine News

Episode 21: Endless Summer

 

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.

Judith Smelser Wine News

Share your input on the UnWineding Podcast

Will you take five minutes and provide your feedback on the UnWineding podcast through a short anonymous survey? Here’s why I need your help.

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Over four months ago, UnWineding began following three professionals in Orlando’s wine and beverage industry as they started to navigate the economic and personal upheaval brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Melissa McAvoy of SoDo’s Swirlery Wine Bar, Rob Chase of Digress Wine in College Park, and local bartender/sommelier/server Christina Peebles have shared their experiences week after week, helping listeners understand the realities behind the headlines and the numbers.

When I launched the podcast in March, I was driven by an urgency to capture history as it was unfolding before our eyes, and there were many things I could not have imagined back then. I didn’t imagine the podcast would still be in production in August, much less that bars would still be unable to serve (remember how the heat and humidity were going to kill the virus?). But here we are, and the pandemic shows no signs of letting up on the wine and beverage industry.

I’m taking a step back now to think about the future of the podcast, and I’d like to consider your input as I do. I’d be grateful if you would take five minutes to share your feedback through this anonymous survey. Cheers, and many thanks!

Judith Smelser UnWineding - A COVID-19 Podcast, Wine News

Episode 20: Desperation

 

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.