Category: Wine News

Florida remains a COVID-19 hotspot, with at least 10,000 new cases reported in the state almost every day. Still, most of Florida is open for business — with the exception of bars. Apart from a two-week reprieve in early June, bars haven’t been allowed to serve drinks since March, even as restaurants have reopened with alcohol service. Bar owners are starting to cry foul, and some are adopting creative interpretations of the rules.

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

It’s been a long four months since UnWineding started following the stories of three Orlando wine professionals through the ever-changing world of COVID-19. The road ahead may be even longer. So this week, we pause to look back at where it all started.

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Thanks to Amy Tardif for editorial guidance and WMFE for distribution and promotional assistance. Music for Episode 1 was provided by https://www.purple-planet.com.

Even as Walt Disney World reopens its Orlando theme parks, Florida remains a COVID-19 hot spot. Bars still can’t serve drinks, and restaurants in South Florida have gone back to takeout-only. Normalcy seems a long ways off, and some in the food and beverage industry are looking for work-arounds as they consider their career options.

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

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As the United States marks Independence Day, COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket. Florida is one of the worst states in the country for the spread of the disease, which is taking an ever greater toll on the service industry in the hospitality capital of Orlando. Many workers are getting sick, even as bars remain closed indefinitely to on-premises drink service. Restaurants are still open, but some employees are becoming more reluctant to trade their safety for a paycheck, despite dwindling unemployment benefits for those who were able to access them in the first place.

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

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Just three weeks after Florida’s bars were allowed to start pouring drinks again, the state reinstated its ban on alcohol service onsite. The announcement came minutes after Florida reported almost 9,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day. In Orlando, like elsewhere in the state, some bars and restaurants had voluntarily returned to retail and takeout service only, while others seemed to ignore capacity and social distancing rules entirely. Meanwhile, the choice between health and finances is becoming even more stark, with unemployment beginning to run out for food and beverage employees as coronavirus infections continue to soar.

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

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

Florida’s COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in the two weeks since the the state launched Phase Two of its reopening plan. The number of reported new infections each day has more than tripled, with day after day setting record highs. Residents, businesses, and governments are scrambling to respond. Many bars that were just allowed to start serving again have voluntarily shut down, some because staff or patrons have tested positive. After interviews for this episode were recorded on June 18, Swirlery Wine Bar decided to go back to retail-only in an abundance of caution, and Digress Wine announced a two-day closure after a customer reported COVID symptoms. Also since the recording, Governor Ron DeSantis said the state would ramp up enforcement of social distancing rules at bars, and Orange County, where Orlando is located, issued a mandatory mask order for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, a debate over response to the Black Lives Matter movement is shaking up one of the wine industry’s most venerable organizations.

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

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An Orlando wine bar was caught in the path of an EF-1 tornado that tore through part of the city just a day after Florida lifted months of coronavirus restrictions on the state’s bars. The storm felt like a metaphor for life these days, with Black Lives Matter protests continuing, families feeling the strain, and COVID-19 cases on the rise amid Florida’s Phase Two reopening. That reopening is a huge relief for many wine businesses, but the community also got news that one of their own is closing for good.

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

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

After two and a half months of coronavirus restrictions, Florida bar owners can finally start serving drinks again, as long as customers are seated at 50% capacity. But in the hospitality capital of Orlando, celebrations are muted, amid days of Black Lives Matter protests and spikes in new COVID-19 cases. Despite the reopening news, many in the food and beverage industry are also learning they may not be going back to work any time soon. 

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

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