ADVERTISING: Advertorial — GEORGE BALLING: Supply stability
In our weekly trips to the grocery store it is hard not to notice the supply chain interruptions in certain departments. No doubt those who are hoarding toilet paper, flour, pasta and other items are causing some of these problems. There are also some areas where supply chain challenges are part of the cause. So far, wine supplies have been relatively stable, although we are starting to see issues crop up on a small scale that will likely be around for some time.
Wine distributors are allowed to be open due to their role in supplying grocery stores and wine and beer shops, so all of us are deemed essential in Idaho. Distributors are also deemed essential in nearby Washington. One of our distributors that is located in Seattle that supplies mostly European wines to us through their Idaho warehouse is shut down. This was an elective choice on their part and has caused a few holes in our French, Spanish and Italian sections. We hope they make the choice to reopen soon, but as of right now we have not received any updates.
Shipments on other European wines is running relatively smooth, especially for bottlings that are already in the states. For container ships that had already departed Europe prior to things turning dire on the continent, either are or will be in good shape as soon as the ships dock and their cargo is processed. The bottleneck will arise for those wines that have not made it out of Europe as much of the “Old World” remains shut down, including wineries and warehouse functions. These interruptions will likely be seen later into the summer when hopefully we are back to a more normal situation here at home.
Because of simple proximity we do not anticipate any interruptions in supplies from Idaho, Washington or Oregon wineries. Warehouse operations and trucking companies have been allowed to keep functioning so shipments have not been curtailed in any way.
There are more challenges with warehouses and shippers located in California. Many warehouses and warehouse functions in California have been shut down or limited in what they can do. The restrictions there are far more stringent, so products that we would normally see being released in the spring have been delayed as they can’t be moved out of warehouses there. Most severely affected are some of the higher-end release items from big name wineries in Napa. While it hasn’t yet affected many of the regular items we keep on our shelves, it will cause some of the collector names to show up later than normal this year.
In most every western state where wine is produced, winery operations and industries that support wineries have either been shut down or have seen their operations limited. This includes mobile bottling lines that package wine that is already made. This is by far the biggest deal! It represents a bottleneck that will likely impact supplies later, when hopefully most of us have ceased to think about the virus on a daily basis. Some of our most popular spring release items are being delayed, as wineries from California and other states can’t get their wine bottled since bottling lines, the mobile ones at least, are not allowed to operate. Wineries that have their own bottling lines are in a bit better shape, as they can still get their wine packaged for sale, however the wineries themselves are being forced to operate with drastically reduced staffing. If these wineries choose to bottle, it is a longer and more arduous process. If you have ever had the opportunity to see a bottling line in action, it is a flurry of activity, and while mostly automated, it still takes a fair amount of skilled hands to make the process run. So even for wineries with their own line, delays are likely.
Just like the rest of us, so much of what the wine industry is going though right now is uncharted territory. While only about 20% of our supplies are being affected right now, it is difficult to predict or anticipate future impacts. It is clear, though, that there will likely be some. The largest financial blow though is likely to be to the wineries themselves. Like the rest of us, their economic future has changed overnight. Every day that passes where they are unable to get their made wine into a bottle for sale represents a severe hardship of having to carry that inventory longer with no hope of the income it might generate.
Time will tell how these issues are resolved, and we will continue to update all of the challenges right here.
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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country.
After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.