"For Farmers of Wine Grapes, the Pandemic Sows Doubts" - The New York Times

Doug Margerum of Margerum Wine Company is one of Coastal’s clients. Mr. Margerum, a veteran of the Santa Barbara wine industry, grows about 25 percent of the grapes he needs at his own vineyard and buys the rest.

Much of the wine he sells has been through restaurants and a new tasting room, which opened in May in a developing part of the city of Santa Barbara known as the Funk Zone.

“It was just killing it, and then March 16 came and we had to close it,” he said. “I don’t anticipate reopening in any way for months.”

Margerum Wine Company has tried to swivel toward direct-to-consumer sales. Mr. Margerum said he has relied on the help of his 24-year-old son, Remy, to devise internet sales strategies. But still he’s anticipating changes.

“We’re not going to make as much wine as we did, and we’re not going to buy as many grapes as we do,” Mr. Margerum said.

“We know it’s going to end at some point, and we’re not going out of business. But it forces us to focus a little more on what we do and how we do it.”

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