Wine drinking is a quintessentially social activity. Around a table, the drinkers are connoisseurs. The lone wine drinker is a lush.
But how about wine tasting, which is a very different business? Travel to wine regions is out and the busy London professional wine-tasting calendar has been blank since mid-March, so new wines are being launched via Zoom, and I’m doing all my tasting at home. My neighbours and family are benefiting from even more leftovers than usual.
Nowadays, third-party scores, awards and recommendations are a hugely important part of selling wine, and they are typically given at events where social distancing is the opposite of the norm.