Wineries across California are struggling to stay on top of the frequent guidelines being issued by the federal and state government as the COVID-19 outbreak continues. On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department got more explicit, urging all bars, breweries, and tasting rooms to close while telling restaurants to switch to takeout or delivery only.
On Tuesday night, the cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta took the county’s urging one step further by ordering those closures, while allowing certain retail sales to continue. Those orders also applied to gyms, arcades, bowling alleys (aka Zodo’s), and a range of other businesses. Not affected are grocery stores, farmers markets, pharmacies, and other essential services.
The wine industry’s response in other parts of Santa Barbara County is mixed. Many wineries voluntarily switched to opening strictly for retail purposes (no tastings) while others are still open for tastings, though most now by appointment only.