Coronavirus Update: What We’re Doing During The Pandemic

Coronavirus may have put a hold on tasting room visits here at Mount Salem Vineyards for the time being, but that certainly doesn’t mean our staff is twiddling their thumbs.

Since agriculture is deemed an essential activity, our vineyard operation is still at full speed – six days a week, we’ve still been hard at work as what we do outdoors allows for six-foot social distancing. And thankfully so – our vines will awaken and grow whether we’re here or not, and we would rather be here as we prep for the growing season.

Read more: Support These Friends of Mount Salem Kitchen During Coronavirus

What We’ve Been Up To

We’ve certainly been busy. We’re installing some new fencing and clearing the last of the prunings from the vineyard floor, as we finished pruning the vines several weeks ago. At the winery, we’re using our own process to recycle our bottles and prepare to bottle some of the 2019 wines. We’re also doing some maintenance projects in the farmhouse and in the wine barn.

But, we’re still cautious. Our crew of vineyard workers is small but mighty – they’re incredibly experienced, and if even one of them was to get sick and be unable to work, it would impact us bigly. So far, we’re all healthy. But it’s a risk we’re very sensitive to, especially since we currently lack enough personal protective equipment, like suits and respirators, needed to spray the vineyards that first and foremost needs to go to healthcare workers.

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As we look forward to seeing the ‘new normal’ in New Jersey, we do wonder how Mount Salem Vineyards, known for an intimate and highly-personalized experience, will be affected. At the end of the day though, we’ll still always provide our customers with high-quality farm-fresh products, just as we are right now.

How To Get Our Wine To-Go

Since the tasting room has been shut down, we’ve been providing our customers with our wines as they “stock up,” as they say, mostly on wine cases. If you’re looking for some top-notch wine to enjoy while you’re in quarantine, shoot us an email at pleitner@mountsalemvineyards.com or call us at 908-735-9359. We’re happy to offer wine suggestions, as well as delivery.