Italy is second only to China for the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus and now the entire country is under quarantine. This means Italians are supposed to stay home except for work and emergencies. The quarantine remains in effect until at least April 3rd and it forbids Italians from gathering in public places and requires bars and restaurants to close at 6pm. This isn’t good for business...but they’re not the only ones feeling the effects.
Italy’s wine industry is also taking a hit. The quarantine has pushed Vinitaly - one of the biggest wine shows in the world – to push its start date from April 19thto June 14th.
The lockdown is also bad for cheesemakers.Antonio Croce,who runs a facility that makes Gorgonzola, explains, “With new production stopped, we are going to have a period in 60 to 80 days when we won’t have any product to sell.” And not having cheese and wine is something none of us want to think about.
Source:Food and Wine
Image:Getty