Family-owned farms and wineries are struggling to adapt during shutdown

“Earlier this year, business at Crow Vineyard and Winery in Kennedyville, Md., looked promising. Judy Crow, its co-owner, said she and her husband had spent more than a decade investing in wine production to diversify and sustain the family farm. In addition to planting soybeans, running a bed-and-breakfast and raising Angus cattle, they tilled about 12 acres of grapes, up from three acres when they set out, and produced 5,000 cases a year.”

With sales up as much as 40 percent after a Valentine’s Day promotion, Crow imagined that 2020 might be their most spectacular year ever. Then the pandemic hit, and seemed to erase years of work in a matter of days.

“I feel like we’re at the starting point, [where] we were 12 years ago,” Crow said.

Wine shopping will change following pandemic

A bright spot: Demand for beef from their farm has increased 30 percent — and that’s enough to make her feel that their business will pull through.

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