When I decided to start Lake Chelan Wine Blog last year, I knew it would be difficult to run a hyperlocal wine blog from afar, and suspected I would get a little blowback from it. Quite the opposite – the winemakers, tasting room staff and restaurants have been extremely supportive of us and seem glad for the extra free publicity, love and Jen’s beautiful photos of this stunning part of the Pacific Northwest.
I am not a local, but was born in Wenatchee and have “summered” (as Phoebe from Friends would put it) in Chelan for 51 years. I’ve spent winters in Chelan (enjoying the peace and quiet while working on book editing jobs) and usually live in our family’s second home in Manson from late April through September every year. I knew I’d be enjoying all the wine festivals and tasting rooms anyway, so might as well put all the things we have learned from writing Woodinville Wine Blog to good use and write about Chelan wineries as well!
I recently bought my own first vacation home, currently under construction in Manson, and was so looking forward to spending August and September there. Now that the coronavirus situation has happened, construction has paused on my house and others, and tourists are being asked not to come to town. Even more than that, people with second homes are being asked not to leave the Westside/Seattle area and to please not come to our homes in Chelan. I just read an article in the New York Times about The Hamptons asking second home owners to stay away as well.
We had so much fun coming to town to cover Winterfest earlier this year, and were looking forward to covering the Rosé Soiree and the Lake Chelan Wine and Jazz Festival, eating at all your wonderful restaurants, tasting wine at your wineries, and visiting our wine industry friends. However, we are obeying Governor Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order and staying home (me at my home in Woodinville and Jen at her home in Snoqualmie). To us, “Stay home” means our primary residence; the address listed on our driver’s licenses; the neighborhoods where our kids go to school and where our friends need our help and support.
Chelan Mayor Bob Goedde and the Chelan County Commission have passed declarations and written open letters to vacation rental professionals, ordering temporary vacation rentals to shut down and asking people with second homes in the Chelan area to not come over and stay in their homes. I also saw a posting from the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce asking tourists not to come. Unfortunately, apparently tourists have still been arriving. The concern is that people might overwhelm the very limited medical resources in the area. I just read an article on how coronavirus closures are financially devastating small rural hospitals, too.
Read more from the City of Chelan about coronavirus here.
Our VRBO rentals have been cancelled, and we’re moving our Lookout home reservations to much later in the year.
Jen and I live in the first epicenter of the coronavirus, here in Seattle, and we have no intention of possibly bringing coronavirus germs over to your city. We’ll stay at our homes, walking our dogs around our neighborhoods, enjoying more time to cook, to clean and organize our houses, to spend with our families, more time to read and watch Netflix, more time to telephone distant relatives and catch up, more time to pause and reflect.
We’ve been attending virtual wine tastings from Chelan wineries, watching local winemaker interviews, and shopping for crazy amounts of delicious Chelan and Manson wines from your wineries, delighted to have them shipped to us so quickly and carefully.
We hope to visit the Lake Chelan Wine Valley when the coronavirus situation is better and when it’s safe to return. When that day comes, we’ll work as hard as we can to help promote this area’s surviving restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms who are suffering right now from the business shutdowns.
Check out the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce’s wonderful Virtual Lake Chelan website for resources on supporting local businesses during this time, including curbside pickup, delivery, and virtual retail! They’ve done a great job putting this together.
Also, on Facebook, the Chelan Valley Strong Facebook Group organizes information on local business takeout and delivery options and hours, volunteering opportunities, event updates, COVID-19/coronavirus updates, and resources for business.
-Carrie and Jen