The next iteration of the RAW WINE Fair, a London-based event showcasing over 150 natural wine producers set to take place on March 8 and 9, was postponed from last weekend due to concerns over COVID-19, the new and highly transmissible strain of coronavirus.
In a letter sent out to attendees on March 3, the RAW WINE team states, “due to the heightened risk of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and all the threats that this poses, we feel that it is sadly in the best interest of our community of growers, makers, partners, importers, distributors, stockists, tasters, and staff to postpone RAW WINE London 2020 until the threat of the virus subsides.”
Patrons are able to exchange their tickets for one of the RAW WINE festivals in Berlin, Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, or Montréal—all scheduled for November of this year. Alternately, refunds will also be available, and “details regarding these various options will follow shortly.”
However, several winemakers planning on presenting next week have reported to Sprudge Wine that RAW has not extended this same refund policy to participating exhibitors. Instead, they tell us the group is crediting the $1000 entry fee toward the rescheduled London fair, which will most likely take place in August 2020.
As per their website, RAW WINE intends to officially announce a new date for the London fair in the next few weeks. And RAW’s not the only wine fair postponed—so too has Vinitaly, an event due to take place April 19th in Verona, Italy, as well as Oenorama in Greece, and a growing list of events across Europe. Meanwhile in America, La Paulee and Brumaire went on as planned ove the weekend.
Laura Jaye Cramer is a freelance writer based in California and has written for SF Weekly, GOOD, and PAPER Magazine. Read more Laura Jaye Cramer for Sprudge Wine.
Top image via RAW WINE Fair
