Turning Tides: A Turbulent Tale of Seafood and Chardonnay

As we roll swiftly through June into July, the sunny weather beckons in the start of summer. As businesses begin to reopen, so do many of Greater Boston’s renowned seafood restaurants. Being wine lovers, it’s almost impossible to overstate just how well a perfectly-paired wine and seafood dish can complement each other. Whether it’s a dry, sun-kissed Chardonnay coupled with fresh-caught salmon or a bubbly brut Prosecco with a side of prawns, there’s something about great wine and local seafood that says “sunny days and smooth sailing”. 

But it hasn’t been sunny skies as of late for the men and women behind your favorite fish… 

Fishers struggle to stay afloat:

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the entire seafood industry. Demand for fresh seafood has plummeted as restaurants, hotels, and catering businesses shutter while transportation restrictions have caused trade to falter preventing local fishers to cooperate effectively. But while established businesses can apply for social safety provisions and major seafood companies have the resources to give them a fighting chance to weather the storm, small-scale fishermen face severe risk.

The Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations published a brief supporting this struggle, noting that “Although COVID-19 does not affect fish, the fish sector is still subject to indirect impacts of the pandemic through changing customer demands, market access or logistical problems related to transportation and border restrictions. This [in turn has] a damaging effect on fishers and fish farmers’ livelihoods…”

What can you do to help?

One biggest thing that you can do to help is to support local fisheries and seafood restaurants that have been severely affected by COVID-19 by shopping locally as businesses open back up. Being a local, family-owned business ourselves, we can say without a doubt that it is your presence and charity that will benefit them the most. Here are a few of our favorite local fisheries and seafood restaurants with links to their websites:

• Adam’s Fish Market:
  
  Adams Fish Market has been serving freshly-caught seafood to the people of Dorchester for over 77 years. Whether you’re craving fish, lobsters, shrimp, shellfish, or more, there’s something at Adam’s to keep you hooked.  

• Island Creek Oysters:
  
  Island Creek Oysters specializes in serving up what they deem to be the finest oysters in the world. Caught daily & shipped overnight from Duxbury Bay, they serve their oysters to some of the country’s finest restaurants.  

• Constitution Seafood:
  
  Family owned and operated from South Boston’s historic seafood district, Constitution Seafoods have been serving up quality, freshness, and great customer service to the people of Boston and beyond for over 80 years. 

In Conclusion:

Whether you stop by for a meal, order takeout, or donate to support these fine local businesses, it is your actions that will calm the tide and help these fisheries flourish again.

So as we sail on into summer, we’d love to invite you to order some of your favorite wine and support the local businesses around you that make the good times great.

Order my favorite wine online!