A King Valley winemaker has compared the region's absence from the border bubble to being "picked last for kickball."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Dal Zotto Wines co-owner Christian Dal Zotto said his business has only been open for a total of six weeks this year after battling bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic and now a continued exclusion from the border zone region.
He admitted much of the traffic would usually be coming from the Albury-Wodonga area, with cancellations flowing in.
"It's not just us in Whitfield or the King Valley region that finds it surprising, I think it's everyone in the border bubble," Mr Dal Zotto said.
"It makes it really challenging when we've got a lot of our customers who come from Albury-Wodonga way that want to come down and spend time in the region, spend money and support a region that has been affected by bushfires and COVID.
"They want to do the right thing, but they're just being told they're not allowed.
"We deal with whatever challenges get put in front of us, we just didn't expect to be locked out of a bubble."
With temperatures rising, this would usually be one of the busiest times for the business, outside of Easter.
Mr Dal Zotto admitted inclusion in the bubble would increase visitation dramatically.
"It would make us feel like we're actually part of the region," he said.
Cheshunt General Store owner Cathy van Gastelen said while she had continued to receive the support of locals throughout the pandemic, she felt for neighboring winemakers such as Dal Zotto, Pizzini and Chrismont.
"Where is the common sense in drawing a line where you've got three of the major wineries in the King Valley excluded from an area that normally supports them massively," Ms van Gastelen said.
"Why would you draw it that side of Cheshunt and not the other, there's nothing else that side, there's bush.
"Why couldn't they have just encompassed a handful of businesses just to give them an opportunity.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"I'm doing okay, I'm probably the luckiest person in the Valley."
After not having any tourism in the area since January, Ms van Gastelen said the weekend had provided a little window of what life should look like in the King Valley at this time of year, with locals out enjoying the surrounds.
"It was the best thing I've seen and I haven't seen it for so long," she said.
"That's what the Valley should be like all the time."
Whitfield resident Pam Deeker agreed while she hadn't been directly impacted by the border closure, she was saddened by the impacts on her community.
"It's like a ghost town," Ms Deeker said.
"I'm an old maths teacher, so I follow the rules."
Despite the adversity the King Valley has faced this year, Mr Dal Zotto said there had been a silver lining.
"We've all stood back and looked at our local region a little bit more," he said.
