The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic resulted in quarantines. “Champagne” is sometimes used as a generic term for sparkling wine, but legally, it must come from the Champagne wine region of France. Some people joked that “quarantine” must come from the Quarante region of France, but the word “quarantine” derives from the 40 days that some ships had to isolate off shore.
 
“It’s only a Quarantine if it’s forty days in a Venetian lazaretto.  Otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation” was posted on Twitter by Jonathan Lennox on March 3, 2020. “It’s only quarantine if it’s from the Quarantine region in France, otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation” was posted on Twitter by Benjamin Suchard on March 9, 2020.
 
“It’s only Quarantine if it’s in the Quarante province of France. Otherwise it’s just Sparkling Isolation” was posted on Twitter by Vikram Paralkar on March 13, 2020.
     
Similar jokes using this meme include “It’s not a bailout unless it comes from the Baile region of France. In this case it’s a sparkling government intervention,” “It’s not a recession unless it’s from the Recession region of France, otherwise it’s just sparkling misery,” “It’s only ‘Cancel Culture’ if it comes from the Cancella region of France. Otherwise it’s just Sparkling Consequences,” “It’s only moaning if it’s from the Moan region of France. Otherwise it’s just sparkling whine” and “It’s only physics if it’s from the Physique region of France. Otherwise it’s just sparkling math,” “It’s only poetry if it’s from the Poet region of France. Otherwise it’s just sparkling whine”, “It’s only sour grapes if it comes from the Sourgrape region of France. Otherwise it’s just sparkling whine,” “It’s only turkey if it’s from the farm region of Turkey. Otherwise, it’s sparkling chicken,” “Omicron must come from the Omicrônne region of France, otherwise it’s just sparkling covid” and “Real Targét has to be from the Targét region of France, otherwise, it’s just sparkling Walmart.”
       
     
Wikipedia: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and was recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.
     
Wikipedia: Quarantine
Etymology and terminology
The word quarantine comes from quarantena, meaning “forty days”, used in the 14th–15th-centuries Venetian language and designating the period that all ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague epidemic; it followed the trentino, or thirty-day isolation period, first imposed in 1347 in the Republic of Ragusa, Dalmatia (modern Dubrovnik in Croatia).
 
Wikipedia: Quarante
Quarante is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
       
Twitter
Jonathan Lennox
@JonathanLennox
It’s only a Quarantine if it’s forty days in a Venetian lazaretto.  Otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation.
2:41 PM · Mar 3, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Jack Holt
@jackholt
It’s only quarantine if you spend forty days on a ship outside of Venice. Otherwise it’s just sparkling medical isolation.
11:35 AM · Mar 5, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Benjamin Suchard
@bnuyaminim
It’s only quarantine if it’s from the Quarantine region in France, otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation
5:27 AM · Mar 9, 2020·Twitter Web App
   
Twitter
Robert Apel
@RobertApel
Replying to @christinadejong
It’s only quarantine if it comes from the Quarantaine region of France. Otherwise, it’s just sparkling isolation…
10:12 PM · Mar 11, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
Leyan Lo
@leyanlo
It’s only quarantine if it’s outside the port of Venice. Otherwise it’s just sparkling forced isolation.
Quote Tweet
Kory Stamper
@KoryStamper
· Mar 6
“Quarantine” has a pretty complicated etymology. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT, YES YOU WOULD, SETTLE IN, MY NERDS
1/13
Show this thread
2:13 AM · Mar 12, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Vikram Paralkar
@VikramParalkar
It’s only Quarantine if it’s in the Quarante province of France. Otherwise it’s just Sparkling Isolation.
1:12 PM · Mar 13, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
Lobes
@Lobes
It’s only Quarantine if it’s in the Quarante region of France. Otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation.
#CoronavirusPandemic
10:24 PM · Mar 15, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
     
Twitter
mandi’s ghost
@ghostofmandi
It’s only quarantine if it’s in the Quarante region of France, otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation. #coronavirus
1:38 AM · Mar 16, 2020·Twitter for Android
   
Twitter
YoshCredo
@YoshCredo
It’s only Quarantine if it is in the Quarante region of France.
Otherwise it’s just sparkling isolation.
4:02 AM · Mar 16, 2020 from Pretoria, South Africa·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
antifa leader chaplain
@suesswassersee
excuse me i need to be a pedant for a second
that joke tweet about it only being a quarantine if it’s from the quarante region of france?
quarantine is from the 40 days ships had to stay away from ports in Italy so it’s more a Prosecco joke than a Champagne joke.
1:57 PM · Mar 16, 2020·TweetDeck
   
Twitter
c͎h͎r͎i͎s͎t͎i͎n͎a͎Sparklesl͎y͎n͎n͎e͎
@dontputmeonair
Actually, it’s only quarantine if it comes from the quarantine region of France; otherwise, it’s just sparkling isolation.
7:30 PM · Mar 16, 2020·Twitter for Android
 
Twitter
Bob Kostic
@causticbob
it’s only Quarantine if it’s in the Quarante region of France.
Other than that it’s just sparkling isolation
7:13 PM · Mar 17, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
SpartySmallwood
@SpartySmallwood
It’s only a quarantine if it’s in the Quarante region of France. Otherwise its just sparkling isolation.
7:51 PM · Apr 26, 2020·Twitter for Android
 
Twitter
FLIP
@flipova
Champagne Diaries:
It’s only quarantine if it comes from the quarantine region of France;
Otherwise, it’s just sparkling isolation..
10:50 AM · May 29, 2020·Twitter for iPhone