Day 75 — Support our local wines

The situation

It’s been an interesting couple of months. Learning to live under random and at times ridiculous rules and regulations. We’ve learnt to stand together without actually being together and to approach life in a different way. We’ve learnt to appreciate the small things in live such as meeting for a quick coffee or a stroll in your own neighbourhood. We’ve learnt that we can (to a degree) live with an empty wine rack.

But although these restrictions and regulations were (supposedly) imposed to flatten the curve and save human lives (from the COVID-19 virus), it has wreaked havoc on the economy and is busy killing millions of South Africans by means of hunger, joblessness and a general state of hopelessness.

The ban on alcohol sales, for export and locally, has also had a significant impact on local producers and has, in some cases, dealt the final blow to once thriving businesses still trying to recover from the recent droughts. We’re hearing increasing rumours about wineries closing their doors or shifting their focus from producing wines to producing other fruits and/or vegetables. The decline in, and loss of, income for wine producers also has an impact on farmers that are in the business of growing grapes for wine production.

The impact

Many local producers that were unable to export stock to international markets have lost shelf space and seen a decline in and cancellation of orders. With restaurants being closed, tourism being halted and local sales only being permitted again on 1 June after 66 days of lockdown, cash flow and local sales have also been impacted in an unprecedented way.

We’ve seen that online sales have picked up considerably and that producers are having a hard time shipping orders (the restriction on alcohol deliveries and transportation being a big contributor), but wines are coming and we’ll be able to raise a glass soon.

What can we do?

It is now time to keep on supporting our local producers by buying South African wine and spirits and by understanding that you might need to wait a little longer to receive your much anticipated box(es) of wine.

Thank you for reading. Until next time; stay home, stay safe, buy wine. 🍷

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