Among all the other things South Africans have to panic about right now, not being able to buy alcohol during lockdown is high up on the anxiety list.

For a few hours, it looked like the government’s stance on wine in particular was not only non-essential to the end user, neither was its production. The timing could not have been worse for the industry, coming as it did almost at the very end of the annual harvest period; the 2020 vintage hung in the balance.

But the decision was revoked and wine farmers were permitted to continue – a huge relief for them, and for the economy (which is going to need all the help it can get). South Africa is one of the top 10 wine producing countries in the world; it exported (never mind what we drink here at home) 320 million litres in 2019 (actually a drop, due to the drought), employs hundreds of thousands of people, and is worth billions of rand. The stats are here.

We asked wine writers, marketing managers, wine farmers and winemakers to weigh in on what a halt in production might have resulted in, and how they are planning to cope with not being able to trade until further notice… and how they intend to make the wine at home last.

“I think we all thought sales would be able to continue. Once that news broke the industry took a big knock, as most are going to, during lockdown,” said Haute Cabrière cellarmaster Takuan von Arnim.

“What we are focusing on now is a strategy to hit the ground running post lockdown. The situation is fluid, once you accept that you can – ironically, plan!”

Cellarmaster Takuan von Arnim performs perfect sabrage at Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek. Photo: Supplied

The announcement that production would have to cease came as a shock to the whole wine industry, said Christo Pienaar, cellarmaster at Nuy Winery, between Worcester and Robertson. “We were almost done harvesting with only two weeks to go – it felt unreal. The one minute you are hard at work getting the grapes in to finish the harvest, the next moment you are told to stop and lock down your cellar while ripe grapes are waiting on the vines.”  

Harvesting wine grapes is a very technical, hands-on, sensitive process and is done by stringent planning and rules, explained Pienaar. “The process does not end when the grapes arrive at the cellar; that is only one step in the whole wine and juice making process – we also produce grape juice, not just wine. If the ban was not lifted it would have been a disastrous end to an already tough 2020 harvest as we are experiencing a drought in Nuy.”

The ban obviously means a massive loss for the industry and is likely to have a severe impact beyond the next few weeks, said Stellenbosch Hills’ marketing manager Ilana Strydom. “We did, however, experience a spike in sales in the days leading up to the sober lockdown which we are very grateful for. 

“On a more personal note, I think the ban of alcohol sales is not all doom and gloom as there are so many people struggling with substance abuse, domestic violence and addictions…. I just don’t know if going ‘cold turkey’ is the right way to go… sales restrictions would have been a better call.”

Winemaker at Middelvlei Wines in Stellenbosch, Tinnie Momberg, said he had been worried about some cellars. “It was so near the end [of harvest] and some were just waiting for the Cabernet to reach optimum ripeness. The biggest financial danger was actually in the cellar. You cannot just stop the process in the middle and carry on a few weeks later.

“At least this was, quality and quantity wise, a good harvest.”

Carolyn Martin from Creation Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley near Hermanus said she and her husband (and winemaker) JC were relieved when the ban was lifted.

“On Thursday late afternoon I had to pack JC’s clothes and take supplies to Creation as he was determined to not let one of the best vintages in terms of the quality of the grapes from our vineyards go to waste,” she said. “Being at home with the kids was hard going into the lockdown – not knowing if I would see him for the next 21 days. He slept on the farm just in case.” 

Happy to have brought in the grapes for 2020 – the vineyard team at Creation Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley near Hermanus. Photo: Supplied

Had the ban not been lifted, it would have had “catastrophic effects” on the whole industry, said Martin. “Think about all the costs incurred over the year and then no harvest and no sales for the year ahead. Around 250,000 people’s jobs depended on the government taking the right decision.”

Creation is supporting the #SAWineLockdown initiative. “Our chefs are developing recipes for our clients to prepare at home and pair with the Creation wines they may have in their cellars. We want to remain optimistic and engaged with our clients and will, of course, also be supporting our friends in the worldwide wine industry during this time. We are posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram,” said Martin.

“The main issue would have been the financial loss to the 2020 production which we only benefit from – in my case – three years from now at least,” said Melissa Nelsen, who produces Genevieve MCC in the Botrivier region of the Overberg. “The impact would not have shown right away but in later years, which I think is what everyone is trying to avoid, managing the financial loss in the next coming months is enough as it is already.”

Also in the Botrivier region is Luddite, the farm famous for creating a Chenin Blanc so spectacular that it is often sold out before the grapes are even in the cellar. The winemaker is Niels Verburg; his wife Penny said that, wine being a huge financial contributor to the Western Cape, she thinks the government is going to have to allow the sale of alcohol after three weeks, even if the country has to stay in lockdown.

“Suddenly removing all alcohol is only going to make the social situation worse – I am sure the people that deal with alcoholics will verify this. Cold turkey doesn’t always work, especially when you have nothing to replace it with – exercise, access to emotional support, it’s a shit show. Didn’t work in Prohibition and is not going to work now,” said Verburg.

David Clarke, co-owner of Ex Animo Wine Co, agent for Luddite Wines and Genevieve MCC (among others) said he believes sanity prevailed, in terms of allowing wine production to continue. The alternative would have been “catastrophic”. 

“Professionally there is nothing we can do – we can’t sell any wine. We can plan for whatever reality awaits us at the end of this. In the meantime, we enjoy a glass or two of wine in the evenings,” said Clarke.

Food and award-winning wine writer, wine expert and wine judge Malu Lambert says she gets it. Her opinion is that banning the sale of alcohol during lockdown is the right thing to do in a country with such violent crime, not to mention as a tactic to hinder social gatherings.

“But, it does unfortunately massively impact an industry I love, and work in. I’m hoping that after lockdown we can start to get really clever with home delivery options – and alleviate the economic pressure as well as the boredom – while still practising social distancing,” she said.

She is lucky to have plenty of wine to see her through this storm, said Lambert. “I hope to get even deeper into my favourite subject, take more time to taste and write notes. Not to mention my WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) diploma studies. So, yes, I’m going fully immersive into wine over these next 21 days. There are a few online tastings planned too, and I think we’re at the start of the next evolution of communication when it comes to wine and drinks in general.” 

Someone else who enjoys his wine and writing about it is Emile Joubert. Wine is in his DNA. “I fully comprehend the need for closing as many spaces to which the public has access to. Not wanting to sound dramatic, the current scenario is unmatched, unpredictable and deeply worrying,” he said. “So, yes, shut bars, restaurants and liquor stores. But I don’t get the bit about not being able to buy a bottle of wine with your groceries. If a bottle of wine is non-essential, so is a box of Pringles chips or a Kit-Kat, surely?

“Working in the wine industry, I am obviously concerned about what the effect of 21 days without supermarket wine sales is going to do to wineries’ bottom lines. Cellars have already taken a knock with the lockdown in that wine tourism and exports are not functioning, so this is another blow.”

Samarie Smith is a wine writer completing her WSET diploma. Her fiancé Georgio Meletiou is the regional sommelier at Tsogo Sun. “At home, we are consuming nothing more, nothing less. With our lives entrenched in wine, we are following our normal routine at home challenging each other with blind tastings on a daily basis,” she said. 

“We started a platform earlier this year leading up to our wedding which subsequently (and sadly) had to be postponed because of Covid-19. It is called MarriedTwoWine on Instagram and Facebook. The addition to our routine is to film it and to share our musings with the wine community ‘like a fly on the wall scenario’ and it’s been very well received. 

“We always wanted to do it and this current situation just gave us that little push we needed. Have to keep the wine spirit alive and, who knows, this might just open new doors and opportunities of how wine needs to be communicated.”

Wine is a lifestyle product and yes, it is alcohol per definition, but originates and supports a large and significant primary agriculture sector, said Phillip Retief, CEO, Van Loveren Family Vineyards.

‘Wine we see as a lifestyle product and yes, it is alcohol per definition, but originates and supports a large and significant primary agriculture sector,’ says Phillip Retief, CEO, Van Loveren Family Vineyards. Photo: Supplied

“The 2020 harvest is looking very good, with quality solid and grape analysis all good and in place. Nature had its say during middle January with significant rain in certain areas but other than that we have had very good harvesting conditions,” he added.

“At Kleine Zalze we are trying to adhere to the lockdown as far as possible as we feel it is the socially responsible thing to do,” said cellarmaster Alastair Rimmer.

“We were lucky in that we had completed our harvest and were able to press the last of our red ferments before lockdown. We have managed to ‘pack’ everything away into full tanks or barrels and all the most urgent work was completed. Although there are a few things we would like to do in the winery we feel that the safety of our workers and the broader community is more important and our entire general staff will remain at home.” 

Family values are what will guide Delheim through the crisis, said Nora Thiel. “We are working closely with the Stellenbosch Wine Route and Tourism board of Stellenbosch to help coordinate a societal approach for our town.

Nora Thiel of Delheim during 2020 lockdown. Photo: Supplied

“We are working daily on finding new creative ways to design a new business out of what we have, to minimise loss of jobs in our business. We’ve also created a WhatsApp group for all our staff and keep them up to date on daily news, safety tips and teaching them all about a new way of thinking.  

“I’ve shared many books with staff to take home to read, we are also doing ‘remote’ interactive wine tastings with staff daily and share pictures of them at home with our wines (check them out on our social platforms and share your favourite wines and moments with us by using the hashtag #delheimathome). We will learn as we go. But we will keep moving forward together.”

Bertho van der Westhuizen from Alto said most of his work in the cellar for the next few weeks will be done by himself and maybe some skeleton staff. “In the next couple of days I will rate all the 2020 wines, then pack them away in full tanks and wait until April 17 to fill the barrels.”

The ban on alcohol extends to beer and spirits as well. For some reason it’s frowned upon to drink alone (as opposed to with your hooligan friends who encourage you to drink shooters when you really shouldn’t) so Lucy Corne aka The Brewmistress got right onto it and hosted an online Backyard Beerfest on Facebook on 28 March, 2020.

“It started as a way to promote the South African craft beer industry, which is really going to struggle during the shutdown, and doubled as something for people to look forward to in these fairly bleak times,” said Corne. “The event was embraced and shared by small breweries all over the place,” she said.

“It’s a very simple premise – recreate some of your favourite bits of a beer fest in your own backyard – this can be whatever you want (chatting to brewers over socials, dancing to Bon Jovi, tasting lots of different beers, chilling in the gin tent, queuing for the loo… but it’s really just a way to feel a part of a community without leaving your home. We’re using the tagline ‘Let’s drink separately, together’,” said Corne.

“It was incredibly well received – #backyardbeerfest was trending across social media platforms, 200 posts on the Facebook event group, people building stands, making promo videos and posters for their own fest. 

“It was a huge amount of work for one person though so not sure I can face another one this weekend. I had no idea how well received it was going to be – we had people joining in from all around the world (10 different countries).

Bored people are incredibly creative, said Corne: “Some of the posts were hilarious!”

Karl Tessendorf from Beer Country (who co-wrote the book Beer Food Fire with brother-in-law Greg Gilowey) said he doesn’t see the point of banning the sale of alcohol but is sure the government had good reasons.

“The panic buying of booze was real though and now people are sitting at home with a mountain of booze and not much else to do so I wonder if by stopping sales they haven’t actually created more problems,” he mused. 

“Also, humans are funny creatures; you get told you can’t do something and it just becomes more desirable. Booze will be sold illegally for sure, which will create more problems. I think they should have just left the bottle stores open. Also, you are destroying even more business in the country and it is already going to take ages for us to recover from this.” 

Tessendorf said he panic-bought two years’ stock… “No, I am kidding, seriously. I did buy some beer but no more than usual. There is still work to do during the lockdown. It’s not a vacation so I will stick to drinking on the weekend,” he said.

As a distillery trying to launch new products, it was frustrating “to work against the ever increasing tide,” said James Copeland of Copeland Spirits, a company which launched with rum and has since expanded into gin and tinned cocktails.

“Each day was a new challenge we were rolling with – losing the on-trade, then shorter trading hours, going online with sales, doing personal deliveries to clients and then finally being laughed at and scolded like naughty children by our gloating police minister at the closing bell. It feels like huge disregard and disrespect to the people of South Africa, let alone those trying to survive in the industry,” he said. 

As a spirits producer, it’s a great time to go deeper into cocktail developing, continued Copeland. “There are quite a few Instagram lockdown cocktail challenges going around seeing who can make the most interesting drink with random stuff in their cupboards or fridges. I’m loving it. Making loads of tasty tinctures, syrups and having a great time putting my spirits through their paces.”

Copeland feels brands trying to turn this into a social media moment and keep flogging away at it are going to fatigue the public. “This should be approached with caution if it’s not adding value or at least entertaining.” 

While many of us are whining and moaning because we can’t get our paws on our favourite tipples, there is a serious side to this story – that of true-blue, full-blown alcoholics. Cold turkey is not always the best option. Addictions counsellor Desiree-Anne Martin said the severity of alcohol withdrawal depends on the severity of the person’s alcohol dependence – mild, moderate or severe.

“If consumption is mild or moderate, withdrawal symptoms can be uncomfortable and distressing and they are heightened by the anxiety and cravings caused by the lack of access to alcohol. In most cases, these symptoms can be managed at home with Thiamine, proper nutrition and hydration and, if necessary, with detoxification medication. 

“Severe consumption, however, can lead to the risk of symptoms such as seizures and cardiac disturbances which could be life-threatening if not medically managed.” 

Martin said she thinks alcoholics would have stockpiled what they believed to be adequate alcohol to see them through the lockdown. However, one of the primary characteristics of alcoholism is an inability to control consumption so there will be many alcoholics finding themselves running out of “supplies” long before the lockdown has run its course. This will invariably lead to withdrawal, attempts to obtain alcohol illicitly or substituting with other substances, she cautioned. 

“One overriding fear is that those under the influence will become aggressive and resort to acts of violence in the homes where they are in lockdown. Families will be affected emotionally, physically and psychologically by either drunken or reckless behaviour, with nowhere to escape to,” said Martin.

Alcoholics in severe life-threatening withdrawal should seek medical attention if symptoms persist for longer than three days, approximately.

“State hospitals do offer detox services, as do private facilities and general practitioners. Alternatively, they can contact substance and alcohol abuse treatment facilities,” said Martin. DM

Alcoholics Anonymous 24/7 helpline: 0861 435 722. Online chats and meetings available here.