There has never been a better time to buy wine. That could well be one of the craziest statements you’ve heard so far on Day 43 (Day 8 of Level 4) of national lockdown, when the sale of alcohol is still banned.

Actually, it’s not. You can buy wine – and plenty of it – via online portals. You just can’t have it at least until we unlock the magical Level 3 (anyone else feel like they’re in the middle of the worst video game ever?) which states “Alcohol sales allowed with restrictions” and “off-premises consumption… subject to limited hours and industry approved plan on social distance and quantitative restrictions”.

Not only have we grudgingly grown accustomed to the flip-flopping of government’s interpretation of essential and non-essential items, often with no apparent logic (children’s toys, for example), but that wording is still quite vague. Allowed with restrictions? Who the heck knows what those could be?

In the meantime, we can support our wine industry by purchasing wine in anticipation of that glorious day in the future when it can be delivered, and the cherry on top of this is that almost every winery and online platform I know of is offering generous discounts. 

The other day (I have no alternative form of measuring time any more) I ordered a case of Down To Earth red from Villiera. As a club member, the price is excellent anyway, but then the nice lady emailed to say they’d decided to discount by a further 10% and here, have your refund. I thought that was jolly decent of them. It makes me want to go back and buy some more.

I’m also looking forward to a fine delivery of Morgenster Lourens River Valley 2011 from Wade Bales Wine Society, secured at an excellent price (sold out now, sorry). Not only will you find some great deals, but you can sign up for a series of informative newsletters which will help you demystify all the pompousness that gives wine a bad name. 

Aside from drinking the wine, one of my greatest pleasures is listening to a winemaker or sommelier speak the poetry of wine. The descriptions roll off their tongues so beautifully and while I can understand and bask in this, I cannot replicate it. However, if I use this lockdown time productively (who am I kidding? It’s been six weeks and I still haven’t crossed “make an art” off my To Do list) I can emerge on the other side, at the very least sounding clever.

Wade Bales runs a wine distribution company, produced events BC (Before Corona), and is sharing his vast knowledge about wine via informative newsletters. (Photo: Supplied)

“Making wine easy and enjoyable is what we’re all about. With that in mind, we’ve created a short series of tips to ensure you’re able to get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of your wine drinking, with the minimum amount of fuss…even while on lockdown,” said Bales. “Drinking wine is easy, it’s the speaking part that can get you a little tongue twisted,” is how Wine-speak Made Easy begins. For example: “Blanc de Blanc, pronounced ‘Blunk duh Blunk’, this is the name for a sparkling wine or Champagne made entirely from Chardonnay grapes.”

Topics covered include temperatures, glassware, how to open a bottle correctly, all about corked wine, decanting, wine and food pairing, and how and why to store wine well.

Receive the lessons via email, and they are also available on the Facebook page and website.

The Black Cellar Club (BLACC) is Cape Town-based but has a foothold nationwide with members around the country and abroad too (members are dotted around the globe from New Zealand to the Scandinavian countries and the US). Initially created to meet the need for an organisation that could reach out to black Africans who were interested in furthering their wine knowledge, BLACC is hosting twice-weekly masterclasses facilitated by Tuanni Price, who is on a mission to make the complicated world of wine simple. 

Price – who holds a WSET level 2 with merit certification – uses her brand, Zuri Wine Tasting, to host private tastings, teach wine tasting classes and host wine tours. WSET stands for Wine & Spirit Education Trust, which offers industry standard wine courses in more than 75 different countries and the only internationally-recognised wine courses available in Africa.

“I started the study group in my apartment before Corona. I wanted to create a platform for BLACC members to study, specifically for WSET level 2 and 3,” said Price. “After the stay at home orders were issued I changed the group to online so that we could keep the study momentum going. I figured our wine making friends in the industry might have some free time to help with our education goals, and reached out to some of my favourites.  

“Jeffrey from Beau Constantia and Andrea from Mullineaux were the first two people I contacted. They eagerly agreed and we have had other greats in the industry share their knowledge each week, twice a week.”

Topics covered include wine making, popular grape varietals, regions and climates, deductive tasting and wine service. On May 12, 2020 Jean Smit from Moya Meaker Wines will be chatting about “Less Cult, More Cultivation”; and on May 14, 2020, Master of Wine Cassidy Dart will discuss the journey to Master of Wine, as well as current wine trends and wine in China.

“Anyone can join; we have wine enthusiasts from all over the world at all levels, from consumers who want to learn more, to WSET diploma level who want to refresh their knowledge,” said Price. Some of the countries who join in are USA, New Zealand and France.

Previous participants included Takuan von Arnim from Haute Cabrière and Alastair Rimmer from Kleine Zalze.

“I find it an excellent platform to communicate with people, strengthening the relationship between winemakers and sommeliers,” said Von Arnim.

Takuan von Arnim from Haute Cabrière, who has participated in a BLACC masterclass. (Photo: Supplied)

“It was an absolute privilege to be able to share what our team does here at Kleine Zalze and share our philosophies on winemaking,” said Rimmer. “It was also very cool to be able to branch out on Stellenbosch Cabernet as it is something that I am passionate about and is what I believe our region will become internationally renowned for.” 

Tinashe Nyamudoka, winemaker and head sommelier/beverage manager at The Test Kitchen, said it was a pleasure to have hosted a masterclass. “I enjoyed sharing my knowledge and experience with the engaging group. Most importantly I loved how casual and informative the session was.”

Winemaker Andrea Mullineaux from Mullineaux Wines said the BLACC study group was one of the most interactive wine groups to which she had presented. “The questions the participants had were well thought out and showed an already deep knowledge of the wine subjects which they want to expand, so presenting to an international audience via an internet meeting showed how innovative we have become in this era, not only with technology but also with wine education. Our access to knowledge and experiences is becoming limitless and we now have more resources to learn about wine than ever before.” 

The BLACC study group provided the opportunity to be part of a movement that educates individuals about the wine industry and processes involved, said Jeffrey Bezuidenhout, farm manager at Beau Constantia.

“I fully support the study for the reason that it provides individuals a better sense of appreciation for the wines they consume. The knowledge they gain through the study group now empowers them to taste a story with every sip they indulge their palate with. At the same time, they introduce wine to new individuals in a positive way by educating them which results in a broader wine consuming community.”

To join these masterclasses, it’s as simple as following a Facebook live link. However, should you wish to actively participate in the discussions, you can register in advance here. The meetings are at 12pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Port2Port, one of South Africa’s largest fine wine marketplaces, with more than 2,000 wines, from 400 producers and 11 countries, has a lockdown initiative allowing consumers to purchase key wines from some of its top producers at exceptional prices for as long as lockdown lasts. 

The aim? To support the South African wine industry in an unprecedented time of forced inactivity.

“This period of inactivity has sparked introspection, with people making lists of places they’d like to visit again and things they’d like to do after lockdown. Similarly, we see this time of limited access to fine wines as the perfect opportunity to explore the subject and make educated decisions led by some of our industry connoisseurs,” said Port2Port co-founder, Nicolò Pudel. As such, Port2Port has enlisted the help of international wine judge Michael Fridjhon; Radford Dale’s Alex Dale; Vino.co.za’s Stefano and Lorenzo Gabba, as well as Pudel to assist.

“We’ll be sending out weekly mailers from each one of these esteemed winos, giving cellaring tips on key wine regions and their most collectable wines as part of Port2Port’s lockdown initiative. Given their forced isolation, each wino will be hosting a live, online cellaring consultation for interested parties, dates to be communicated via email,” explained Pudel.

“We are able to promote sales during lockdown, offer our customers an incentive to stock up their cellars now and receive one bulk delivery after lockdown. We are also offering free online masterclasses and seminars with the likes of Michael Fridjhon and Alex Dale. We have seen a surge in sales and that will most certainly assist our marketplace vendors’ cash flow,” he continued.

“The classes occur sporadically as producers become available etc, but I’d suggest users sign up to our newsletters and keep an eye out there to register as classes become available,” clarified Daléne Fourie from Port2Port. “Alternatively, they can view our three past classes on our YouTube channel. 

“The initiative is a static promotional offer that will last until such time as we’re able to actually ship orders, said Fourie. “We are constantly adding products to the offer as our MarketPlace partners join in, and would suggest users keep visiting the website for the latest offer.” 

Someone who is very clever about wine while keeping it completely down to earth and accessible is Cathy Marston. She’s been in the wine industry for more 25 years and for the past nine she’s been the leading WSET educator in Africa, teaching these courses in six countries and at all levels from entry up to Level 4 which is the flagship qualification and equivalent to a degree course. 

“I used to run The Nose Wine Bar for many years and now I teach, taste for the Platter Guide, judge at competitions and do a bit of writing. I’m also the only Stage 2 Master of Wine (MW) student in Africa and had hoped to sit my last exams this June – alas, cancelled, so I shall have to wait a year,” said Marston, who is now able to teach WSET online.

If you feel a bit intimidated, Marston laughed “it’s not that techie!” Plus you can do it in your pajamas.

“It’s the most popular course by far and it has been really frustrating because although we can lecture online via Zoom, we haven’t been able to send out the books to go along with the course so we haven’t been able to run it,” said Marston. “WSET has now allowed us to use digital versions of the materials so our first course will run over the weekend May 16-17 with a tasting tuition day on the 30th (Stellenbosch only) and exams to be held in either Stellenbosch or Johannesburg. 

“Level 2 is such a lovely course – lots of people start on this one because it’s aimed at those who already enjoy wine, buy wine, have maybe heard of lots of international wine names like Chianti, Rioja etc but don’t really know anything about them. 

“It’s where we introduce all the famous wines from around the world and hopefully demystify them so people can chat about them at their next dinner party. If you ever wanted to do a wine course, this is probably where I’d suggest you start.” 

All details are here.

If you’re still a bit scared (and less financially liquid), Marston is also hosting courses supported by TOPS at Spar Wine Show. “They approached me to help keep their show-goers entertained during lockdown. So we devised a very basic, entry level wine course aimed at newbie wine drinkers.”

The first course saw 120 people pitch up in (on?) Zoom, asking loads of questions and generally enjoying themselves. “When I teach this kind of course, the biggest thing I’m trying to do is to give people confidence,” said Marston. “So it’s not information-heavy; it’s more trying to organise people’s thinking so they can work stuff out for themselves. And then they feel good about themselves when their thinking is correct and then we’re all winners.”

The next course is still pretty basic and it’s called Local & Lekker – Focus on South African Wine. It will run at 6pm Tuesdays and Thursdays for two weeks from May 12, 2020 at a price of R295 for the whole course and that includes downloads of the materials and the videos. “We may re-run the first one again – a lot depends on lockdown and how long it lasts – but there’s nothing to stop people signing up for the second one even if they haven’t done the first one. They can just ask more questions and we’ll answer them!” said Marston.

You can do this one in your pyjamas too, and any wine is welcome. If you’re lucky enough to still have any. 

 “If you’re teaching people how to think and work out why they’re tasting what they’re tasting, it doesn’t actually matter what the wine is, they can still come to the correct conclusions for their own wine. And feel good about themselves as well! Also – because the downloads are saved – people who don’t have wine can always look at them later when they’re able to buy it again,” said Marston.

Just before lockdown, all those years ago (it feels like it, okay?), Lanzerac delivered some wines and winemaker Wynand Lategan hosted virtual tastings with members of the media. I was invited, but I’m still trying to get through this thing without signing up on Zoom. So far, so good. 

“The wines I chose were to give an overall impression of what we do at Lanzerac. I wanted to give an idea what our range is about – we have a number of other wines, but the wines we did I thought were drinking very well at the moment,” said Lategan.

Included were the 2018 Merlot, which has “an excellent deep red colour, with ripe red berries, cocoa, slight mint and chocolate on the nose. On the palate the wine shows a well-balanced tannin structure, rich body with fruit and a lingering aftertaste”; the Lanzerac Le Général, “a limited barrel selection of the best red wine of the 2016 vintage. This full-bodied Cabernet-based blend announces vanilla and nutmeg spice before a flood of dark berries, cooked plums and blackcurrants assail the palate. Dark chocolate and hints of smoke is supported by sturdy smooth tannins and an endless finish”; and Mrs English 2018, sourced from a single vineyard in the Jonkershoek Valley, “is a complex wine with an abundance of citrus flavours on the nose, a full palate and lingering aftertaste. Great care is taken during the blending process to ensure a wine with impeccable balance, character, poise and deliverance.”

“We absolutely will want to do more of these tastings – the world has changed and online tastings is an additional tool to use,” said Lategan. I love having tastings with a small group – in that way we can really get into specifics with each wine. I do feel, however, that in online tastings you do lose some of the personal interactions.”

Pop on over to the Lanzerac website for another easy-to-follow tasting guide.

Vilafonté is the first South African and American joint venture. “Our vineyards were planted commencing 1997 and we produce three classic Bordeaux blends for three occasions at three price points,” said partner Mike Ratcliffe. “Our approach is humble, but considered and extremely deliberate.”

While the focus is exclusively on the more serious end of the wine market with wines of gravitas built for the long-haul, online forum Vilafonté & Friends has, said Ratcliffe, very few rules. Any wine is welcome.

“Vilafonté has always been a leader in digital and we hosted the first online SA wine tasting in 2015 already across Skype and Twitter. Many people still remember that with affection,” said Ratcliffe. “Vilafonté & Friends represents our non-corporate family-owned values and is a brand that allows flexibility. To tell you the truth, we try to steer the conversation away from wine tasting and back to old-fashioned story-telling which resonates really with our high-end customers seeking authenticity and connection.”

Planning for a collaborative discussion with wine impresario Michael Fridjhon and chef Jan Hendrik Van der Westhuizen is underway, hinted Ratcliffe.

There is no cost to join these educational and entertaining sessions, and to keep up to date, Ratcliffe suggests connecting via social media channels or by signing up for the newsletter. 

If you still have wine, open it, enjoy it, maybe learn a little bit more about it. It’s not like you have anywhere else to be. DM/TGIFood