The Covid-19 virus swept across the globe early in 2020 and lockdowns were implemented to minimise the spread of the unknown disease. Flights were cancelled, the air went quiet and travel was massively restricted, not unlike the flu pandemic in 1918, when 500 million infections were recorded with up to a possible 100 million deaths. The 2020 Covid-19 WHO figures reported 7 million deaths, with a population then of 7,8 billion, compared to not even 2 billion in 1918, a terrible ending to the already dreadful and decimating First World War.
So 2020 was a very unpredictable time for everyone, and decisions were made which were (apparently) in the best interests of national citizens, and the South African Government decided to impose a blanket ban on both alcohol and cigarette sales. Further strange restrictions were implemented, like curfews, which were very effective in minimising GBV issues, and rules about when you could go outside and what clothing and shoes could be sold in shops...
The first 3 months of lockdown were a strange and surreal time. In some ways, it was really calm, quiet, good to connect with families, many of whom bunkered down together. The weather in the Western Cape was beautiful, with warm, still autumn days slowly turning into months. The occasional 8pm 'Family Meetings' with Cyril (our president Ramaphosa) on national television with the latest announcements kept changing the rules. To read all the Covid-related wine news, click HERE.
Even though alcohol outlets were closed during the ban, online orders were permitted, and sales went through the roof. Very few wineries had online stores at that time, and suddenly, through our CellarDirect ecommerce platform launched in 2019, we set up 70 online stores within weeks, facilitating wineries to take online orders to dispatch the wine after the ban was lifted.
Most general stores like our wine.co.za shop also had a massive influx of orders and suddenly had to process and arrange delivery and dispatch of 8000+ orders overnight, compared to the usual 250 or so. And of course, customers were getting impatient, as some of them placed orders at the end of March and by 26th May, still did not have their wines!
It was crazy.
And on some level, it was the calm before the storm:
On Thursday, 28 May, at one of his 'family meetings', Cyril announced the alcohol ban would be lifted (temporarily) from 1 June. And deliveries could start happening from the next morning!
So began the mad scramble, as we had a garage-sized warehouse for our just-in-time order space and had to find enough space overnight for thousands of deliveries arriving and being dispatched. We suddenly brought in friends and family to manage the myriad of telephone queries, and to receive, arrange and dispatch orders, while our reliable and flexible team worked from home dealing with merchandising, processing and emails online. In a jiffy, we had an online network and phones working across the Western Cape; we did not skip a beat.
We had a fabulous bunch of people pitching up to help with the madness. The vibe was electric and crazy - life was unpredictable!
Our car park was awash with wines and our logistics skills were honed quickly. Massive trucks delivered and collected wines daily.
Kudos and thanks to the following who went beyond:
- Raka Wines, who were the first to deliver an entire bakkie-load to us, arriving first thing on Friday 30 May!
- Perdeberg, who arrived with their innovative zebra mascot to deliver their wines - a source of much amusement.
- Seabourne Logistics, who managed to get the orders collected and delivered reasonably, and they too struggled with massive volumes never seen before or since!
- Vinimark were brilliant, delivering every day without fail.
- Our caterer Kim Kallis, from Kim's Exclusive Catering, who delivered hot, healthy and delicious meals to our team daily, without which we would not have coped
- Our incredible team, both old and new. Everyone just got stuck in and got things done!
Some of our fabulous team!
We lost friends and family - COVID took its toll.
Things were so unpredictable; we had no idea how long the lockdown would last, who would get sick, who would die, and the unknown fed into the paranoia.
I have heard fabulous stories of ambulances filled with wine, bakkies carrying wood which covered up the wine, and various illegal deliveries throughout the country... And we're keen to hear your crazy tales! Do send them (with pics if you have) to editor@wine.co.za.
As we say in South Africa, 'n boer maak a plan! We could not let our loyal customers go without their wine!