Long before online shopping was the norm for South African wineries, we launched CellarDirect, a full-service e-commerce engine, designed to give wineries a zero-headache way to sell directly to consumers. By February 2020, we had a tight, successful cohort of eight wineries on board.
Then, on 26 March 2020, the world changed overnight. Covid-19 plunged South Africa into a hard lockdown, and the local wine industry faced a catastrophic, unprecedented ban on alcohol sales.
There was one thin silver lining: we were legally allowed to take online orders, even if dispatch was frozen. Suddenly, e-commerce went from a "nice-to-have" to the industry's absolute survival mechanism. What followed was a blur of frantic growth. Over Zoom and across kitchen tables and warehouses, our team went into overdrive. Within just two months, we scaled from 8 wineries' stores to 70. We rapidly spun up a brand-new virtual and physical team, working around the clock to keep the financial lifeblood of South African wine flowing.
2020 lockdown madness: Some of the gang who helped out during the madness!
With everyone locked inside, every person and their proverbial dog began ordering wine from every corner of South Africa. We thought we were in the pound seats, until President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted the ban on dispatch on 1 June.
Suddenly, two and a half months of accumulated, backlogged orders hit reality all at once. Within 48 hours, we had to find a massive new warehouse and hire an entirely new workforce to handle thousands of cases of wine. The entire national courier network buckled under the strain. South Africans were deeply thirsty, and the floodgates were open.
It was beautiful, pure chaos. Massive trucks arrived day and night, turning our parking lot into a maze of wine pallets, while stock was stacked up to the roof in our newly rented warehouses next door. Armies of masked helpers worked around the clock organising deliveries. Meanwhile, our phones rang off the hook with anxious customers checking on orders they’d paid for months prior. We survived on pure adrenaline, a crash course in patience, and the incredible local caterer, Kim Kallis, who delivered hot meals to our team twice a day to keep us nourished.
More 2020 madness – the carpark was jam-packed! This was in June, and we were grateful for the blue skies.
It was a totally crazy period, but against all odds, we got (almost) every single bottle to its destination. Of course, that was just the first wave. Over the next two years, just as we thought we were returning to normal, Uncle Cyril would call a "family meeting" and lock us down again. It was a bizarre era marked by arbitrary rules, like the infamous bans on selling open-toed sandals and cigarettes.
The bans didn't stop South Africans; they just drove them underground. We heard legendary stories of wines being smuggled to clients in ambulances, or hidden in the back of bakkies underneath stacks of firewood. There is simply no end to South African creativity when resources are scarce! A massive illicit market thrived, creating a shadow economy from which the cigarette industry still hasn't fully recovered.
For us, managing a massive warehouse full of wine during a ban was a psychological test. The temptation to slip orders out the back door to desperate customers was immense, but we couldn't risk our liquor license or our reputation. It was a deeply stressful balancing act. Looking back, 2020 and 2021 were a complete blur of sudden lockdowns, presidential addresses, and a non-stop hustle to keep wine lovers happy across the country.
Turning 25, a MILESTONE!
In August 2021, we finally took a moment to lift our heads briefly to celebrate our 25th birthday with a fabulous lunch at Cavalli in mid-winter.
Kevin and I did a whirlwind around the winelands visiting clients, delivering our cute 25th birthday cupcakes!
Celebrating our 25th at Cavalli Estate
The deal, the crash and the recovery
In November 2021, we signed what looked like the perfect exit strategy: a phased acquisition of wine.co.za by Southern Skies Investment Holdings (SSIH).
Then came the grind. We spent months in the tech trenches and migrated our entire set of CellarDirect stores to Commerce7 as per the agreement Andrew Douglas had arranged. We were exhausted, but we were building for the future.
On 1 July 2023, the floor fell out from under us. SSIH collapsed into voluntary liquidation, and the deal evaporated overnight. It was an incredibly dark, stressful time, and the losses were heavy.
But wine.co.za doesn't quit. We immediately stepped back in, reclaimed the reins of our business, secured our infrastructure, and guaranteed that not a single one of our clients lost a cent or a second of uptime. It was the toughest test in our history, but it proved exactly why our independent foundation is unbreakable.
Launching Oorskotwyn
One of the impacts of COVID and the alcohol ban was that cellars were sitting with full tanks. So, again in response to an industry challenge, we launched OORSKOTWYN, a platform for wineries to sell their surplus wines. Much fun was had coming up with catchy lines and ad campaigns: "If it involves wine and flipflops, count me in" and "A meal without wine is called breakfast".
Sadly, this went the way of our exit strategy, and is currently running under the Vinty brand.
Tasting with the team and PYDA intern
2021 saw us take on Mlondolozi Mketo as our third PYDA intern, who stood in for our shop manager, Suheena, while on maternity leave and then joined us permanently after that. Suheena and Mlondolozi (Frank) were a great team running our Shop and CellarDirect. One of the activities we encouraged is for our interns to arrange tastings and present wines to the team.
The tastings were themed, sometimes by variety, and sometimes by winery, and they ranged from Around the World to earthy and organic, and the one below was a red wine tasting. Much attention was given to the decor and aesthetics, too.
We had fun, and the creative energies flowed.
Suheena and Mlondolozi at the tasting with the team.
Xmas bowls team party
Bowls is not just for the older generation any more. One of our most colourful Xmas parties was one where we played bowls at the Somerset West Bowls Club, with teams choosing their team colours. We had a Black, Red, Yellow and Blue team – no surprise who was in the Black team! Our creative director, Garth, is pretty monochromatic and was true to form.
Hat's off to the creative team for stepping up for the occasion. See all the pics on the side.
30 years of connection
2020-2023 remains the most challenging period we have faced. We remain rooted in our original vision: Using systems thinking to tell human stories. What began as an on-ramp for an industry in transition has evolved into the reliable central hub where that industry meets, grows, and shares its success with the world.
We would not be where we are without the support of our many friends, our clients, the industry, and, of course, our wonderful team. A huge thank you to all!
For more on wine.co.za and our 30 years, click HERE. Keep an eye on our 30th Birthday Spotlight for more stories.
Let the countdown begin! This article is the fifth in our Countdown series – one per month till August, when we celebrate our 30th birthday.