The year of the pandemic tipped the Cape wine industry into the crisis it had been skirting for several years.
The ban on domestic wine sales wiped out 40% of the trading year. A complete prohibition on exports during lockdown level 5 cost about 80 million litres of sales. Restrictions affecting the hospitality sector caused restaurants to be unable to trade; the number of foreign visitors slowed to a trickle. By mid-2020 the volume of uncontracted bulk inventory in the industry added up to almost 300 million litres...A subscription gives you full digital access to all Sunday Times content.