SO UNTIL further notice, if you trip out along any of South Africa’s wonderful wine routes over the weekend, you can wine and dine to your heart’s content but you can’t buy any bottles to pack into the boot of your car… Which might well put you off!

Following a period of prohibition for which the government came under a lot of flak, the regulations applicable during the Coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown were relaxed and the sale of liquor was permitted again as of 18 August 2020 (www.gov.za). However, with the State of Disaster set to continue until mid-September at least, the sale of alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption is permissible only from 9am to 5pm on Mondays to Thursdays, whereas the sale of wine, beer and spirits at restaurants and bars is permitted all week, day and night, except after 10pm when a curfew kicks in.

Cape wine farms, as per liquor retail stores in the country’s towns and cities, will only be able to sell on a take-away basis from Mondays to Thursdays. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, wineries may continue to offer tastings and to sell wine for enjoyment at their bars and restaurants, but wine may not be sold from such venues on these days if it is not for consumption there and then.

Sniff!