Let us face it, with lockdown in place, online shopping has become a huge part of our lives. On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that from 1 June, South Africans will be allowed to buy alcohol.
Just after the president's speech, there was chaos on social media, with memes and jokes doing the rounds about the mad rush that can be expected on the first day of opening liquor stores, but you can avoid this and order online. Buying wine online does not have to scare you.
We spoke with the co-founder of Wijn, Sarette van Den Heever, to share some tips and tricks that should help you when buying your wine online.
Wijn is a wine bar that offers wine lovers the opportunity to enjoy new wine experience with their unique and wide range of incredible boutiques wineries and wines.
Buying wine online does not have to scare you. Picture: Supplied
Firstly, support small, local businesses.
They are the ones that need your support most. And they are also usually the ones supporting small wineries, who make amazing wine.
If you're not sure what you're looking for, try a curated mixed case.
Most online wine shops offer mixed cases. It's a great way to explore new wines and to try one bottle of each wine. If you like it, then you can order more of that specific wine.
Have a look at delivery fees and also at the price of the wine.
Wine is a heavy item to courier so it can be a bit expensive to have it delivered. Most online shops offer free delivery above a specific order amount. In a lot of instances, if free delivery is offered irrespective of the order size, the price of the wine tends to be higher to compensate for delivery fees.
Buying wine online does not have to scare you. Picture: Supplied
Next, have a look if you can order bottles or if you have to order cases.
Wijn likes offering the option to order bottles because it allows you to put together your own selection and then you can try more different wines.
Lastly, be on the lookout for any special add-ons that are delivered with your wine.
You can go and buy a bottle of wine at any liquor store, but some online wine shops really focus on delivering a better experience. Some provide you with tasting notes with your wine or you can also attend a virtual wine tasting online of the wines you bought. These things give the wine more identity and also helps you to learn more about the wine when drinking it.