CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) 鈥� Like millions of others, Natasha Jacka went stir-crazy during a lockdown in 2020, until it dawned on her that there might be great opportunity in having nowhere to go.
Jacka used and the suspension of her studies at an agricultural college to plant her own vineyard at her family home in . It was a way to fast forward her dream of becoming a winemaker by bringing it, literally, within reach.
Nothing in moves too fast, though, and it was four years before the first harvest and vintage.
Jacka’s debut wines from grapevines she planted, cared for and harvested in the yard of her parents’ sea-facing home in 鈥� also stomping the grapes herself 鈥� were greeted with high praise by critics.
What a relief, she said.
鈥淚t could have been so much work and if it doesn鈥檛 deliver, you know, then you just feel … I can鈥檛 imagine how I’d feel,鈥� Jacka said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 looking at it like, oh this is going to make a fortune or anything like that. This is a labor of love.鈥�
Christian Eedes, the editor of South Africa’s respected online wine review publication winemag.co.za, said Jacka’s project was 鈥渁 triumph of hope over good sense鈥� given how difficult it is to produce fine wine and turn a profit from such a small vineyard.
Jacka squeezed 1,400 vines into two blocks in her parents’ garden, which had at one time been part of a smallholding. One batch to produce a white blend, the other a . That’s a tiny number considering regular wine farms usually have more than 50,000 vines.
鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of space in the world for craft and handmade,鈥� Eedes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the opposite of mass produced. It鈥檚 made with thought and care and typically hard to come by.鈥�
COVID struck at the height of Jacka’s ambition. She was 27 and, tired of working for grumpy chefs, had left a job in the restaurant business to study viticulture at an agricultural college in the winemaking town of Stellenbosch, just outside Cape Town.
She was following her passion and full of zest, she said, when the pandemic reduced her world to the boundaries of her parents’ home in the Cape Town suburb of Noordhoek. Then, one day, she saw potential there.
鈥淚 was actually looking out the window and I thought, imagine if there were vines here,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was a small spark.鈥�
That was followed by conversations with her family to get their buy-in, and then a large amount of work.
Jacka needed to clear the ground, procure more than 1,000 vines, and plant each one of them with a tall wooden stake to hold them. Her parents helped, though mom Sonia was soon banned from the planting process after putting one vine in upside down.
There were also curious neighbors to reassure and an unexpected challenge to negotiate from a miniature horse called Spirit that the family keeps on the property. Spirit thought the vines were tasty.
鈥淲e lost one or two vines,鈥� Jacka said. 鈥淚t was hard to make it horse proof as well.鈥�
Now 32 years old, Jacka’s Noordhoek project has been the inspiration for a larger winemaking career. Her Alinea line of wines currently includes five others she’s produced from grapes sourced from other parts of the region around Cape Town, which has a rich winemaking tradition.
She’s still looking forward to the next vintage from her vines in Noordhoek, though, as she continues to play the role of picker, stomper, labeller, sales rep, accountant and delivery truck driver there, she said with a laugh.
Eedes, the wine critic who gave Jacka her first positive reviews, said he’s still fascinated by the micro-vineyard that grew out of a COVID lockdown.
鈥淪he managed to not be bored, like we all were,鈥� Eedes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really just an extraordinary undertaking.鈥�
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AP video journalist Neil Shaw contributed to this report.
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