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How a COVID lockdown helped make an award-winning winemaker in South Africa
Her 1,400-vine micro-vineyard and Alinea debut wines drew praise from critics, launching a winemaking career built from a family garden.
In Cape Town, South Africa, Natasha Jacka produced award-winning wines from a micro-vineyard she planted in her parents' Noordhoek garden during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.
Previously a viticulture student in Stellenbosch, Jacka was 27 when the pandemic halted her studies, prompting her to recognize her parents' property as an opportunity to pursue her winemaking dream.
She squeezed 1,400 vines into two garden blocks to produce a white blend and a Syrah, though Spirit, the family's miniature horse, ate some young vines during the process.
Christian Eedes, editor of winemag.co.za, described the project as "a triumph of hope over good sense," noting that such handmade, craft wine is the "opposite of mass produced."
Jacka now manages her Alinea line of wines from regional grapes while continuing to operate the Noordhoek vineyard, handling picking, stomping, sales, and delivery herself.