AFTER THE PARTY

SA’S opposition politics is enough to drive one to drink. Luckily, there’s a fine establishment in Pretoria that will allow you to indulge in style . . .

Iheaved a huge sigh of relief when Cyril Ramaphosa was victorious over Nkosazana Dlaminizuma at the ANC conference in December. The good times were back. The rand strengthened, business and consumer confidence shot up, ratings agencies made encouraging noises and everywhere you looked South Africans had a bounce in their step. We had become kangaroos in a day. It was great.

It hasn’t lasted. Have you seen what the opposition parties are doing to themselves? The EFF — a pretty good parliamentary opposition since 2014 — seems desperate as it tries to convince us that following Robert Mugabe’s lead on land expropriation without compensation will be good for us.

Worse, the party tells us all land will be nationalised and the state will redistribute it. Imagine old Malema equitably sharing out the land. Yeah, right.

It’s not just the EFF that makes you want to grab a bottle of something strong and drink straight from it. The

DA, after steadily improving its electoral showing, is eating itself alive. It seems to be fighting over everything.

It’s a mess. Even after the party fasttracked a special clause in its constitution to get rid of Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, it still can’t do it. High achievers, no?

Meanwhile, Kenneth Meshoe is the leader of the African Christian Democratic Party while Mangosuthu Buthelezi remains IFP leader 43 years after he founded his party.

Succession planning is clearly not his strong suit.

At the rate we are going, Jacob

Zuma will have to start his new Mickey Mouse political party so we can have some opposition. still

That thought alone makes me want to drink.

Which is why when I stumbled upon The Good Oaks in Pretoria a few months ago, I walked right in. I like a good wine shop. I am often found contemplating the wines at Norman Goodfellows in Illovo, Johannesburg.

I have even popped into some lowend liquor joints — research, you see.

A key essential of any great wine shop is a front-of-store person who knows what he or she is talking about — or pretends you, the client, know what you are talking about.

When I entered The Good Oaks for the first time, it was hosting one of its regular wine tastings. It was after a hard political day, so I went straight for the hard-liquor section. A young woman by the name of Evodia knowledgeably took me through the small gin section, the vodka section and the whiskies. She knew her stuff.

The Good Oaks is a beautifully appointed, high-end wine shop (it refers to itself as a sommelier and liquor connoisseur). It is incredibly wellstocked, inviting and the staff know one or two things about wine and spirits. It hosts lots of wine tastings.

On any day of the week there is a wine or two to taste. On my second visit

Evodia gave me a taste of a chenin blanc that came highly recommended. It was okay, I thought, but not to my taste.

I left happy, though. I’d sampled a Free State vodka called Die Groot Komunis. Who would have thought something so delicious could come out of the Free State? I bought a couple of bottles of that, while on the wine side I took home a wonderful Stark Condé white blend, a Catherine Marshall sauvignon blanc and a few other dry whites.

I went home and sipped on my wine. After a few sips I knew: SA is still a wonderful country.

At the rate we are going, Jacob Zuma will have to start his new Mickey Mouse political party so we can have some opposition

The Good Oaks ★★★★

Lynnwood Bridge Shopping Centre 4 Daventry Street, Lynnwood Manor, Pretoria Tel: 083-225-6748

★★★★★ Thuli Madonsela ★★★★ Excellent ★★★ Good ★★ Poor ★ Jacob Zuma