His red wine collection is the "love of his life" - but could spell trouble for wine collector Aubrey Keller.
|||Cape Town - His red wine collection is the “love of his life” - but could spell trouble for Aubrey Keller, 75, of Kenilworth, who has been collecting wine for 52 years and has had a wine cellar for 40 years.
Now he has over 2 000 bottles of wine in his cellar and could be in trouble as the new liquor laws prohibit one from having more than 200 bottles of wine, or 150 litres, on your premises.
Keller has slammed the new regulation as “ludicrous”.
With only South African red wines in his collection, he had 3 000 bottles at one stage and currently has 2 000 bottles.
His collection includes a cabernet sauvignon from 1984 which cost R4 a bottle in 1986 and is now worth R265.
Then there’s a bottle of wine he received in Spain which was bottled in the year of his birth, 1938
Keller’s love affair with red wine started when he was 16. He jokes that he “cut his teeth” on Tassenberg.
Last week the Western Cape Liquor Authority announced that if you have over the stipulation you have to apply for written consent from a presiding officer at the Liquor Licensing Tribunal.
The application must be done as an affidavit, commissioned by the Commissioner of Oaths including why the liquor is being stored, the type of liquor, a plan of the storage area and colour photographs of the area.
Offenders can face a fine of up to R100 000 or a jail term of less than six months.
The 150-litre limit is part of the Western Cape Liquor Act which came into effect last year and is aimed at curbing illegal trading from residences.
When Keller first heard about this in March he thought it was an April Fools joke.
“It sounded so ludicrous. I don’t even know how something like this came about because it makes no sense.”
“If they are worried about shebeens then close them and fine them but you can’t come after someone’s private collection,” he said.
The Western Cape Liquor Authority said since the act came into effect last year no one has been fined. Authorities will rely on complaints from the public to police the situation.
“If this gives them the right to come into my home at anytime then that’s invasion of privacy,” Keller said.
zara.nicholson@inl.co.za
Cape Times