"In New Zealand and Australia anywhere from 70 to 80 per cent of the frontline essential workers that were working during Covid lockdowns were women," Donson said.
"There have been some really interesting research studies done around the world about what happened at home during lockdown periods of Covid-19, and what we have seen is a reverting to those traditional gender roles where women predominantly have taken the role of being the carer in the home. Also those women who have had children at home have been predominantly the ones doing homeschooling," Donson said.
The Winter Wonder Fest started after Donson noticed women's "winter patterns".
"I noticed that there are some women that I only ever see from a support perspective during the winter months and we can put that down to seasonal affective disorder," she said.
"A lot of people feel completely okay during the rest of the year but the wintertime comes, we get the darker days, serotonin levels drop, people go into that natural hibernating rhythm and sometimes during those winter times they feel a little bit more socially disconnected."
So it's in the spirit of warming women's spirits that Van der Walt has chosen Sherries, Pinots and Port in her introduction to wine tasting being held on Tuesday, July 20, from 5.30-7pm - bookings essential.
Made with funding from