But plenty have adapted their businesses to deliver alcohol to your door or for click and collect, from restaurants selling cocktails to breweries selling direct to the consumer. We’ve rounded up some of the businesses across the Sunderland, Durham and South Tyneside area.
13. Durham Gin Distillery, Durham City
Durham Distillery has launched a Christmas delivery brochure with some great ideas for gifts. As well as its signature gin, you can pick up its new cask aged gin. Visit durhamdistillery.co.uk Photo: submitted
14. Vaux Brewery, Hylton Riverside, Sunderland
An excellent micro brewery named after the Sunderland institution that was Vaux. For beers and merchandise visit https://www.vaux.beer/ but you can also pick up their cans and bottles at other independent retailers mentioned in this list. Photo: JPI Media
15. WL Distillery, South Hetton, County Durham
This new micro distillery helped produce sanitiser for the NHS during lockdown and now it's bottling Christmas with a range of festive gins, with notes of clementine, baked apple and cinnamon. Visit www.wldistillery.com Photo: JPI Media