Cradle of Cape Wine, Constantia

Bounded each side by the Table Mountain National Park, the Constantia Valley is conveniently located in the centre of Cape Town’s Peninsula, only 20 minutes drive from Cape Town. The breathtaking beauty of a valley where vineyard rows stretch up the mountainside - within minutes of a capital city - is unique in today's overcrowded world. The big five of Constantia are Steenberg, Constantia Uitsig, Buitenverwachting, Klein Constantia and Groot Constantia and if you travelling from Cape Town you will come across each of them in that order.

Constantia is the birthplace of the wine farming industry in South Africa. It is also home to the world famous 19th century Constantia sweet dessert wines. Napoleon cellared it, Jane Austin wrote about it, and even Queen Victoria requested a glass of ‘sweet Constantia’ every evening after dinner. (Klein Constantia now produces its equivalent – Vin de Constance). It is said that the first Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel, named his property after Constanza, the little daughter of his benefactor. We know the entire area now as Constantia and what is now Groot Constantia Wine Estate used to be the site of his 17th century wine farm.

Constantia is considered a cool climate wine producing area. Open directly to False Bay it benefits from its’ cool and moisture laden breezes. While the breezes and afternoon mountain shadow moderate the daytime temperature, cloud cover and overnight condensation increase the relative humidity which often leads to Botrytis (also known as noble rot and fruit affected by noble rot is used in dessert wines). Another important feature of Constantia is its early morning sun which dries the vineyards from dew, aiding the prevention of vine diseases and irrigation is unnecessary due to relatively high annual rainfall.

Even though it is a cool climate region, due to topographical variations, the area is suited to both red and white varieties.

Varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon are planted on the foothills enjoying slightly longer sunlight hours enabling them to ripen fully. Red wines produced from Constantia show fine berry fruit and tight tannins and reflect a cool climate structure and elegance with moderate (for South Africa) alcohol levels of 13% to 14%. Buitenverwachting reds that are matured 100% in French oak are cellared for four years before release to allow integration and result in powerful & majestic but elegant and balanced wines. Constantia Uitsigs’ reds have lush ripe fruit and soft silky tannins.

Heat sensitive Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay excel in this cool climate, showing strong aromatics, distinct varietal fruit and impressive concentration, while a naturally high acidity gives the wines longevity. Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc shows complex herbaceous notes mixed with tropical fruit flavours. Constantia Uitsigs’ Semillon does extremely well, with wood maturation giving an oily lanolin characteristic but maintaining freshness, while their Chardonnays have strong minerality and flintiness.

Recently, the major wineries in Constantia decided to use a unique crested bottle for their flagship wines, promoting Constantia and the collective range of their wines in premium glassware.