Groot Constantia

On 13 July 1685, Simon van der Stel, Governor of the Cape Colony, was granted a 763-hectare estate on the eastern slopes of the Constantiaberg by the Dutch East India Company. Van der Stel had identified the site during a personal survey of the peninsula and recognised the cooling influence of two oceans and the deep granite-derived soils as ideally suited to vines. He named the estate Constantia and planted the first vines, predominantly Muscat de Frontignan (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains), shortly thereafter. The first wine was made on the estate within a few years and Van der Stel oversaw the farm personally until his retirement in 1699, when he made it his permanent home. He died at Constantia in 1712 and is buried on the estate. After his death the original grant was sub-divided into Groot Constantia, Bergvliet, Klein Constantia and a number of smaller farms. Groot Constantia, literally 'Great Constantia,' retained the manor house and the historic cellar that Van der Stel had built.

• Granted to Simon van der Stel on 13 July 1685 by the Dutch East India Company; original grant was 763 hectares
• Van der Stel named the estate Constantia and planted the first vines, predominantly Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains
• Van der Stel retired to the estate in 1699, died there in 1712 and is buried on the property
• After his death the original grant was sub-divided; Groot Constantia ('Great Constantia') retained the manor house and historic cellar

Hendrik Cloete bought Groot Constantia at auction in 1778 and within a decade had transformed the unfortified late-harvest Muscat made on the estate into one of the most sought-after luxury wines in the world. Cloete commissioned the celebrated architect Louis Michel Thibault to redesign the manor house facade and the sculptor Anton Anreith to carve the gable of the new wine cellar, both completed in the 1790s. The wine itself, which became known simply as 'Constantia' or 'Vin de Constance,' was made from Muscat de Frontignan grapes left on the vine until they reached very high sugar levels and a portion of natural raisining without the influence of botrytis. It was shipped in distinctive squat dark glass bottles to the courts of Europe, where it was drunk by Napoleon in exile on Saint Helena, Frederick the Great of Prussia, King Louis Philippe of France and was name-checked in the novels of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. The phylloxera epidemic of the 1880s destroyed the Constantia vineyards and the Cloete family sold the estate to the South African government in 1885, ending the original era of the legendary sweet wine.

• Hendrik Cloete bought Groot Constantia at auction in 1778 and built the international reputation of the unfortified Constantia dessert wine
• Architect Louis Michel Thibault redesigned the manor house facade; sculptor Anton Anreith carved the wine cellar gable in the 1790s
• Constantia was consumed by Napoleon, Frederick the Great, King Louis Philippe and is name-checked in Jane Austen and Charles Dickens
• Phylloxera destroyed the vineyards in the 1880s; the Cloete family sold the estate to the South African government in 1885

The manor house and the Cloete Wine Cellar of Groot Constantia are National Heritage Sites and form one of the most significant collections of 17th and 18th century Cape-Dutch architecture in southern Africa. The Cape-Dutch style, with its distinctive curved gables, thatched roofs and lime-washed white walls, was largely codified at Groot Constantia and the estate became the template that the rest of the Cape Winelands emulated. The manor house passed to the South African Cultural History Museum in 1969, marking the beginning of its formal life as a museum and heritage site. In 1976 the Groot Constantia Control Board was established by the South African government to take over the viticultural and wine-making functions, separating the wine farm from the manor house. The Groot Constantia Trust, a non-profit company, was established in 1993 to own and operate the wine business in its entirety. In 1998 the South African Cultural History Museum was absorbed into Iziko Museums of South Africa, the umbrella body that now operates the manor house, the Cloete Cellar (the original 1791 building), the orientation centre and the slavery exhibition as a museum complex on the Groot Constantia property.

• Manor house and Cloete Cellar are National Heritage Sites; the most significant collection of 17th and 18th century Cape-Dutch architecture in southern Africa
• South African Cultural History Museum took control of the manor in 1969; Groot Constantia Control Board took over viticulture in 1976
• Groot Constantia Trust was established in 1993 as the non-profit company that owns and operates the wine farm today
• Iziko Museums of South Africa absorbed the SACHM in 1998 and now operates the manor house, Cloete Cellar and slavery exhibition as a museum complex

Groot Constantia farms approximately 90 hectares of vineyards on the eastern slopes of the Constantiaberg in the Constantia ward of the Cape Town district. The vineyards rise from around 100 metres at the lower edge of the farm to nearly 300 metres on the upper slopes. Soils are predominantly decomposed granite over the Cape Granite Suite, with seams of weathered Table Mountain sandstone and shale that drain well and force vines to root deeply. The Constantia ward sits on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula between Table Mountain to the north and False Bay to the south, giving it one of the most maritime cool-climate signatures of any wine region near a major city in the world. The cooling Cape Doctor, a strong south-easterly wind that blows reliably during summer, moderates daytime temperatures and helps preserve the bright natural acidity that defines Constantia Sauvignon Blanc. The estate plants a diverse range of varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Muscat de Frontignan, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Shiraz and Pinot Noir.

• Approximately 90 hectares of vineyards on the eastern slopes of the Constantiaberg; altitudes from roughly 100 to 300 metres
• Decomposed granite soils over the Cape Granite Suite with seams of Table Mountain sandstone and shale; deep-rooting vines
• Maritime cool-climate signature; the Cape Doctor south-easterly wind moderates summer temperatures and preserves acidity
• Diverse plantings including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Muscat de Frontignan, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Shiraz and Pinot Noir

Grand Constance is Groot Constantia's modern revival of the legendary historic Constantia dessert wine, released for the first time in modern form with the 2003 vintage. It is made from both white and red Muscat de Frontignan (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains) grapes in an unfortified late-harvest style without botrytis, paying homage to the wines that the Cloete family made for the courts of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Grand Constance is packaged in a heavy antique-style bottle modelled on the original 18th-century Cape design. Alongside Grand Constance, the modern Groot Constantia portfolio includes the Gouverneurs Reserve, a flagship Bordeaux blend, and the Gouverneurs Reserve White, a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend in the Pessac-Leognan tradition. The estate also produces single-varietal Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz under both the standard Estate range and a higher Reserve tier. A Cap Classique sparkling wine completes the range. Total annual production is around 600,000 bottles.

• Grand Constance dessert wine revived in 2003 from both white and red Muscat de Frontignan; unfortified, without botrytis, in homage to the historic Cloete-era Constantia
• Gouverneurs Reserve is the flagship red, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and (in some vintages) Malbec
• Gouverneurs Reserve White is a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend in the Pessac-Leognan tradition
• Estate and Reserve ranges across Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz; Cap Classique completes the portfolio

Daniel Keulder is the current cellarmaster of Groot Constantia, having succeeded Boela Gerber in 2023 after Gerber's remarkable 22-year tenure (Gerber joined in 2001 and went on to take a position at Southwest Mountains Vineyards in Virginia). Gerber's era was the most internationally decorated in the estate's modern history, with the wines winning more than 100 major local and international awards. Cobus du Plessis is the assistant winemaker. The estate hosts two restaurants on the property: Jonkershuis, set in a building dating to the original Van der Stel-era homestead and serving traditional Cape Malay and Cape cuisine, and the Simon's restaurant (formerly Pavilion) in a modern building overlooking the vineyards. The combined wine, heritage and restaurant offering makes Groot Constantia one of the most visited wine destinations in South Africa, with more than 400,000 visitors annually.

• Daniel Keulder is the current cellarmaster, succeeding Boela Gerber in 2023 after Gerber's 22-year tenure (2001 to 2023)
• Boela Gerber's era was the most internationally decorated in modern Groot Constantia history; left for Southwest Mountains Vineyards in Virginia
• Cobus du Plessis is the assistant winemaker
• Restaurants on the property include Jonkershuis (traditional Cape and Cape Malay cuisine) and Simon's (modern); over 400,000 visitors annually

Groot Constantia is the most historically significant wine estate in South Africa and arguably one of the most historically significant wine estates anywhere in the world. The Manor House, Cloete Cellar and the Anreith-carved cellar gable are National Heritage Sites and remain extraordinary expressions of Cape-Dutch architecture. The Grand Constance has won International Wine Challenge gold and trophy awards multiple times since the 2003 revival and is widely regarded alongside Klein Constantia's Vin de Constance as the modern legacy of the original historic Constantia sweet wine. The Gouverneurs Reserve has been a multiple Veritas Double Gold winner and a regular feature in Tim Atkin MW's higher tiers in his annual South Africa Report. The estate remains an outlier in the modern Cape wine industry: it is owned by a non-profit trust rather than a private family, it is operated as a heritage site as well as a wine farm, and a significant portion of all surplus revenue is reinvested into the heritage buildings, the museum collection and educational and community programmes on the estate.

• National Heritage Sites: Manor House, Cloete Cellar and the Anreith-carved cellar gable; one of the most historically significant wine estates in the world
• Grand Constance has won International Wine Challenge gold and trophy multiple times since the 2003 revival
• Gouverneurs Reserve is a multiple Veritas Double Gold winner and regular feature in Tim Atkin MW's higher tiers
• Owned by the non-profit Groot Constantia Trust; surplus reinvested in heritage, museum collection and community programmes