• Menu
  • Menu

Klein Constantia Wine Estate

Historical vineyard, with royal distinction

A beautiful location against the Constantiaberg mountain. This vineyard lays accessible at the foot of the mountain, yet stretches high up the slopes. This is not only good for sweeping views of False Bay, but also great terroir for Sauvignon Blanc. This must be one of the most scenically beautiful wine estates.

A little history of Groot Constantia

Originally also part of the farm Constantia, which was granted to Simon van der Stel in 1685, the VOC Governor of the Cape of Good Hope at the time.

After the death of Simon van der Stel, the farm was broken up into smaller portions Groot Constantia; Klein Constantia; and Bergvliet.

This valley is not only scenically beautiful, but has good decomposed granite rock, on steep slopes. These slopes create cool updrafts from the ocean, which allow for slower ripening grapes. This breeze creates wines with great complexity.

The valley was well known, for its sweet dessert wine which was greatly sought after by the aristocracy of the 18th and 19th century. In this tradition Klein Constantia revived the wine under the label Vin de Constance in 1986.

Groot Constantia at a glance

Wines of note

  • Brut Methode Cap Classique Reserve
  • Chardonnay
  • Estate Red Blend
  • Glen Dirk Sauvignon Blanc
  • Metis Sauvignon Blanc
  • Perdeblokke Sauvignon Blanc – this author’s favourite
  • Riesling
  • Vin de Constance – a have to try naturally sweet Muscat dessert wine

Winemaker

Matthew Day

Viticulturist

Craig Harris

Reasons to visit

  • Vin de Constance – a fine example of the Constantia valley dessert wines, as favoured by emperors, kings and other world famous personalities over the centuries
  • Exceptional Sauvignon Blanc, wooded and non-wooded, also a fine red blend and Brut Methode Cap Classique sparling wine.
  • Steeped in history, the original estate was chosen for it’s fruitful soil with exceptional and peaceful views over mountains and ocean, with some of the best views in the Western Cape.
  • Fine restaurant

Best time to visit

All year destination. Early morning and late afternoon, is the best photographic and walking times.

What to do at Groot Constantia wine estate

Highlights on the estate

  • Historic buildings
  • Exceptional restaurants
  • Wine tasting of world renowned wines

Things to do or see

  • Wine tasting
  • Photography
  • Country style bistro restaurant

For children

There are no specific child friendly facilities

Outdoors

  • Wander down the vineyard road

South African home grown

Vin de Constance is a jewel of South African dessert wine

Events

No annual public events

Contact

website: Klein Constantia
email: Enquiries
tel: +27 (0)21-794-5188

Social Media

Facebook: Klein Constantia
Instagram: Klein Constantia
Twitter: Klein Constania

Restaurants

The Bistro @ Klein Constantia

Bistro style menu

website: The Bistro @ Klein Constantia
email: Enquiries
tel: +27 (0)21-794-5188

Wine tasting

Monday to Saturday
10h00 – 17h00

Sundays
10h00 – 16h00

Note: wine tastings end 30 minutes prior to closing.

Other vineyards on this wine route

Constantia wine route

Jacques Fouche

Jacques has been a keen travel junkie, for as long as he can remember. Having spent his childhood in Namibia, Limpopo province in South Africa (near the Kruger National Park ) and KZN in South Africa and later Cape Town, always been surrounded by nature and beautiful scenery. Qualifying as a safari guide in 1996, Jacques guided over virtually all possible natural eco systems and travelled over hundreds of thousands of kilometers, through all the southern African countries. Later he spent 8 years living and working in Austria, mixing cultural, city and natural scenic travels all across Europe.

View stories

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.