Exploring the oldest wine farm in South Africa, admiring the 1685 Cape Dutch architecture, sitting in an art gallery with an internationally awarded glass of vino in my hand…
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Usually having visitors means ‘doing the tourist-y thing’. But for me, this wasn’t a chore. A couple of weeks ago we had a request to take our visiting family to “the oldest wine farm in South Africa”. After doing a quick Google search, I was very happy to find that they were referring to none other than the Groot Constantia Estate, which, happily, is right in my ‘backyard’.
The historic Constantia Wine Route (the birthplace of the wine farming industry in South Africa) is situated in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town. Driving along it, I realised just how much I have right here on my doorstep and how easy it is to pass these places daily without remembering to stop and explore. The scenery itself is just gorgeous and of course there are the 5 wine farms along the route, each with their own unique offerings
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We headed directly the Groot Constantia Estate situated in Constantia Nek.
We tasted 5 different wines and received a souvenir tasting glass (all for only R25!) Personally, favouring red wine, I absolutely LOVED their Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve - But then who wouldn’t when it came 1st out of 20 - Good Taste Magazine 2008; it was awarded the Gold Award in the 2007 Swiss International Air Lines Wine Awards as well as a Silver for the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2008. Delicious.
While enjoying the wine and roaming around looking at the art they have displayed, I also saw that Groot Constantia is one Cape Town’s Big 6.
Having been abroad for a few years and only recently back in Cape Town I’d forgotten all about this, but looking at it again, it does nicely capture the ‘must see’ places for anyone visiting Cape Town.
The Big 6 include: V & A Waterfront, Table Mountain Cableway, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Robben Island Museum, Cape Point and of course, there is so much to see at Groot Constantia
The views from the estate are simply marvellous! It was a lovely day out and it has inspired me to take some time out this summer and get to the other farms along this route as well.
PS: We also noticed while we were walking around that you can arrange picnics on the lawn under great shady trees overlooking the vineyard – check out the Simon’s at Groot Constantia for info on that one - sounds perfect for a special occassion.
