Groot Constantia Wine Tasting Tours in Cape Town

DRINKING BEFORE NOON | Darrin Henry

Constantia wine farms in Cape Town produces some of the finest wines in South Africa. The Groot Constantia wine estate is the country’s oldest and most prestigious and offer cellar and wine tasting tours. A great place to have our first such experience.

I’ve always been sceptical of wine connoisseurs who poke their noses in wine glasses and claim that hints of summer can be detected, along with fruity and spicy aromas. But, it’s difficult to ignore the romantic intrigue of wine appreciation, so I’ve decided to put it to the test during this visit to South Africa.

Groot Constantia Wine Tasting Tours

Groot Constantia wine estate is a short drive from Cape Town; a quilt of grapevine rows covering the lower valleys of the Constantia suburbs, behind Table Mountain. ‘Groot’ means ‘great’ in Afrikaans. The Constantia wine route is a must do when in the city.

The sight of helicopters dropping hundreds of gallons of water onto the fires ravaging the hillsides is an unlikely backdrop.

The Wine Making Process

Our tour guide is Chantelle and the first surprise is that we head upstairs and not down into a cellar as I had expected.

Basics of the Groot Constantia wine making process is explained first, before we move into the large, production room. From the raised gangway which spans the room, we gaze down on wine equipment; huge silver fermentation cylinders attended by a handful of workers.

It’s all very clean and tidy and efficient looking. Our group of five taking the tour discover the time old method of ‘treading’ grapes has been mechanised – another silver cylinder thingy, this time lying side on, one for red wine, one for white.

Wine Storage Barrels Of French Oak

Quality control is key, as you’d expect and the detail throughout the entire wine making process is fascinating. The grapes are harvested in the early morning due to optimum sugar content which varies during the day. Rose bushes are planted throughout the estate which acts as an early warning system for crop disease and pest control.

We exit the warehouse via one of the huge temperature regulated wine storage rooms containing over 300 barrels of red wine which are completing the final maturing phase before bottling. Temperature control is critical in the room or the wine will be spoiled. The wine storage barrels are specially imported French oak.

Wine Tasting Room

The wine tasting room is next, we each have five wine glasses with generous samples on the table before each of us; two white and three red. Sharon grins, she’s a professional wine taster wannabe.

Sceptical as I have been about wine tasting tours, it has been extremely interesting and I’m really up for giving this a go. I pay attention as Chantelle introduces the characteristics of each of the Groot Constantia wine samples.

I learn to hold the wine up to the light at an angle to check the colours; this apparently can tell you a lot about the age of the wine.

We then learn how to ‘swirl’ the wine – the special wine tasting glasses are bulb shaped to hold in the aroma.

All About Wine

Uncultured as I am, when the Groot Constantia wine tasting begins I swig and swallow rather than sip and absorb the taste. Chantelle notices I jumped the gun and tactfully explains how it should be done. This time I take a small sip and let it roll around on my tongue allowing my taste buds to discover the wine.

Chantelle is describing the red wine taste as a smoky, spicy flavour and, you know, for the first time I think I can actually taste the ‘character’ of the wine! I say as much and Sharon rolls her eyes at me, convinced I’m joking around. But I’m dead serious. I wouldn’t say I could join a discussion all about wine, but perhaps now I’d feel confident enough to nod in the right places.

Afterwards there’s an opportunity to purchase beautifully packaged bottles at reception, which we take; they’ll make great wine gifts for some friends we are visiting next week.

Groot Constantia Wine Tasting Times

If you’re visiting Cape Town I thoroughly recommend a visit to Groot Constantia wine estate. The first tour starts at 11am and it lasts the best part of an hour. If you’ve been a wine sceptic like me, keep an open mind, and you might be pleasantly surprised – like me. If you already have an appreciation for fine wine, then this is certain to be a treat. Groot Constantia’s quality wines, red in particular, are rated quite highly including Shiraz, Merlot and their Gouverneurs Reserve.

Groot Constantia Wine and The St Helena Link

The distinguished list of Groot Constantia wine consumers is impressive. As a Saint I’m pleasantly surprised to learn Napoleon Bonaparte, while exiled on St Helena, ordered it by the case-load. The estate information leaflet mentions that as Napoleon lay dying, his last request was for a glass of Constantia wine. I’ll have to check if they know this back home!

Constantia wine is mentioned in Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and Charles Dickens also wrote about it.

 

Aside from the cellar and wine tasting tour, the beautiful estate itself is something to see. The centre piece is a Cape Dutch style manor house dating back to the late 17th century, which was extensively restored after fire damage in 1925. It is now part of the South African Cultural History Museum.

The Groot Constantia wine cellar tour costs R50 (South African Rand), (£2.70 or $4.00) per person. It is included on the City Sightseeing bus tour route (Blue Peninsula) which runs from Cape Town. Present your ‘City Sightseeing’ ticket for R5 discount.

#lovecapetown

A note about the Cape Town fires mentioned at the start. The Cape Peninsula wild fires that burned on the hillsides from late February to early March 2015 burned thousands of hectares of vegetation. eNews Channel Africa reported more than a dozen homes were badly damaged and one helicopter pilot involved in fire suppression was killed when forced into a hard landing at Cape Point. Residents in the Cape Peninsula are used to wild fires in the summer periods.

Note: Currency conversion is based on early March 2015 exchange rates.