Constantia

Constantia is one of the oldest and most upmarket suburbs of Cape Town, with large plots set in leafy grounds. In the shadow of Table Mountain the area is green and cool with a good selection of luxury Constantia accommodation.

Winemaking in the Constantia area dates back to the 1600's when Simon van der Stel starting cultivating the first vines. Today his original estate has been split into smaller estates, each with their own history and makers of their own, world-renowned, wine.

Many of the old wine estates in this area, such as Groot Constantia and Klein Constantia, have impressive old homesteads with typical Cape Dutch architecture. The wine estates often offer cellar tours and have top-class restaurants on their grounds.

In the late 1980s a bottle of 1791 Constantia wine was discovered in the Duke of Northumberland's cellar in the UK, and returned to South Africa for a ceremonial tasting. Napoleon is said to have favoured the sweet wines of Constantia above all others and this 200 year-old deep amber liquid withstood the passing years amazingly well. The wine experts on the tasting panel rewarded its sweet fruity flavour with an incredible 18.7 points out of 20.

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