Wine lovers often talk about wine having a personality. When we taste the right one, we "just know." Certain wines appeal to certain people more than others and finding one that interacts with your taste buds and emotions in just the right way is an exciting feeling, to say the least. How does a good wine come to convey such emotions? The Constantia Wine Route offers tourists and locals a glimpse into all the elements that contribute to an invigorating experience. History, aroma, maturation, sea
History of the Constantia Wine Route
There is a reason Constantia is known for its wine. The vineyards have existed for several hundred years, with each new season maturing the farms and changing the subtlety of flavours in their wine. Back in 1685, Simon Van der Stel established the first winery in Constantia. Since then, the town's wine community has flourished, introducing new vineyards, wine farms and merchants over the years.
- Since then, Constantia has become home to many wine farms, all of which are a part of the Constantia Wine Route. These popular wineries are:
- Klein Constantia
- Steenberg Vineyards
- Constantia Uitsig
- Buitenverwachting
- Groot Constantia
- Eagles’ Nest
- Constantia Glen
- Beau Constantia
- Silvermist Vineyards
Wine Farms to Visit
You really can't go wrong visiting wine farms in Constantia Wine Route. However, if you are trying to make the most of your time in Cape Town, South Africa, it is important to have a game plan. Below are some of the wineries that we highly recommend you visit. All you need to do is rent a car and you are good to go.
1) Groot Constantia
The Groot Constantia winery was the first to be established in South Africa. As you can imagine, there is a lot of history in this winery.
The winery produces an average of 68,000 cases (or 483 tons), making it quite a large wine farm. There are many great restaurants in the area, which also makes it a great place for a day trip. The wine farm offers tours every day of the week on the hour between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Make plans to visit!
2) Constantia Uitsig
Constantia Uitsig has a unique goal of being a very environmentally friendly and "green" winery. They are working to become a safe zone for native birds and plants. The result is a beautiful winery with a wide variety of flowers and amazing opportunities to observe the landscape.
The Constantia Uitsig wine farm is much smaller than the Groot Constantia, producing about 20,000 cases (or 120 tons). The wine farm is very proud of its fine red wines (its production is 90% red wines and 10% white wines).
Constantia Uitsig is home to some of the most flavorful, unique and delicate red wines in the country.
3) Klein Constantia
Klein Constantia is one of the more unique wineries on the Constantia Wine Route. Their production, while smaller than most (15,000 cases), focuses mainly on white wines. Their website claims that the vineyard, Klein Constantia, produces some of the greatest sweet and dessert wines in South Africa.
The slopes of the vineyard are cooled by the sea breezes on which it sits. It is believed that the wine from Klein Constantia Wine Farm best represents the history, climate and environment of Cape Town, South Africa.
There is hardly a dull experience to be had in Constantia Wine Route. Beautiful scenery, history, world-class red and white wines and incredible food are just a few of the many elements that make the wine farms of Cape Town, South Africa so amazing.
Plan a trip to Constantia Wine Route and have the experience of a lifetime. It is definitely worth it.
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