Constantia: Oldest Wine Region
Napoleon had 1,126 litres of this wine shipped annually to his St. Helena prison — on his deathbed in 1821, he refused food, medicine, and everything except a glass of Constantia wine. Simon van der Stel chose this valley in 1685 after testing soil across the entire Cape; inside his 1791 cellar, a real Grand Constance bottle from 1821 sits in a display case, originally destined for Napoleon, who died before it arrived. And you can taste the resurrected sweet Muscat that Baudelaire called better than opium.
A Wine Memories experience · winememories.fi
Country
🇿🇦 South Africa
Duration
Half day
How to Complete
5 steps curated by Wine Memories
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Inside the 1791 Cloete Cellar, a 200-year-old bottle of Grand Constance waits. It was made for Napoleon. He died before it arrived.
🍷 Log Memory📍 WHERE: The Cloete Cellar Museum, inside Groot Constantia estate. Follow signs from the main entrance past the manor house — the cellar is the building with the ornate sculptural facade (more on that below). The 1821 bottle is displayed inside.
💡 WHAT: This is a real bottle of Grand Constance from 1821, originally destined for Napoleon Bonaparte's island prison on St. Helena. Napoleon was having 1,126 litres of this wine shipped to him every year — up to a bottle a day. He called it 'Las Cases' wine' after the count who arranged the deliveries. In May 2021, a single bottle from the same vintage sold at auction for R420,000 ($30,000 USD) — experts predicted $6,000 to $9,000. The bottle on display went back where it was made: these cellar walls.
🎯 HOW: Entry to the Cloete Cellar is included in the R115 Visitors Route ticket (manor + cellar + 5-wine tasting + Spiegelau glass to keep). Cellar open daily 10:00–16:00. Once inside, look for the display case near the historic wine vessels. Ask a staff member to point out the 1821 bottle specifically — it's easy to walk past.
🔄 BACKUP: If the display has moved or is under maintenance, the cellar itself is the story — a functioning wine production space from 1791 that survived everything except a 1925 fire (the walls are original; everything above was rebuilt by 1927). The wine museum within it traces wine vessels from antiquity to the 20th century.
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The sculpture on the wine cellar facade is not decoration — it's the myth of wine as a divine act, carved by a German sculptor in 1791.
🍷 Log Memory📍 WHERE: Standing in front of the Cloete Cellar building at Groot Constantia — the sculptural pediment is directly above the cellar entrance, facing the courtyard. You see it from 20 metres away.
💡 WHAT: What looks like decorative baroque excess is actually 'The Rape of Ganymede' — Zeus, disguised as an eagle, abducting the beautiful youth who became the cup-bearer to the Greek gods. Surrounding them: putti figures, bunches of grapes, wine vats. German sculptor Anton Anreith (1754–1822) carved this in lime plaster in 1791, fixed to the building with wrought-iron nails. Art historians consider it one of the most important sculptures in South Africa. The date 1791 may be the year of an exceptional harvest that owner Hendrik Cloete wanted carved into stone forever. The man who commissioned Napoleon's wine cellar chose the mythology of divine wine service as his emblem.
🎯 HOW: No entry ticket needed — you can see the pediment from the estate grounds, which are free to walk. Take your time. The detail only becomes visible when you stand close enough to see the individual grapes. The architect, Louis Michel Thibault, designed the building in 1789–1791 after arriving from France as a military engineer. He and Anreith worked as a team on multiple Cape buildings.
🔄 BACKUP: Photograph it in morning light (south-facing facade, best before midday) for the sharpest shadows on the relief sculpture.
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The sweet Constantia wine was extinct for over 100 years. One winemaker used old ledgers and a nursery clone to bring it back. This is what Napoleon died asking for.
🍷 Log Memory📍 WHERE: Klein Constantia tasting room, Klein Constantia Road, Constantia — a 5-minute drive from Groot Constantia (or 20-min walk through the greenbelt). Coordinates: -34.038, 18.419. Booking is MANDATORY — this is appointment-only with limited daily capacity. Book via kleinconstantia.com/tasting before your trip.
💡 WHAT: Vin de Constance is the wine that Napoleon drank up to a bottle a day during his exile. Jane Austen's Mrs Jennings prescribed it for broken hearts in Sense and Sensibility (1811). Baudelaire wrote in Les Fleurs du Mal: 'Even more than Constantia, than opium, than Nuits, I prefer the elixir of your mouth.' Then phylloxera hit in the 1870s. The wine disappeared. For over 100 years, nobody knew exactly how it was made. In 1982, Professor Chris Orffer tracked down a vine clone believed to be descended from the original 1685 vineyard — planted it at Klein Constantia. Duggie Jooste and winemaker Ross Gower pieced the recipe together from old ledgers and diaries. The 1986 vintage was their first attempt. You're tasting the resurrection of a 300-year lineage.
🎯 HOW: The experience includes a guided cellar tour and a vertical tasting of 3 vintages of Vin de Constance (made from Muscat de Frontignan, late-harvested without botrytis — raisin concentration by sun, not rot). You also get access to the wine-library selection unavailable to the general public. Bottles retail from R2,284–R6,852. Ask to hear the Professor Orffer vineyard-detective story.
🔄 BACKUP: If Klein Constantia is fully booked, Groot Constantia's Grand Constance (their own revival, 2003 vintage, ~$194 retail) is available in the tasting room — also from Muscat de Frontignan, also extraordinary, also on the estate where the story started.
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The Cape Malay cuisine at Jonkershuis restaurant exists because the VOC brought enslaved people from Indonesia and Malaysia to this valley in the 1600s. The bobotie recipe predates the wine estate.
🍷 Log Memory📍 WHERE: Jonkershuis Eatery, inside Groot Constantia estate — the thatched building next to the Manor House, set under ancient oak trees. You pass it on the way in. Tel: 021 794 6255. Open for lunch daily.
💡 WHAT: 'Jonkershuis' means 'dower house' — traditionally the home of the estate widow or eldest son after marriage. The cuisine it now serves is Cape Malay: a direct culinary inheritance from the enslaved workers the Dutch East India Company brought from Indonesia, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian territories to work this land in the 17th and 18th centuries. Bobotie — gently spiced minced lamb or beef topped with savoury custard, baked until the egg sets — traces its name to the Malayan word *boemboe* (curry spices) and appeared in a Dutch cookbook in 1609, nearly 80 years before this estate existed. Order it with sultana and almond turmeric rice and cinnamon butternut. Pair with Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve (the house's flagship red, 4.5 stars from Platters Guide).
🎯 HOW: No reservation usually required for lunch, but booking ahead is safer in peak season (Dec–Feb). The Cape Malay lamb curry comes with roti, poppadom, sambals. Budget approximately R150–R250 per person for a main + glass of wine. Ask staff about the Jonkershuis building's history — the dower house has its own story separate from the estate.
🔄 BACKUP: Buitenverwachting restaurant (10 mins drive, 37 Klein Constantia Rd) is consistently rated among South Africa's top 10 restaurants. Summer picnic baskets under old oaks are available with pre-booking. R100 for a 5-wine tasting before lunch.
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The 9km Constantia Greenbelt links every estate through vineyards, river trails, and Tokai Forest. At dusk, with a glass of wine still on your lips, it's the final scene of a perfect day.
🍷 Log Memory📍 WHERE: The Constantia Greenbelt — access points at Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Buitenverwachting, and Tokai Forest. The trail system follows the Keysers River and Diep River through the valley. Free to enter from any estate.
💡 WHAT: In February 2016, after public consultation, Cape Town officially opened the greenbelt to cyclists. On foot, the walk from Groot Constantia to Klein Constantia takes about 20–25 minutes through working vineyards on decomposed granite soils — the same ancient geology that gives Constantia wine its cool, mineral backbone. The False Bay breeze drops the temperature by 4–5°C here in the afternoon. Klein Constantia's south-facing slope is 7km from the sea. You feel it. At golden hour the Constantiaberg lights up behind the vines.
🎯 HOW: No ticket, no booking — just walk. Wear comfortable shoes; some trail sections have rocks and tree roots. For cycling, the single track along Keysers River continues to Tokai Forest (4km circular loop). AWOL Tours offers guided mountain biking experiences if you want company. The trail connects you to a region where wine has been made on this exact land since 1685.
🔄 BACKUP: If it's raining or too late for the trail, the Constantia Greenbelt map is available at grootconstantia.co.za — the self-guided vineyard audio tour (free app) covers the same landscape within the estate grounds.