Groot Constantia is the oldest wine estate in South Africa and provincial heritage site in the suburb of Constantia in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa. "Groot" in Dutch and Afrikaans translates as "great" (as in large) in English.

History

In 1685, during an annual visit to the Cape, Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein granted the grounds of Groot Constantia to

Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the last commander and first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony, the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. Background Simon was the son of Adriaan van der Steland Maria Lievens, ...

the VOC Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. Van der Stel built the house and used the land to produce wine as well as other fruit and vegetables, and for cattle farming. Following Van der Stel's death in 1712 the estate was broken up and sold in three parts: Groot Constantia; Klein Constantia; and Bergvliet. In 1779 the portion of the estate including Van der Stel's Cape Dutch-style manor house was sold to the Cloete family, who planted extensive vineyards and extended and improved the mansion by commissioning the architect

Louis Michel Thibault Louis Michel Thibault (28 September 1750 – 15 November 1815), was a French-born South African architect and engineer who designed numerous buildings in the Cape Colony. He was South Africa's first trained architect and brought with him a ...

. The wine cellar was added by Cloete in 1791. The house remained in the possession of the Cloete family until 1885, during which period the estate became famous for its production of Constantia dessert wine. In 1885 Groot Constantia was purchased by the government of the Cape of Good Hope and was used as an experimental wine and agricultural estate.winepros.com.au Following a disastrous fire in 1925 the house was extensively restored. In the year 1925 the manor house completely burnt down. Funds were raised to reconstruct it to its original Cape Dutch splendour. In 1969 the manor house became part of the South African Cultural History Museum, and in 1993 the estate passed into the ownership of the Groot Constantia Trust. The exhibition in the house is managed by

Iziko South African Museum The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important ...

, and is particularly focused on rural

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and the life of slaves during the early Cape colonial period. Today, other estates have joined Groot Constantia to form the scenic Constantia wine route. These estates include Klein Constantia, Buitenverwachting, Constantia Uitsig, Steenberg, Constantia Glen, Eagles Nest and High Constantia.

Wine production

Groot Constantia is noted particularly for its production of high-quality red wines, including

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

, Merlot and blended red Gouverneurs Reserve. In 2003 the estate began production of a Constantia dessert wine, called Grand Constance, for the first time since the 1880s.

Popular culture

* A number of scenes for the 1955 movie ''Untamed'' was set at and within Groot Constantia after the protagonist discovers a diamond and returns to Cape Town to live in a stately mansion.

Gallery

Image:Groot Constantia Cloete Cellar.JPG, Cloete Cellar building, the original wine cellar at the estate. The pediment gable is by the sculptor Anton Anreith. Image:Groot Constantia 129 stitch.jpg, Close up of the pediment gable by sculptor Anton Anreith. File:Groot Constantia Estate.jpg, Groot Constantia Estate Image:Constantia1.jpg, Outbuildings at Groot Constantia, now housing the Jonkershuis Restaurant Groot Constantia, Constantia main area.JPG, View of the main interior room of Groot Constantia. Groot Constantia, Constantia bedroom.JPG, One of the main bedrooms in Groot Constantia restored to how it would have looked in the 1700s. Groot Constantia Homestead.jpg, Main house from the front in black and white. Groot Constantia Landscape.jpg, A view of the main house and surrounding hills in black and white. Groot Constantia Wine Cellar.jpg, The Wine Cellar building at Groot Constantia in black and white.

References

External links