The back story
The Constantia Wine Route: Cape Town’s Own Vineyards
Vin de Constance, Groot Constantia and the wine farms of Constantia Nek, inside the city.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Barry haynes · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsA short guide to the Constantia valley, the wine country inside Cape Town: the sweet wine born in 1685, the estates of Constantia Nek, and where to eat, drink and stay among the vines.
Most cities send you out of town for wine. Cape Town keeps a wine valley inside the city, in the green Constantia valley on the far side of Table Mountain, where the farms climb towards Constantia Nek and look down to False Bay.
A wine born in 1685
Constantia’s fame rests on a sweet wine. Klein Constantia traces its Vin de Constance to 1685, on the slopes of the Constantiaberg, and its first Constantia sweet wine to 1692. In its day it was coveted above Yquem and Tokay, and Jane Austen wrote it into her books. Groot Constantia, with its thatched, gabled Cape Dutch manor house, cellar tours and tastings, is the valley’s other great name.
Up the Nek
Higher up, the younger farms have the views. Constantia Glen sits just below the saddle of Constantia Nek, with five tastings and food for lunch or an early dinner. Beau Constantia, at the very top of the Nek, looks over False Bay; book a tasting, and take a taxi, as parking is limited.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Martinvl · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsDid you know? Constantia Glen is less than 20 minutes from the city centre.
You do not have to leave Cape Town for the vines: Constantia is twenty minutes from the city centre.
Lunch among the vines
Chefs Warehouse cooks tapas at Beau Constantia; La Colombe, on the Silvermist estate at Constantia Nek, is one of our great tables; and at Buitenverwachting, Beyond builds its menus on rare breeds and heirloom vegetables. To stay, The Alphen has 18 suites on a heritage estate of the 1700s, with a cocktail bar for after the tastings.
Our advice
Our advice: choose two farms, not five, book your tastings, and never drive yourself: use a taxi or a driver. Start with Vin de Constance at Klein Constantia and end with the view over False Bay from the top of the Nek.
Why it's on our list
- A wine born in 1685
- Up the Nek
- Lunch among the vines
- Our advice
Location
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