Groot Constantia
Encyclopedia
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
in South Africa and national monument in the suburb of Constantia
Constantia, Cape Town
Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. The Constantia Valley lies to the east of and at the foot of the Constantiaberg mountain. Constantia Nek is a low pass linking to Hout Bay in the west.-History:Constantia is...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
"Groot" in Dutch and Afrikaans translates as "great" (as in large) in English.
History
Groot Constantia was established in 1685 by the VOCDutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
Governor of the Cape of Good Hope Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel was the last Commander and first Governor of the Cape Colony, the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-Background:...
, and was used to produce wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
as well as other fruit and vegetables and cattle farming. Following Van der Stel's death in 1712 the estate was broken up and sold in three parts: Groot Constantia; Klein Constantia
Klein Constantia
Klein Constantia is a wine estate in the suburb of Constantia in Cape Town, South Africa.-Foundation:Groot Constantia was established in 1684 by the VOC Governor of the Cape Simon van der Stel, and was used to produce wine as well as other fruit and vegetables and cattle farming...
; and Bergvliet
Bergvliet
Bergvliet is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Bergvliet, which means " Mountain Streamlet " in Afrikaans, is bordered by Retreat, Meadowridge, Kreupelbosch, Tokai, and Heathfield....
).
In 1778 the portion of the estate surrounding Van der Stel's Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch architecture
-Introduction:Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style found in the Western Cape of South Africa. The style was prominent in the early days of the Cape Colony, and the name derives from the fact that the initial settlers of the Cape were primarily 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
Louis Michel Thibault , was a French-born South African architect and engineer who designed numerous buildings in the Cape Colony...
. The house remained in the possession of the Cloete family until 1885, during which period the estate became famous for its production of Constantia
Constantia (wine)
Constantia, or vin de Constance, is a South African dessert wine. It is made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the district of Constantia, south of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe...
dessert wine.
In 1885 Groot Constantia was purchased by the government of the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
and was used as an experimental wine and agricultural estate. Following a disastrous fire in 1925 the house was extensively restored.
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 Museums of Cape Town, and is particularly focused on rural slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and the life of slaves during the early Cape colonial period.
Wine production
Groot Constantia is noted particularly for its production of high-quality red wines, including Shiraz, MerlotMerlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
and blended red Gouverneurs Reserve. In 2003 the estate began production of a Constantia
Constantia (wine)
Constantia, or vin de Constance, is a South African dessert wine. It is made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the district of Constantia, south of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe...
dessert wine, called Grand Constance, for the first time since the 1880s.