Cape Town’s City Wine Route: The Constantia Winelands

The Constantia wine route offers a rich winelands experience without leaving the city limits: a South African wine icon, some of the finest cuisine on offer and a historic wine region that is at most a 30-minute drive from the centre of Cape Town.

Norval Foundation located in the Steenberg area of Cape Town

The southern side extends down to Steenberg. And if you venture even further south, you will land at the extreme vineyards of Cape Point.

For this extension, it’s best to start at Cape Point Vineyards and work back into the heartland of Constantia, driving over the scenic mountain pass Ou Kaapse Weg (meaning ‘old Cape road’) to Steenberg wine farm for a bubbly tasting. Stop in for a pre-tasting visit to the Norval Foundation next door – an art museum with sculpture garden dedicated to twentieth and twenty-first century visual art from Africa.

There’s also the possibility of visiting Constantia Uitsig enroute to Klein Constantia. Though once part of the original Constantia farm, winemaking at Uitsig was only revived in the late ’80s. It now has a massive, modern, glass-enclosed cellar and a hub of eateries, including much-loved Cape Town brunch spot and Pâtisserie Four & twenty.

The Compact Route

Beau Constantia Wine Farm

The most radical expansion of the Constantia wine route has happened on the other side, driving from Groot Constantia through the valley and up towards Constantia Nek, a pass over the Table Mountain range that links Constantia to Hout Bay. This is a more tightly focussed experience where, within 10 minutes’ drive, Groot Constantia’s Cape Dutch style is juxtaposed with the brand-new steel-and-glass structure of Beau Constantia.

This route is also much shorter, which means there’s no need to set out too early, and ideally starts at Klein Constantia with a sip of Vin de Constance to open the palate. There’s Buitenverwachting right next door, and Groot Constantia, and just inside the gates of Groot Constanta, the boutique wine cellar High Constantia. Drive on towards the Nek for a garden tasting at Eagle’s Nest.

Next up is Constantia Glen and its neighbour Beau Constantia, which can be seen (but not accessed) from Constantia Glen. Both offer food-and-wine experiences with expansive views – even Beau’s tasting room is optimised with floor-to-ceiling windows facing False Bay – so save these for last. And if not finishing at Beau, settle in on the stoep at Constantia Glen with a barrel board of cheese and charcuterie.

This arm developed more recently, with some of the vineyards only planted around 20 years ago. Drive over the hill and, though also still formative, the winemaking continues into Hout Bay, with Silvermist Organic Wine Estate on the Nek, Ambeloui focussed on making Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) in the valley and Hout Bay Vineyards making MCC and Sauvignon from valley-grown grapes.

 Because of the geography, the Constantia route is a linear one. Although adding Chapman’s Peak Drive to connect the endpoint of each extension would complete it as a circular route – albeit one that likely requires two days. And if going in for the round trip, book a table at La Colombe, the award-winning restaurant that is simultaneously playful, casual, and of an exceptionally high standard, sitting on top of the hill on Silvermist estate.

Groot Constantia Homestead

The Grape | Sauvignon Blanc

 The Constantia valley is situated on the False Bay side of the mountains that run down the middle of the Cape Peninsula and moisture-laden maritime winds cool the slopes that have traditionally been under vine. Sauvignon Blanc excels in this microclimate so it’s the first-born child of the route. And while overtly suited for those with a natural love for the variety, even the more reluctant may be persuaded by the elegance of Constantia Sauvignon.  

Sauvignon devotees would do well committing to the extended route, starting at Cape Point Vineyards. This winery prides itself on the expression of Sauvignon Blanc grapes at different altitudes, all of them kissed by the salty sea air of nearby Noordhoek beach and windswept by the South-Easter in summer. And for anyone less Sauvignon-inclined, it’s hard not to be won over by the highly-acclaimed Cape Point Vineyards Isliedh – a Sauvignon Semillon blend – or the Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc at the next stop, Steenberg.

 After that comes Constantia Uitsig and then Klein Constantia, where winemaker Matthew Day, acknowledges the privilege of making a dream wine like Vin de Constance while at the same time describing Sauvignon Blanc as his ‘greatest passion in the world’. Through this grape he strives to represent a sense of place. Seek out the Estate Sauvignon Blanc and the dedicated tasting titled ‘Our Sauvignon Story’.

The rolling green lawns of neighbouring Buitenverwachting are home to the very quaffable Buiten Blanc, much-loved by locals. And heading in the direction of Constantia Nek, look out for the Beau Constantia Pierre Sauvignon-Semillon blend.

Although the Constantia wine route has been known for its quality contribution to Sauvignon Blanc and it’s not as if the older wine farms have eschewed other grape varieties (Steenberg makes a fine Nebbiolo, for example, and Klein Constantia even bottles a Riesling), the growth up towards Constantia Nek has allowed for a bit of experimentation.

High Constantia produces unusual single variety wines like Petit Verdot and it’s worth looking out for the Viognier at both Beau Constantia and Eagle’s Nest, as well as the Constantia Glen Five (a Bordeaux blend). What’s important to note is that a concerted effort to focus the winemaking potential of the newer farms only began in the early 2000s and over the years their wines have become increasingly well received and regarded.

The Wine | Vin de Constance

Of all the wine regions, Constantia earned South Africa a reputation for quality with a luscious natural sweet wine that developed mythical status and was known simply as ‘Constantia Wine’.

 It is much touted that Napoleon Bonaparte was so partial to this dessert wine he insisted on having it to hand in his final hour, that Charles Dickens wrote of ‘the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit’ and Jane Austen referenced it in Sense and Sensibility for its ‘healing powers on a disappointed heart’.

This was the golden age of Constantia wine, before a phylloxera epidemic destroyed Cape vines in the 19th century, ending production. Three of the farms that were once joined as part of the original property have since attempted to recreate the original Constantia wine. There’s “1769” by Buitenverwachting, Groot Constantia’s Grand Constance, and Vin de Constance from Klein Constantia.

 Klein Constantia was first to market with Vin de Constance in the mid ’80s, which has grown from strength to strength to become something of an icon. This stature was reinforced with Vin de Constance joining the Bordeaux négociant market and the international distribution by three prestigious Bordeaux négociant houses connects Vin de Constance with the great wines of the world.

Although Vin de Constance is often described with reference to the world’s finest sweet wines, specifically Sauternes and Château d’Yquem, there is no botrytis and it is made from Muscat de Frontignan grapes, harvested by hand at various stages of ripening, from acidity-forward berries to sugar-rich raisins, that are pressed and fermented in batches, aged on the lees for three years and blended into the resulting wine.

 Matthew Day was appointed winemaker at Klein Constantia on the strength of the 2012 vintage of Vin de Constance, his first assignment. He is one of three winemakers over the last three decades to be responsible for shaping Vin de Constance and his tenure heralded a fresh, elegant, less sweet style that seeks to bring out aromatics and achieve balance.

 If the typical Vin de Constance flavour profile was dried apricot and orange marmalade, his intention was for something more perfumed and expressive, more orange blossom and white stone fruit. He feels he has achieved this, saying: ‘We’ve been able to convince people that creating a ‘dry’ sweet wine is the right way of doing things. The VdC now has a salinity to it, rather than an overpowering sweetness, which is great for food pairing.’

The Lunch | Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia

Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia is a high point to work towards; for a leisurely lunch to end a morning of tasting on the compact route, or to close a full day on the extended route with an early dinner, looking over at the distant mountain ranges of the Stellenbosch winelands bathed in a dusky glow.

It can be tricky finding a Cape Town restaurant that delivers on both the dining and the setting. Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia is a rare find because it does. Highly regarded chef, Liam Tomlin, opened the first Chef’s Warehouse in Bree Street and has since moved on to open in sought-after locations in collaboration with other chefs. Chef Ivor Jones landed Beau Constantia or, rather, Beau landed Ivor – a culinary talent who not only brings the finesse of a highly skilled professional but a joyful enthusiasm for the freshest of ingredients and for his craft.

Already inspired months before opening, Ivor developed lavender honeycomb for a baked custard dessert made with wild honey and served with smoked cassia bark ice cream that has since become a house signature. ‘It was inspired by Crème Catalan and evolved into something soft and velvety that satisfies the little need for something sweet as the end of the meal,’ says Ivor, ‘something small – just one or two bites – and who doesn’t love a bit of honeycomb.’

The Oysters ‘Beau Constantia’ have also been on the menu since day one: Saldanha Bay oysters with a vibrant topping of burnt lemon and apple dressing, roast garlic and smoked paprika oil, lemongrass and lime jellies, pickled Jalapenos, cucumber, deep-fried onions, some Korean chilli strings and fennel flowers. ‘It’s a winner,’ says Ivor, ‘and one thing I allow myself to keep the same.’  

Ivor describes his menu as global but always with a touch of South-East Asian, adding: ‘The cuisine of Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam is generations ahead of anything else I’ve ever experienced – it’s energising and an immediate affirmation of flavour.’ As is his cooking. Seasons are honoured with a ‘hero oriented’ approach where one ingredient is the champion, and a dish is built around it. And sourcing is as local as possible, from farms like Meuse in Hout Bay.

It's easy to imagine Ivor standing in the kitchen at Beau, still as full of anticipation when unpacking a delivery of just-harvested heirloom tomatoes or bundles of herbs, as the day he stepped into the newly built restaurant with its panoramic views. ‘Our ability to cook with a South-East Asian influence is because of the amazing shiso and basils, like sweet Thai basil, we receive from Meuse,’ says Ivor. ‘We’re only chefs, and we’re only halfway there if we don’t have good ingredients.’