Constantia

Description

Constantia, one of Cape Town's oldest suburbs, is world-famous for its wine. This quiet suburb in the Constantia Valley has an almost rural charm, despite the fact that it is in Cape Town's Southern Suburbs which provide easy access to the City Bowl and to Hout Bay via Constantia Neck.

The area's best known estate is Groot Constantia which was established in 1684 by Simon van der Stel, Governor of the Cape. Until the 20th century, the farm was highly regarded for its exports of a sweet dessert wine, but this trade was crippled by the arrival of a parasite that attacked the vines. Since then Groot Contantia has rebuilt its famed vineyards and other wine farms have spring up in the area, including Buitenverwachting, Klein Constantia and Constantia Uitsig, all of which are know for consistently fantastic wines.