Groot Constantia’s 2012 Grand Constance wine has achieved a Grand Gold award at the 2015 Monde Selection International Wine Contest.
Monde is a globally-renowned competition that tests consumer products from all over the world to grant them an internationally recognised stamp of quality and approval. The panel of over 70 totally independent judges consists of Michelin starred chefs and master sommeliers, amongst other experts and professionals from a variety of disciplines.
The Grand Gold Quality Award that is sparingly bestowed by the Monde judges is only issued to those products that obtain an average result of between 90 and 100% – meaning an undisputable guarantee of quality to the consumer.
Groot Constantia’s Grand Constance has a rich and fascinating history
“Groot Constantia is South Africa’s oldest wine producing estate – in existence for 330 years this year,” explains Jean Naudé, Groot Constantia CEO. “Wine has been produced on the estate without interruption since 1685 and we take pride in our Grand Constance which is a brand from the Napoleonic era.”
During the Eighteenth century, wines produced in the cellars of the Groot Constantia estate received international acclaim for their superior quality and became known throughout the world as “Constantia Wyn (wine)”. Constantia Wyn began to fetch extremely high prices at well-attended auctions in many European cities and emperors and kings, from Frederick the Great of Prussia, Napoleon and Louis Phillipe (King of the French), all vied for their share.
Charles Dickens celebrated it in Edwin Drood, Jane Austen’s character recommended it as a cure for a broken heart to heroine Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility and Charles Baudelaire compared Constantia wine to his lover‘s lips in his most famous volume of poems, Les Fleurs du Mal. Before his death in 1821, Napoleon had 30 bottles of wine, produced in Groot Constantia’s cellars, shipped over to St Helena every month to ease his exile.
In fact, Constantia bottles, bottle shards and bottle seals dating from as far back as 1774 have been found in far corners of the world in some unusual circumstances:
One bottle was found at the bottom of the ocean in the archipelago outside Stockholm in the late 1940’s by a diver; three bottles were discovered in the cellar of a castle near Belgium that date to the period 1760 – 1840; a bottle piece featuring the Constantia bottle seal was discovered on a beach in the Delaware Bay and identified by historians to be part of the cargo of the Severn – a ship that was stranded there in 1774; another find was a very crude example of the Constantia wine seal – evidently far older than all the other examples – which was unearthed in an excavation in Meiningen in Germany.
Shiraz also awarded at Monde Selection International
Groot Constantia’s 2012 Shiraz also won a Gold Award at the 2015 Monde Selection International Wine Contest. Gold Awards are for products that obtain an average result of between 80% and 89%.
“Groot Constantia’s wines in general continue to rake in the awards, with the estate having won a total of 86 top accolades since 2003,” says Boela Gerber, award winning Winemaker for Groot Constantia. “Groot Constantia’s location and climate, coupled with the efforts of our dynamic team who spend so much time and energy in the vineyards, allows us to lay claim to these awards. In addition to this, the new direction that was taken in the vineyards several years ago has enabled Groot Constantia to consistently produce wines of remarkable quality.”
“It is very exciting to see our hard work and new approaches reaping the rewards and we expect to continue to see our wines doing great things.”
“We are delighted and proud of this amazing achievement by our Grand Constance – a wine that, due to its long history with Groot Constantia, we all hold close to our hearts. This Grand Gold Award and Gold Award from the Monde Selection is an excellent recognition to our vineyard and winemaking team for their continuous drive to increase quality across the board. History tends to repeat itself and over centuries this farm has produced high quality wines respected throughout the world,” concludes Naudé.
For more information visit www.grootconstantia.co.za.
Ends
Issued by Fusion Design Integrated Brand Agency on behalf of Groot Constantia
Contact: 0861 321 777
Email: carmen@fusiondesign.co.za
