Blog

Having safely left the kids with daddy day care, I recently had the privilege of visiting Groot Constantia for the very first time with a close friend and colleague. We ventured onto the grounds, determined to leave the pressures of the past week behind and enjoy the freedom and possibilities of a mom’s morning off.

Most of us will admit to conjuring up fond (and less fond) memories when we recognise a particular smell or a familiar site bolts us back to days gone by. Like the hearty stew that takes you right back to your grandmother’s kitchen, or seeing the ocean for the first time in ages as you drive to the coast?

The 2014 harvest was preceded by a very cold and wet winter. There was a hint of an early spring in August before the last extremely cold and wet spell of winter hit the Cape. We even had snow on Table Mountain on the 22nd of September.

All of this ensured even budding, and also even flowering, veraison and more importantly, even ripening.

The distinct aroma of freshly pressed grapes fills my being as I enter the slightly cool cellar at Groot Constantia on a cloudy Cape Town morning. I make a stop at the wine tasting counter enquiring about the man I came to see today.

I am told, in no uncertain terms, that I will find him in the cellar, busy with his wines…

What is the first thing that springs to mind when you think about Freedom Day, other than the fact that is a public holiday that you can utilise for pretty much anything you want to do? 

Apart from drinking award winning wines at Groot Constantia, Cape Town makes for a destination that has something on offer for everyone!

As you sit down to enjoy your favourite label, whilst swirling the wine in your glass, holding it up against the light and savouring the aroma, do you ever wonder where it all began?

Groot Constantia’s 2013 Chardonnay has been awarded its 1st held at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town from the 3rd to the 7th March 2014. This exciting new wine, which is so young it is yet to be labelled, shows great promise after such an auspicious introduction to the world of wine lovers.

Groot Constantia’s 2011 Gouverneurs Reserve Red also received a Bacchus Trophy at the 2014 Taj Classic Wine Trophy awards.

Groot Constantia wines were awarded a total of five gold medals at two recent international wine awards. The Monde Selection in Brussels and the International Wine Challenge in London saw Groot Constantia walking away with three and then two gold medals respectively.

"Our worth" says the Estate’s General Manager, Jean Naude, "is our tradition. The quality of every wine must be guaranteed. That’s the essence on which a brand like this stands. If we produced a mediocre bottle it would amount to an abuse, a waste, of the 326 years of history that have gone into producing this brand."