| Klein Constantia | |
|---|---|
 The road leading to the Klein Constantia Manor House, Cellar and Tasting Room | |
| Location | Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa. |
| Coordinates | 34°2′20″S18°24′47.64″E / 34.03889°S 18.4132333°E Coordinates: 34°2′20″S18°24′47.64″E / 34.03889°S 18.4132333°E |
| Built | 17th century |
| Architectural style(s) | Cape Dutch |
  Location of Klein Constantia in Cape Town | |
Klein Constantia is a wine estate in the suburb of Constantia in Cape Town, South Africa.
Constantia, the first wine farm in Southern Africa, was established in 1685 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. Van der Stel, a keen viticulturist, had been the first to recognize the potential of the decomposed granite soil in the sheltered valley facing False Bay and bounded by sea on both sides after he had had soil samples collected from all over the Cape. He chose this area to plant his vines and named it Constantia.
Following van der Stel's death in 1712 the estate was broken up and sold in three parts (Groot Constantia; Klein Constantia; and Bergvliet). Johannes Colijin, a son of a freed slave, ended up owning the Klein Constantia, which was renamed Hoop op Constantia. Johannes resumed winemaking from 1718 and began shipping around the world. [1]
In 1778 the portion of the estate surrounding van der Stel's mansion was sold to the Cloete family, who planted extensive vineyards of mostly Frontignac, Pontac, red and white Muscadel and a little Steen (Chenin blanc) [2] and extended and improved the mansion. On the death of Hendrik Cloete in 1818, the estate was split, and the upper portion became the property of Cloete's son Johan Gerhard Cloete under the name Klein Constantia.
It was under the Cloete family ownership that Constantia's sweet dessert wine "Vin de Constance" made primarily from vine-dried Muscat de Frontignan grapes reached the height of its fame. [2] Napoleon Bonaparte had as much as 1,126 liters (297 gallons) of Constantia wine shipped in wooden casks each year to Longwood House, his home in exile on St Helena from 1815 until his death in 1821. The Count de las Cases reported that, on his deathbed, Napoleon refused everything offered to him but a glass of Constantia wine. [3]
In Sense and Sensibility , Jane Austen's character Mrs Jennings recommends a little Constantia for "its healing powers on a disappointed heart". [4]
In Charles Dickens' last (and unfinished) novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood , Constantia wine is served to the reverend Septimus by his mother. "As, whenever the Reverend Septimus fell a-musing, his good mother took it to be an infallible sign that he ‘wanted support,’ the blooming old lady made all haste to the dining-room closet, to produce from it the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit." [5]
In Charles Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal poem XXVI entitled sed non satiata Baudelaire compares the charms of his beloved to the pleasures of the night and Constantia wine: "Even more than Constantia, than opium, than Nuits, I prefer the elixer of your mouth, where love performs its slow dance." [6]
In 1913 Klein Constantia was purchased by Abraham Lochner de Villiers, a wealthy milliner from Paarl, and his American heiress wife, Clara Hussey. The house and its estate were restored when the couple made the Klein Constantia manor house their home during the year before the First World War. Life at Klein Constantia took an exuberant turn. "It was like something out of the Great Gatsby" said one enthusiastic guest. "You cannot imagine the glamour of it all".
Dressed in the latest fashion, Clara, whose grandfather was the first Pittsburgh steel tycoon, [7] threw parties which were the talk of Cape Town, where Russian caviar was served, swathed in barrels of ice, together with oysters and smoked salmon; orchestras played, and peacocks strolled on the lawns. [8]
The Pittsburgh fortune was not confined to fine motor cars and caviar. Abraham and Clara set about the transformation of Klein Constantia with style and determination. Fine furniture and paintings were brought for the house, they added a dining hall, with a minstrel's gallery, a private chapel, and then a classical pavilion which stood beside a large swimming pool set in landscaped gardens. Winemaking continued to play an important role and the farm produced good wine and excellent port.
Devoted to Klein Constantia as they were, Clara and Abraham were determined that the farm should remain within the de Villiers family. As they had no children of their own, their nephew Jan, son of Rocco and Annie de Villiers of Paarl, was designated as their heir, and sent to the University of California at Berkeley for two years to study viticulture. When Jan returned to Klein Constantia he remained until Abraham's death in 1930, when he then left for the Transvaal, returning only in 1955 when his Aunt Clara died, whereupon he inherited the property. With the passing of Clara Hussey de Villiers, the era of glamour and splendour came to an end. [8]
In 1980 Duggie Jooste bought Klein Constantia, redeveloped it, and with the help of Professor Chris Orferr of Stellenbosch University and winemaker, Ross Gower, created and began selling a new recreated version of Constantia wine made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. [9] [10] Duggie's son, Lowell, joined the team and together they helped to revive Klein Constantia's wines and the entire estate: completing work on a full cellar and tasting room by the mid 1980s. [11]
Klein Constantia released its first vintage of the modern era in 1986 to much critical acclaim and quickly developed a reputation as one of South Africa's top wine estates. [11]
In May 2011 the Jooste family sold Klein Constantia to Czech businessman Zdenĕk Bakala and Charles Harman from the UK. Both have been regular visitors to South Africa for the past twenty years, and together with their families now divide their time between their respective homes in Europe and Cape Town. [12] Mr Bakala is co-founder of the global diversified investment group, BXR, of which Mr Harman is the CEO. [13]
In June 2012, Klein Constantia merged with Stellenbosch-based vineyard, Anwilka (formerly co-owned by Lowell Jooste, Hubert de Boüard and Bruno Prats) and Klein Constantia welcomed two new shareholders in de Boüard, of Château Angélus and Prats, formerly of Château Cos d'Estournel. [14]
Klein Constantia is noted particularly for its production of high-quality white wines, including Sauvignon blanc and Riesling and is world-renowned for its revival of the famous 18th and 19th century Constantia dessert wine, known today as Vin de Constance. Today, Vin de Constance consistently scores over 90 points in Wine Spectator Magazine and other rating publications like Robert Parker [15] and in September 2012 Neal Martin of eRobertParker awarded Vin de Constane 2007 a 97-point rating. [16]
The current portfolio of Klein Constantia wine includes the super-premium Estate range and the lifestyle KC range as well as special release wines like the single vineyard Perdeblokke Sauvignon blanc and a Méthode Cap Classique. Anwilka produces a flagship eponymous red wine and a second label 'little brother' red wine called, Petit Frère. Klein Constantia's icon wine remains, Vin de Constance. [17]
Klein Constantia is the site of the kramat or grave of a revered Cape Muslim teacher and cleric, Sheik Abdurachman Matebe Shah, who is said to have been one of the three teachers who brought Islam to southern Africa in the seventeenth century.
After being captured during the Dutch conquest of Sumatra, Sheik Abdurachman was banished to the Cape Colony in 1661, only ten years after it was founded. He is thought to have died on the site that the kramat now stands in either 1681 or 1682.
Paarl is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington. It is situated about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province and is known for its scenic environment and viticulture and fruit-growing heritage.
Constantia is a South African dessert wine. It is made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the district of Constantia, City of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe. However, production of Constantia ceased in the late nineteenth century following the devastation of South African vineyards by the phylloxera epidemic. Production resumed at Klein Constantia in 1986, at Groot Constantia in 2003 and at Buitenverwachting in 2007.
Simon van der Stel was the last commander and first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony, the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town and almost exclusively located within the Western Cape province, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.
Vergelegen is a historic wine estate in Somerset West, in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Boschendal is one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa and is located between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch in South Africa's Western Cape.
Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious suburbs in South Africa. 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. Constantia is a beautiful family orientated place for families to grow, with the leafy canopies of trees and top schools.
Groot Constantia is the oldest wine estate in South Africa and provincial heritage site in the suburb of Constantia in Cape Town, South Africa.
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a white wine grape of Greek origin that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters. It is known under a variety of local names such as Moscato bianco, Muscat blanc, Muscat Canelli, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat d'Alsace, Muskateller, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Moscatel rosé and Sárgamuskotály.
Château Angélus, until 1990 known as Château L'Angélus, or simply L'Angélus, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, since 2012 ranked Premier grand cru classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Saint-Émilion in the department Gironde.
The Drakenstein mountain opposite Simonsberg Mountain named after ex military man and Colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein is part of the Cape Fold Belt and are in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Western Cape is a Geographical Unit within the Wine of Origin classification system of South African wine. Corresponding to the province of Western Cape it includes most of the vineyards in South Africa.
Fairview Wine and Cheese farm is a South African producer of wines and cheeses based in the Paarl region of the Western Cape province. It is owned and run by Charles Back, who also owns The Goats do Roam Wine Company and The Spice Route Winery.
Anton Anreith was a sculptor and woodcarver from Riegel near Freiburg in Breisgau, Baden, Germany. He is known for numerous sculptural embellishments that adorn buildings in the Cape region of South Africa, thought to represent the crowning achievement of the Cape Baroque style.
The wine regions of South Africa were defined under the "Wine of Origin" act of 1973. Mirroring the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) system, all South African wines listing a "Wine of Origin" must be composed entirely of grapes from its region. The "Wine of Origins" (WO) program mandates how wine regions of South Africa are defined and can appear on wine labels. While some aspects of the WO are taken from the AOC, the WO is primarily concerned with accuracy in labeling. As a result, the WO does not place adjunct regulations on wine regions such as delineating permitted varieties, trellising methods, irrigation techniques, and crop yields.
The early history of the South African wine industry can be traced to the founding of a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company. Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wine and grapes in the Wijnberg ; that could be used to ward off scurvy for sailors continuing on their voyages along the spice route. In 1685, another Cape Governor, Simon van der Stel, purchased a large 750-hectare (1,900-acre) estate, founding what later became the world-renowned Constantia wine estate. In the 19th century, South Africa fell under British rule which proved lucrative for the wine industry as South African wine flowed into the British market. This prosperity lasted until the 1860s when the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty signed by the Palmerston government and France reduced the preferential tariffs that benefited South African wine in favor of French wine exports.
Tablas Creek Vineyard is a California wine estate producing various Rhône-style blends and varietal wine. The winery is located in the Adelaida district west of Paso Robles in the Santa Lucia Mountains, within the Paso Robles AVA. It is an exemplar of the GSM blend, and has been influential in popularizing it in California.
Steenberg Estate is the site of the oldest farm in Cape Town, located in the suburb of Constantia. Steenberg is translates as “Mountain of Stone” and is named for the nearby mountain range. The manor house and other buildings on the farm have been declared a national monument. The estate has been redeveloped as a hotel, vineyard and golf course.
Klein Constantia was a UCI Continental cycling team based in the Czech Republic and a development squad for UCI World Tour team Etixx–Quick-Step. It was set up by Patrick Lefevere in 2013.
Coetsenburg is an historic wine estate and one of the oldest estates in South Africa, established in 1682. It is located at the foot of the Stellenbosch Mountain, which forms part of the estate, in the town of Stellenbosch, 31 miles (50 km) east of Cape Town, in the Cape Winelands of the Western Cape Province. The estate has historically been owned by the Coetsee family and is currently not open to the public. The north-western portion of the original estate is now the Coetsenburg Sports Grounds which belongs to the University of Stellenbosch.
