Apart from offering exceptional quality wines, the Constantia Valley Wine Route in Cape Town is synonymous with beauty, tranquility, wellness, and unsurpassed gastronomic pleasures .
Following this magnificent wine route, makes for a pleasant journey into the history of SA’s oldest wine-growing area. It reflects a rich cultural heritage, not only of bygone eras, but also of state-of-the-art winemaking in modern times.
The Constantia Valley’s prime position of bordering Table Mountain National Park on two sides, as well as climate patterns, has for many generations provided wine estate owners and winemakers with the ideal ‘terroir’ for producing exceptional wines. The valley boasts eleven wine estates, of which eight are open to the public, and the best known being Groot and Klein Constantia. One of the newer additions to the route is Eagles Nest Wines, previously a section of Groot Constantia renown for its unique red wine ‘terroir’. Because of the east, west and north facing slopes of this prime estate, it makes for the steepest commercially farmed land in the Cape Province. The stately Buitenverwachting wine estate boasts all round mountain views, while Steenberg Vineyards are located further away in a southerly direction toward Ou Kaapse Weg, at the Steenberg Golf Estate in Tokai. The other smaller estates in the valley, perhaps lesser known but also producing superb wines, are Constantia Uitsig, Constantia Glen, and High Constantia .
Visitors to this unique area can choose from an abundance of pleasures to enjoy, both indoors for wine tasting and restaurant entertainment and any number of activities in the natural outdoors. Strictly speaking, the Constantia Valley stretches from Wynberg Hill through to the Silvermine mountains in Tokai. It is easily accessible from all areas, including the Atlantic Seaboard and Houtbay over Constantia Neck, from Noordhoek via Chapmans Peak, or along the M3 in the Southern Suburbs, and from Main Road in False Bay.
All eight of these magnificent wine estates that are open to the public have sumptuous offerings, including all season wine tastings and some of the city’s finest dining. Most wine farms excel at catering for families and groups, and the ever popular ‘le picnique’ on vast volumes of green lawns in the shade of ancient trees are all the rage.
Some estates also offer exclusive accommodation, either in the form of hotel rooms or self- catering lodges, where guests can enjoy the tranquil surroundings of the valley in privacy. Many of these estates feature beautiful old buildings dating back as far as 1685, that reflect the Cape Vernacular style of architecture of that period.
In addition to viewing elegant properties in the picturesque suburbs of Constantia Valley, visitors can enjoy any number of meanders in pristine areas of this valley of green belts, large open spaces and parklands. With a number of schools and hospitals in the area, as well as exclusive retail centers and private estates, both property owners and those who search for property to rent here will not easily fall short of choices. The Constantia Valley’s neighbours also positioned at the top of exclusive rankings are Bishopscourt, Claremont and Newlands.
