Groot Constantia, Wine estate in Cape Town, South Africa.
Groot Constantia is a wine estate in the Constantia Valley of Cape Town, featuring vineyards, historic Cape Dutch buildings, and old wine cellars. The property spreads over gentle hills and includes a museum, tasting rooms, and a courtyard.
Simon van der Stel founded the estate in 1685 as the first wine farm at the Cape. During the 18th century, sweet wines produced here were prized across Europe and shipped to Saint Helena.
The wine cellar occupies a building with a triangular gable featuring a sculpture representing fertility. This part of the estate shows how early settlers stored and sold wine in oak barrels.
The estate is open daily and offers wine tastings and cellar tours for visitors. Hop-on-hop-off buses stop here, and travelers can also drive in by car.
Napoleon Bonaparte received regular shipments of Constantia wine during his exile on Saint Helena. The museum today displays bottles and documents from that period.
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