The Vineyard, good access to all.
Groot Constantia: a history of producing good wine.
The Saunter takes great pleasure in sharing the first of our selected Cape Wineland estates that you should visit. They are lovely places in beautiful locations with very good wines as well as good food. There is stunning art too. We also give you our choice of highly rated places to stay over in comfort. Just click on the names with the photos to see more.
Beautiful Vergelegen Estate
A little history first:
The establishment by the Dutch East India Company of a refreshment station at the Cape in 1652 had one single aim: to provide fresh food to the company’s merchant fleet on their voyages to the East Indies. This evolved to the establishment of a trading station and led to a colony, flourishing wine industry and later to the birth of a nation.
‘Dutch East India Company’ refers to the mighty Dutch trading company, established in March 1602 under the name of the ‘Generale Verenighde Nederlandsche g’octroieerde Oostindische Compagnie’. From the initials, the Company generally became known as the VOC, the distinctive mark on its flags and merchandise. The VOC was an amalgamation of small Dutch companies trading with the East Indies, with the view to strengthen, regulate and protect their already profitable and considerable trade. The VOC acted as the ‘trade arm’ of the Dutch government.
Although hundreds of vessels from various European nations sailed around the Cape to and from the East Indies during the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, neither the Portuguese, English nor Dutch were interested in establishing a permanent provision station or settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. For about 150 years, they preferred to make use of the island of St Helena, where fresh water supplies were taken in, and fruit and game obtained. During these centuries, vessels of the above-mentioned countries touched the Cape only occasionally to take in fresh water, to obtain firewood, and to barter cattle and sheep from the local inhabitants (later to become known as the Khoikhoi). However, sailors caused damage to the vegetation on St Helena and the Dutch needed to look elsewhere.
Lovely Delaire Graff Wine Estate
HŌSEKI Restaurant and Delaire Graff Lodge
The VOC decided to establish a provision station at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 under the command of Jan van Riebeeck – the beginning of the their rule at the Cape, which lasted for nearly 150 years and ended in 1795 with the British occupation of the colony. Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape, was tasked with planting and managing the vineyards, as it was a way to ward off scurvy amongst the sailors. On 2 February 1659, the first wine was made from Cape grapes. This led to the planting of vines on a larger scale at Roschheuvel, known today as Bishopscourt. Van Riebeeck strongly encouraged farmers to plant vineyards although initially they were reluctant.
There were many early setbacks, chiefly because of the farmers’ ignorance of viticulture. Things improved when Van Riebeeck was succeeded in 1679 by Simon van der Stel, who tasted the wine and declared it disgusting. He was not only enthusiastic but very knowledgeable about viticulture and wine making. He planted a vineyard on his farm Constantia and made good wine from the outset.
The French Huguenots settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690. As religious refugees, the Huguenots had very little money and had to make do with the bare essentials. Their early role in the Cape wine industry has been over stated as just 2 had viticulture experience. Later a couple of knowledgeable Frenchmen settled in the Cape. They had to adapt their established wine making techniques to new conditions. With time their culture and skills plus the Huguenot work ethic, left a permanent impression on our wine industry, and on life at the Cape.
Le Lude, top Cap Classique and The Orangerie
Early wine farming was hampered by the VOC’s monopolistic policies. Farmers had to sell their wine and wheat at minimal price to satisfy the needs of the VOC ships first, leaving little over to trade with other ships. From the VOC view, this was the only reason for a settlement in the Cape to have been established given high death rates of sailors from scurvy. It was these same policies, however, and the lack of free trade which lead in the end to the bankruptcy of the VOC in 1798.
South African wines were enjoyed by European aristocracy as the industry matured. Constantia’s wines gained increasing reputation and Van der Stel lead not only by example but also wrote notes to assist farmers. It is interesting that beyond this, little was done during the VOC’s rule at the Cape to improve the quality of the wines.
Stunning La Cotte-Hotel, Cottages and Villa. Penelope’s, close to Stellies action. Superb Lily Pond House, self catering.
Wine making in SA prospered until the 1880’s, when the disastrous insect pest Phylloxera arrived, devouring almost all of the vine roots in the country. Winemaking came to an abrupt halt and with no cure, the wine industry imploded. It was only several decades later that a solution was found and vineyards were once again able to flourish, however in the intervening years many wine producers had gone bust or been bought out by fruit farms – so supply vs. demand became an issue. This led to the formation of growers ‘co-operatives’ such as KWV. These co-ops dominated the industry for many generations, setting the prices and standards for the South African wine industry as a whole.
During the Apartheid years, as anti- Apartheid feelings rose, South Africa’s wine industry suffered until change came and the area’s wines once again became sought after. The total ban on alcohol sales during Covid was crippling. Despite this, South African wines are now winning awards internationally. At the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards for just one example, SA won 711 medals of which 29 were gold. See the awarded wines we selected at the end of this blog.
Rickety Bridge Estate & fun Wine Blending Experience
Tokara, sublime views and art.
Basse Provence, traditional cottages. Cape Dutch@Keerweder, luxurious & historic. Oude Werf: Town house hotel in Stellies.
2024: Award winning wines selected in photos: Groot Constantia: Groot Constantia Rose 2023; Vergelegen: V 2018; Delaire Graff : Laurence Graff Reserve 2018; ,
Le Lude: Le Lude Reserve Brut Rose 2020; Rickety Bridge: The Bridge 2021; Tokara: Tokara Reserve Collection Syrah 2021
