Groot Constantia

Simon van der Stel was granted this land in 1685 and planted vines, and Groot Constantia has produced wine ever since, which makes it the oldest wine estate in South Africa. Its reputation was made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Constantia, a sweet wine from late-harvested Muscat that became one of the most sought-after wines in Europe: Napoleon had it shipped to Saint Helena during his exile, and it appears by name in Austen's Sense and Sensibility, Dickens and Baudelaire. Production lapsed and was revived in the 1980s. The manor house is a Cape Dutch landmark with a gabled front, restored after an 1925 fire and now a museum with period furniture; the Cloete cellar behind it has a pediment sculpted by Anton Anreith. There are two tasting rooms, two restaurants and vineyard walks with views to False Bay.

What you actually see

• The 1685 estate - continuous winemaking on the oldest wine farm in the country.
• The Constantia wine - a sweet Muscat ordered by Napoleon and named in three literatures.
• The manor house - a Cape Dutch gabled front, now a period museum.
• The Anreith pediment - sculpted relief on the old wine cellar.

When to go

All year. Half a day. Weekends and summer afternoons are busy.

Honest expectations

It is the most visited wine estate in the Cape and feels it - coaches, crowds and queues at the tasting room in season. Tastings and the museum are separate tickets. The manor is a reconstruction after fire, not untouched 1685 fabric.

Nearby

Kirstenbosch is over the ridge; the rest of the Constantia wine route is adjacent.