Map of Cape Town from above, Groot Constantia: 3,467 Bottles for the King of France marked with a wine glass

Winery · Cape Town

Groot Constantia: 3,467 Bottles for the King of France

Royal patronage legacy: Groot Constantia shipped 3,467 bottles to the King of France in the 18th century, inspiring Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

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TastingGroot Constantia: 3,467 Bottles for the King of FranceIn 1685, Governor Simon van der Stel -- who already owned two vineyards in Holland -- chose this valley after mapping the soil of the entire Cape peninsula by hand. A 1782 French National Archives inventory proves Louis XVI had 3,467 bottles of Constantia wine in his Versailles cellar -- more than ALL his Burgundy combined, including Chambertin, Vougeot, and Vosne-Romanee. The Anreith pediment (1791) on the wine cellar -- Ganymede descending on Jove's eagle -- is South Africa's greatest architectural artwork. Behind the cellar, the slave lodge tells the story of the 32+ enslaved people who made the wine. And Mrs. Cloete's ghost still walks at night.

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