Constantia, aSouth Africandessert wine, is made fromMuscat Blanc à Petits Grains (Muscat de Frontignan)grapes grown in the district ofConstantia,City of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe. However, production of Constantia ceased in the late-nineteenth century following the devastation ofSouth Africanvineyards in thephylloxera epidemic. Production resumed atKlein Constantia in 1986, atGroot Constantia in 2003 and atBuitenverwachting in 2007.
In 1685, theConstantia estate was established in a valley facing False Bay by the Governor of the Cape,Simon van der Stel, whose "Constantia wyn" soon acquired a good reputation.[1][2] In 1705, naturalistFrançois Valentyn called it "The choicest wine to be found at the Cape...so divine and enticing in taste."[3] But it was Hendrik Cloete, who bought the homestead in 1778,[1][4] who really made Constantia famous with an unfortified sweet wine made from a blend of mostly Muscat de Frontignan (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), some Pontac, red and white Muscadelle, and a little Chenin Blanc. It became a favorite of European kings and emperors, includingFrederick the Great,Queen Victoria, andNapoleon, who had it shipped to him by the barrel while in exile onSt Helena.[1] In 1861, however, the Gladstone government removed empire preferential tariffs and, as a result, exports nearly dried up. The golden era was brought to an end in the 1890s when the vineyards were decimated byphylloxera andpowdery mildew.[1]
In 1980, Duggie Jooste boughtKlein Constantia, redeveloped the farm and, with the help of then winemaker Ross Gower and Professor Chris Orferr ofStellenbosch University, created and began selling a new version of the early Constantia wine made fromMuscat Blanc à Petits Grains.[5][6] All three Constantia estates produce a sweet wine they consider an homage to the original recipe, with "Grand Constance" at Groot Constantia, "1769" at Buitenverwachting, and "Vin de Constance" at Klein Constantia.
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