To celebrate their 325th anniversary Groot Constantia have re-launched the iconic dessert wine Groot Constantia, Grand Constance. Winemaker Boela Gerber used a blend of red and white Muscat de Frontignan grapes to make this classic sweet wine.
He is proud of the historical connections of the wine. In 2004 a fragment of a Constantia wine bottle was found, washed ashore from a 1774 British shipwreck in Delaware Bay in the US. The fragment had the inscription “Constantia Wyn” on it. This led the owners of Groot Constantia to embark on a search to reproduce an historically accurate version of the bottle to sell the wine in.
The result is a charming little 375ml bottle which is presented in a wooden box lined with wine barrel shavings.
The wine is for sale through Groot Constantia’s wineshop for R295. There are no plans to go into big distribution with it, and Boela told me they were selling 60-80 bottles a day off the estate.
I was fascinated to hear Neil Pendock recount how he tasted a few sips of an original bottle of Grand Constance dating from 1791. It had been unearthed from the Duke of Northumberland’s cellar in the UK. The liquid was described as being like “black treacle, tasting of balsamic vinegar, but still with its floral notes”.
The wine I tasted had none of those qualities. I would describe it as raisiny, with fruit and honey notes. Absolutely delicious.
COMPETITION!
To celebrate their 325th Birthday Groot Constantia would like to give away 3 bottles of Groot Constantia Grand Constance dessert wine.
We are looking for 3 winners, one for each of the bottles.
Each winner will be able to collect their bottle of Grand Constance wine at Groot Constantia, and will also be brought on a very special wine tour and tasting for themselves and a partner.
To enter this competition you must be able to personally collect your prize at the Groot Constantia estate in Cape Town.
To enter, answer the following question; What washed up on Delaware Bay in the USA?
Put your answer into the comments section of this piece.. The first three correct answers will be the winners.
Ready, Steady, Go!
Posted in 
Tags: 
Hurrah! That’s my father’s brithday present sorted
The answer is a piece of a Constantia wine bottle.
Well done Karen, first back! A bottle and a tasting with tour for you and a partner!
A fragment of a Constantia wine bottle. So old it was still in dutch
A piece of a Constantia wine bottle!
I second Karen – a piece of Constantia wine bottle washed up
Nooit, my response is chilling in moderation for 10 minutes
Third up with coreect answer. Well done Linda. Please send me an e.mail with contact details.
Fragment of a Constant bottle
Clayton says:
August 4, 2010 at 10:41 am
A fragment of a Constantia wine bottle. So old it was still in dutch
Well done to Karen, Linda and Clayton for fast responses to the competition.
Oops late entry there on my side.
Bloody BlackBerry and its crappy battery life.
Apologies
Yay!!! Thanks for a great competition – and for keeping us on our toes (or fingers) today!
Woohoo thank you for the awesome site and rescuing the day!
Hi Clayton, please e.mail me with your contact details so that I can organise your bottle and tour and tasting details.
Hi Clare
I’ve sent you a message using the contact section of the site.
Claytom
Thank you Clare, Emile and Groot Constantia for a wonderful prize and treat. We thoroughly enjoyed (enjoying) our prize and greatly appreciate all the additional input – especially from Emile.