The Constantia Wine Walk: Learn Fascinating Stories Behind the Valley’s Top Vineyards
The Constantia Wine Walk is one of the best ways to explore the Cape’s most historic wine precinct. This guided wine tour in Cape Town takes you on a leisurely walk through the lush region of Constantia, famous for its wine farms as well as its impressive views.
Founder and host Matt Sterne shares Constantia’s rollercoaster history where Freemasons and Amazonian warriors featured, epic Great Gatsby-esque parties and 15-man morning orchestras made memorable moments, and of course, the history behind farm-owning freed slaves and tragic fires. The Constantia Wine Walk covers all that through a casual and informative tour that’s worth its own Netflix series.
The Constantia Wine Walk
This wine tour in Cape Town spans the vines and tasting rooms of three iconic wine farms in the Constantia Valley – Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia and Buitenverwachting. Encircled by imposing mountains, you’ll join a small group and meander through the enchanting vineyards on private trails, get the opportunity to taste 10 handpicked wines and dine on a delicious harvest platter lunch at the final stop. The tour is 6km long and all the pitstops require half a day to complete at a relatively gentle pace.
The main focus of the tour is the rich stories of Constantia, which is considered the oldest wine region in the Southern Hemisphere. Its famously ‘sweet, luscious and agreeable’ wines were once used to toast in ballrooms and palaces across Europe in the 1700s where every notable figure desired and treasured it.
Queen Victoria drank a glass each night, while Napoleon drank a bottle daily. English author Jane Austen refers to it as a cure for a broken heart, and Charles Dickens as a means of lifting a character’s spirits.
Constantia Wine Walk’s Matt Sterne
More about your host, Matt Sterne
The tour was developed by former Getaway journalist and nature enthusiast, Matt Sterne, who spent many months researching Constantia’s history to bring a narrative that is both engaging and accurate to the fore. Matt centred both the story and route around four winemakers who helped to shape the Constantia Valley into a fascinating wine region.
Matt also runs The Lion Trail, a mountain-forest-beach-promenade adventure that tells the story of Cape Town while exploring some of the most iconic natural spots such as Clifton, Maiden’s Cove, Promenade, and Signal Hill.
How to book
Standard tours can be booked directly online. If you’d like to book a tour on a date that is not available, please contact the team to see if they can accommodate you. For group or private tours, email Matt directly via info@constantiawinewalk.co.za
Cost: R1950pp, includes a guided walking tour of the vineyards and cellars at Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, and Buitenverwachting, wine tasting at each farm, and a lunch experience at the end. Group tours are priced at R1000pp. Book online or via info@constantiawinewalk.co.za
When: Selected days, see here for availability. Tour starts at 8:30am to 2pm Where: Meet at Groot Constantia Red Bus parking area in Constantia
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