Groot Constantia Shiraz 2017

Country: South Africa

Region: Constantia

Grape: Shiraz

Volume: 75cl

ABV: 14%

Vintage: 2017

Suitable for Vegans: No 

Suitable for Vegetarians: No

Food pairing: A wine like this demands big South African foods, grilled meats, spiced biltong and other smokey flavours.

History tells us that in 1679 Simon van der Stel was appointed by the Dutch East India Company to govern the Cape of Good Hope. After years of loyal service, he requested land from the Company. He periodically sent out riders to collect soil samples in order to explore. In 1685 he fell in love with the soil and chose 891 morgen (about 763 ha) situated behind Table Mountain for its wine-growing potential and magnificently beautiful scenery. Over the years the wines produced on the estate caught the attention of influential people across the globe – due to its impressive quality.

Groot Constantia’s rich history shows how one man’s love of wine established South Africa’s first wine farm more than 330 years ago and how those 891 morgen of land formed the origins of the commercial South African wine industry, with Emperors and Kings such as Frederick the Great of Prussia  and Louis Phillipe (King of the French) buying ‘Constantia Wyn’ at auctions across Europe.

South Africa’s oldest wine became so celebrated globally, that it appears in Jane Austen’s novel ‘Sense and Sensibility’ as a cure for a broken heart to be drunk to lift a character’s spirit as in ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ by Charles Dickens.