Sitting in Buitenverwachting’s beyond restaurant, encased by expansive windows, it feels as if you can reach out and touch the luscious vineyards. It’s impressive: beyond is one of 22 Cape Town restaurants selected by gastronomes, chefs and writers for The World’s 50 Best prestigious “discovery” list.
Buitenverwachting is emblematic of the Constantia winelands, the oldest winemaking region outside Europe with only 11 vineyards and the smallest wine area in the country. The estate is verdant and expansive, while the restaurant is a blend of elegant decor and natural wood (it could make an incredible yoga studio).
But what sets Constantia apart is that it’s only 20km from Cape Town city centre, and each estate is distinctive and abundant in charm.
Arguably, though, Constantia doesn’t get the recognition locally that it enjoys internationally. The region is represented on the World’s Best Vineyards list by Klein Constantia, which made it to 39th last year partly due to its celebrated revival of the sweet “Vin de Constance”.
The Constantia wine was drunk by Napoleon Bonaparte, imported by King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and apparently Queen Victoria used it to help her sleep. Vin de Constance was described by Jane Austen in Sense and Sensibility as a “balm for the broken heart”. Other fans included Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë and Baudelaire.
Constantia’s wine route is far smaller than its more famous counterparts of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, and a number of its farms are partly or wholly owned by foreigners. The granddad of this route is Groot Constantia, which spawned the individual farms.
But what keeps Constantia on the front pages is the fact that many of the city’s heavy-hitting culinary destinations are here — La Colombe at Silvermist, beyond, Bistro Sixteen82 at Steenberg and Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia.
beyond has Peter Tempelhoff at its helm (he made his name at FYN, which is ranked 37th in the World’s Best Restaurants). When the FM visited, the busy holiday season was over but there was still a proliferation of foreign and local accents.
Before our meal, we were treated to a chef’s appetiser: yellowtail with tomato salsa, crispy quinoa and coriander and crème fraîche. We started with sweet potato baguette and country seed loaf with cultured butter with rosemary oil. And while we chose the pan-seared kingklip, the chef treated us to a taste of pan-seared duck — a must-have with confit leg, parsnip purée, glazed plum, ginger and star anise jus.
For dessert, we tried the yoghurt and vanilla whipped panna cotta, and the Roquefort and white chocolate choux bun with roast fig and burnt honey ice cream.
For R690, you can have a three-course fine-dining experience, or you can pay R585 for two courses. A wine pairing costs an additional R495 (dinner is more expensive, and these prices are part of out-of-season specials).
A few weeks earlier I spent a day exploring other estates, though getting full value from the area could easily take a number of days, including staying in a hotel on one of the estates.
My first stop was Steenberg, the oldest registered farm in the Cape, dating back to 1682. It was bought by Graham Beck in 2005 and reopened in 2009 with a new tasting room and restaurant, Bistro Sixteen82. Tryn is a contemporary restaurant with open spaces and oak trees.
About 70% of Steenberg’s wine is sold locally and 30% overseas, mainly in the UK and Europe. The estate hosts events such as Christmas carols and themed dinners.
Next stop is Beau Constantia, one of the steepest vineyards in the province. It is at Constantia Nek overlooking False Bay, with panoramic views of the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountain ranges, and sales manager Ollie Stapleton-Cotton drove me to its highest point in a tractor. Even though I wanted to cry from fear, the view was sensational.
The farm’s first vines were planted in 2003, and it remains a small boutique operation, producing about 45,000 bottles a year. Many of these are consumed in the highly rated Chefs Warehouse restaurant, whose head chef is Ivor Jones.
Until recently, Eagles’ Nest was a family-owned farm synonymous with shiraz. Operations manager Kaylee Morrick (whose family used to own the estate) refers to the shiraz as the “big shining star” with a multitude of awards.
The tasting room opened in 2010 and serves weekday lunches. “We have a hugely loyal customer base and lots of families,” says Morrick.
With 38ha in total, and about a third of them under vines, the estate produces about 100,000 bottles a year. “We’re keeping a small, boutique range — we literally started with three wines in 2005,” says Morrick.
Most of its sales go through private channels such as the Wine-of-the-Month Club and 25% are exported, mostly to Europe.
Morrick’s favourite wine is the viognier, which has a taste of vanilla and a buttery texture from the wood. “It is my showstopper wine. Most people have not tasted a viognier and are always so pleasantly surprised by it. It’s a dinner party staple”.
I asked Morrick if there is camaraderie or competition between the Constantia vineyards, and she said there are “fun battles”.
“What’s so wonderful about the valley is there’s such a wide array of wines here. If someone wants a Bordeaux, I’ll say go to Constantia Glen, and if someone goes to Constantia Glen and says, ‘I’m a shiraz drinker’, they’ll say, ‘you have to go to Eagles’ Nest’,” she says.
Our next stop was Constantia Glen, where its Bordeaux-style blend, the Constantia Glen FIVE, scooped the Diners Club Top Winemaker award for Justin van Wyk. The food is impressive, too: the platters are said to be among the best in the region, but we had their signature flammkuchen (Caprese with buffalo mozzarella, slow-roasted tomatoes and basil dressing) and the seared tuna Niçoise. The flammkuchen is a thinly rolled flatbread baked in a wood-fired oven, and a lot like a pizza (though a dainty one). Its presence on the menu is a nod to the heritage of the owners, who are from Austria.
We sat in the Glass House, with its floor-to-ceiling glass windows and sliding door, admiring a view which underscored the impression that the region hasn’t received half the kudos it’s due.
CONSTANTIA IN A NUTSHELL
Each estate on the wine route has a distinctive identity. Buitenverwachting is the largest producer of wine, while Klein Constantia is focused on sauvignon blanc and is home to Vin de Constance. Groot Constantia is the oldest wine-producing estate in the valley with award-winning red and white wines. Steenberg’s flagship wine is a sauvignon blanc, but its restaurants — Bistro Sixteen82 and Tryn — are just as famous, as are its five-star hotel and golf course. Eagles’ Nest is a cosy, family-friendly estate with world-class red wines and an award-winning shiraz, while Constantia Glen is known for its elegant cool-climate wines.
Beau Constantia has incredible views from an amphitheatre overlooking the Constantia valley, and the Chefs Warehouse fine-dining restaurant. Silvermist has the only organic vineyard in Constantia, the second-longest zipline in Africa, and is home to the highly awarded La Colombe, recently voted the 56th best restaurant in the world.
Constantia Royale is a sauvignon blanc-focused equestrian and olive estate, and its tasting room is under the M3. Constantia Uitsig has an impressive mountain-biking park and a children’s play area at the Blockhouse Kitchen restaurant. High Constantia is a boutique winery that specialises in small batches of handcrafted wines.