Let's talk little, let's talk wine
Groot Constantia, a few kilometers from Cape Town, is the oldest estate in South Africa. It commemorated its 335th anniversary in 2020! Groot Constantia is renowned for its famous Vin Doux, a unique blend of Muscat Rouge and Blanc, a wine favored by Napoleon during his exile on Île Ste Hélène, but it also produces excellent dry whites and reds, as well as a very nice sparkling wine. The climate is Mediterranean, with cool winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean. The soils are incredibly diverse for such a small area, allowing the cultivation of a wide variety of grape varieties.
The manual harvest takes place at the end of January. The grapes are pressed without destemming, giving a dry base juice, with a low alcohol level and good acidity. The 1st fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats for 6 months on the lees while the 2nd fermentation in the bottle, still on the lees, lasts 18 months . Each bottle is shaken manually then disgorged and re-corked. This original Brut Rosé based on Pinotage has a bright salmon color, a nose combining aromas of apple , apricot , tropical fruits , pastry notes and lemon zest . In the mouth, the bubble is fine and creamy and the beautiful acidity leaves a dry and salivating finish.
Where are we traveling?
The little history of the country
SOUTH AFRICA

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.
