page_title: Western Cape wine
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Western Cape wine / History
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Vignoble de Groot Constantia
context_page_description: Western Cape is a Geographical Unit within the Wine of Origin classification system of South African wine. Corresponding to the province of Western Cape it includes most of the vineyards in South Africa.
context_section_description: On 2 February 1659 the founder of Cape Town, Jan van Riebeeck, produced the first wine recorded in South Africa. In 1685, the Constantia estate was established in a valley facing False Bay by the Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel. His 'Vin de Constance' soon acquired a good reputation. But it was Hendrik Cloete, who bought the homestead in 1778, who really made the name of Constantia famous, with  an unfortified wine made from a blend of mostly Muscat de Frontignan (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), Pontiac, red and white Muscadel (probably clones of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains??) and a little Chenin blanc. It became a favorite tipple of European kings and emperors, from Frederick the Great to Napoleon.  But the vineyards were decimated by phylloxera, the Cloete family were bankrupted, and Groot Constantia was sold to the government as an experimental station. In 1980 Duggie Jooste bought Klein Constantia, redeveloped it, and is now selling a new version of Vin de Constance made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains.
  The Franschhoek Valley was settled over 300 years ago by the French Huguenots. The first official wine route was opened in Stellenbosch in 1971.
caption: Groot Constantia, the oldest wine estate in South Africa
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