As if we needed another reason to indulge in our local, delicious wines, but WINE not? Congratulations to Groot Constantia for being rated as the Top South African Wine Producer for 2016 by the South African Wine Index (SAWi).
‘SAWi base their decisions on national and international wine show results over a period of 10 years, and use a scientific analysis of the results of independent judging panels across the globe, making it arguably the most objective rating system in South Africa,’ says Boela Gerber, winemaker for Groot Constantia. ‘To receive a good rating, one needs to produce good quality wine over a long period of time. This aggregate win means that Groot Constantia won this award based on consistent performance over 100 competitions over a period of 10 years.’
‘The vineyard and winemaking teams have established a seamless cooperation between themselves over the years, which is a necessity to achieve these top results. They have proven why Groot Constantia’s wine were so popular amongst European royalty more than two centuries ago,’ says Jean Naude, general manager of Groot Constantia.
Groot Constantia was also the only wine estate that had three white wines and three red wines featured on the SAWi Top 10 lists and the estate’s Grand Constance Muscat was a runner-up in the sweet wine category. Winemaker Boela Gerber was selected as the Winemaker of the Year whilst the estate’s viticulturist, Floricius Beukes won the Viticulturist Award.
‘These SAWi awards are a wonderful accolade for Groot Constantia as South Africa’s heritage wine farm, which has been producing wine uninterrupted for 331 years,’ says Grant Newton, Marketing Manager for Groot Constantia. ‘The hard work of our wine-making team is clearly paying off and it is great to receive acknowledgement for all the hard work that has gone into the vineyards over the years.’
Congratulations, Groot Constantia! It is always a pleasure to see Cape Town shine in competitions like these.
