Seen here from left to right are Jean Naudé (General Manager of Groot Constantia), Amanda February, Noleen Wilson, Magdaleen Jacobs, Jeremy Sonnenberg, Charles Collins, Magrieta Jacobs and Adam Plaatjies – all who received Long Service Awards from Dr Ernest Messina, Chairperson of the Groot Constantia Trust
333 years old and still going strong – Groot Constantia, the oldest wine estate in South Africa, continues to rake in the accolades and gives thanks to their long standing team of staff for the estates ongoing successes.
Groot Constantia has won well over 100 different gold awards in the past 10 years alone. Most recently the estate was awarded two 5 star wine awards from the annual Platters Wine Guide, whilst a further five Groot Constantia wines achieved 4.5 stars.
The Groot Constantia 2015 Gouverneurs Reserve White and the 2014 Groot Constantia Grand Constance are the 5 star winners in the White Blends and Unfortified Dessert Wine categories, and feature in the 2018 Platters Wine Guide. Groot Constantia’s 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Chardonnay, 2015 Merlot, 2014 Gouverneurs Reserve Red and the 2015 Shiraz all achieved 4.5 stars.
Grant Newton, marketing manager of Groot Constantia explains that this is one of several awards that the estates signature wine, Grand Constance, has won in this past year alone – having also taken home Platinum at the Michelangelo Awards, the title of Top Natural Sweet Wine at the Novare Terroir Awards, and a Gold Medal at the Muscats du Monde wine competition, where it was chosen as one of the top 10 Muscats in the world.
Whilst the estate’s diverse terroir is given much credit for the multiple accolades being achieved by its wines, Jean Naudé, CEO of Groot Constantia says that credit must be given where it is due, and that is to the dedicated and driven viti and vini cultural teams which work together, under the guidance of wine-maker Boela Gerber and Viticulturist Floricius Beukes, to produce Groot Constantia’s award winning wines.
“This year Groot Constantia honoured staff members with their 25, 20, and 15 year service awards. Another five Groot Constantia employees celebrated their 10 year service awards. This dedication and long-term commitment from our valuable team members are a large contributing factor to the consistency of our wines and the achievement of the multiple awards that the estate continues to bring home.”
“Whilst the estates terroir provides top quality grapes with which we produce our award winning wines, it is the people that tend to, harvest and process these grapes into our fine wines that deserve much of the credit.”
“With an uninterrupted record of wine production since its inception in 1685, Groot Constantia is South Africa’s oldest wine producing estate. It boasts a long and colourful history but one thing that remains constant is the ongoing recognition achieved for the calibre of Groot Constantia’s hand-crafted wines.”
“These latest awards from the Platters Wine Guide are an excellent recognition to our vineyard and wine-making team for their continuous drive to increase quality across the board,” concludes Naudé.
For more information visit www.grootconstantia.co.za or connect with Groot Constantia via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @GrootConstantia.
