Vin De Constance the South African Legend

In the 18th and 19th centuries " the sweet luscious and excellent wine of Constantia " was recognized as one of the great wines of the world.

The story of this legendary wine begins in 1685 with Simon van der Stel, Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. A dynamic, energetic man, he was the first to realise that the small colony was not merely a halfway house, but a place of real significance.

Before selecting a farm of his own he set men to work, digging up basketfuls of soil all along the southern slopes of the Cape Peninsula. Samples sent back for testing showed that the valley facing False Bay had by far the best potential as it lay between two great oceans - the Indian and the Atlantic - it was cooled by moisture - laden winds, and its granite soils, which had weathered down over millions of years, ensured success for the planting of vines and the making of fine wine.

Calling his vast estate Constantia, van der Stel soon gained a reputation for excellent wine, but it was not until 50 years after his death that hendrik Cloete brought the Governors dream to its real fulfillment. Great grandson of an early German settler, he was another dynamic, hard - working man with an intense love of the soil, and a determination to make the best wine in the country.

Van der Stels farm had been divided into three and Cloete came in from Stellenbosch to buy the homestead. He built the finest wine cellar in the land and planted thousands of new vines, mostly Frontignac, Pontac, red and white Muscadel and a little steen, varieties which were to make Constantia famous for the next hundred years.

The vineyards were prepared with scrupulous care and grapes allowed to ripen on the vines until they were almost like raisens and sweet as honey. Then came meticulous preparation of vats and slow maturation before the wine was sen by sailing ship to Europe and to England. Taking a brave secision they did not shelter behind accepted names like Sauterns or Madeira, but kept the name Constantia - plain and simple.

Cloete was blessed with nine sons, six of whom were well known wine -makers. He chose Hendrik Junior, a brilliant trader and marketer, to inherit Constantia, followed by his grandson Jacob Pieter, who spoke fluent French and installed an agent in Paris where his wines won several medals.

It was during their ownership that Constantia reached the height of its fame.

"From these Elysian fields used to come one of the very greatest wines in the world - the legendary Constantia ", writes Hugh Johnson, " Constantia was bought by European courts in the early 19th century in preference to Yquem, Tokay, Madeira..." Kings vied for possession of this wine. Louis Philippe sent emissaries from France to Fetch it. Napoleon drank it on the island of St Helena, finding solace in his lonely exile, Frederick the Great and Bismarck ordered it and in England the Prime Minister - who had sampled it with much delight at Downing Street - made sure that consignments from the Cape were delivered to Buckingham Palace for the King.

" The sweet, luscious and excellent wine called Constantia" soon became part of the literature of the 19th century. In Edwin Drood Charles Dickens tells of "the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit", while Jane Austen recommends that her forsaken heroine try a little Contantia for "its healing powers on a dissappointed heart". While German poet Klopstock devotes an entire ode to the pleasures of this wine, Baudelaire transforms it into a sensuous image for his great brooding poem Les Fleurs du Mal.

Towards the end of the 19th century the dreaded disease phylloxera arrived at the Cape, causing devastation in the vineyards and bankrupcy amongst the winemaking families. Groot Constantia was sold to the government as an experimental wine farm and the Cloetes moved away. "The old order changeth, yielding place to new", and with it went the famous sweet constantia wines which had brought delight and pleasure the world over. The legend lived on however, immortalised in poetry and prose, and still vibrantly alive in many old bottles which lay forgotten in the cellars of Europe,s great wine collectors.

Since 1980 Klein Constantia has been redeveloped and everyone involved has seen it as a challenge, almost a mission, to bring back the famous wine, for the farm had been part of Simon van der Stel,s estate. Early records were studied and careful selection made from vines which in all likelihood came from the original stock used in Constantia 300 years ago.



SOMM

SOMM is a Documentary about 4 American Sommeliers attempting to pass the prestigious master sommelier exam, it took two years of filming in 6 countries and finally the trailer has been released. Watch the trailer here http://www.jbwpro.com/JBWpro/SOMM.html.

This documentary is a revolution in the hospitality industry, in an industry dominated by chefs, sommeliers have always taken a backseat until now, in the trailer there are chefs getting quoted saying " i thought the chefs had it all, somms are the new rock stars of the industry" some people might debate this as the term "rock star" is not what the Court of Master Sommeliers teachers you, the Court teaches you humility, and although these 4 sommeliers seem like, and in there own right are "rock stars" they belong to the Court and i assure you they are as Humble as anyone.

I for one cannot wait to see the film, it will shed light on the sommelier profession and put across the message of how hard and gruelling these exams are, and only the best of the best and most dedicated and talented sommeliers eventually make it to arguably the highest achievement in the world of wine.

What i hope this film will do is inspire more sommeliers to pursue these exams as well as getting more young people in the industry to consider a sommelier profession, the sommelier community is almost like a brotherhood where the more there are trying to achieve the same goal the easier it is. So with that i say watch this trailer, share this trailer and most of all be inspired!!!