Discover Constantia Valley
South Africa’s historic wine region brings its unrivalled ‘Sense of Place’ to the British market.
The UK is easily the biggest market for South African wine, making up almost a third of the country’s total global exports annually.
Between May 2023 and May 2024, some 93 million litres reached British shores.
In context, the republic produced 306.3 million litres for the international market last year, with packaged wine exports accounting for 117.1 million litres and bulk wine 189.2 million.
South African wines have found favour in the UK for several reasons, chief among them that they offer excellent quality at prices well below the premium brands produced in marquee wine-growing nations like France and Italy.
Variety also benefits the country, with Sauvignon Blancs, Shiraz, Chenin Blanc, and Pinotage proving particularly enticing to UK palates prone to classic and more experimental varietals.
Regionality is another factor influencing UK buyers, and the varied terroirs of South Africa’s Western Cape province certainly deliver in this regard.
While the Wine Route outside Cape Town is famed for many award-winning vintages, Constantia—the oldest New World wine-growing region in the world yet among South Africa’s smallest—boasts the province’s most extraordinary terroir.
Its first vines were planted by Dutch navigator Jan van Riebeeck, the Cape’s first colonial administrator, in 1659.
The two types of soil found at Constantia, decomposed granite and Table Mountain sandstone, are some 600 million years old, making them more complex than most wine-producing regions in Europe and the Americas.
Decomposed granite promotes salinity in Sauvignons, giving them a distinctive salty minerality, while grapes grown on Table Mountain sandstone tend to be fuller-bodied and have more depth.
Reds thrive in the Constantia Valley thanks to its cooler climate, almost identical to the heralded red wine regions of Hawkes Bay in New Zealand and Margaret River in Australia.
There is also very little difference between Constantia and Bordeaux, especially compared to the French region’s recent warmer vintages.
Constantia produces a range of reds, mainly from Bordeaux varieties and Shiraz, as well as Pinotage and Nebbiolo.
One of the region’s most successful wine growers is Steenberg Vineyards.
The farm was established in 1682 by pioneering German immigrant Catharina Ras, who became Southern Africa’s first female landowner.
Today, it is renowned for its award-winning varietals like the Steenberg Magna Carta, Nebbiolo and The Black Swan Sauvignon Blanc, which are produced using the natural processes unique to the region.
Steenberg Vineyards Marketing Manager Carryn Wiltshire is not surprised to see more Britons enjoying South African vintages, given the growing cultural and tourist connection between the UK and South Africa.
One of the major drivers of UK consumption of South African wines is that the country’s winemakers are renowned for emphasising sustainability and ethical practices.
Particularly in recent years, UK consumers have become more aware of the environmental impact of their purchases.
“The process we use at Steenberg looks to the future, creating a more sustainable fertility in the buds.
“We have already seen significant improvement in bud growth,” says Wiltshire.
One of Steenberg’s standout growing practices is “sprawling,” which produces a better balance between sugars and high acidity and a higher-quality grape.
The technique aligns with Steenberg’s drive towards regenerative agriculture, which aims to restore the earth and soil to their natural state.
This includes sourcing Indigenous cover crops whose broader root structure prevents the emergence of harmful weeds while retaining those that aid wine-growing.
Steenberg Viticulturalist and Farm Manager Vlok Hanekom explains that the sprawling method is used in the estate’s oldest top Sauvignon Blanc blocks.
Black Swan is produced from these.
“We prolong the lifespan of these vineyards by letting them sprawl naturally.
“The shoots are not forced in any unnatural direction.” says Hanekom.
The Farm also employs the vertical shoot positioning training method in its younger blocks, where it is still possible to position the shoots vertically without breaking or going against their natural direction.
Steenberg’s terroir has been thoroughly analysed to identify cooler and warmer slopes.
Sauvignon Blancs are planted on the former, which helps break down green flavours in the grapes and vines.
This offers an excellent phenolic ripeness to the grapes.
The warmer slopes, meanwhile, are perfect for red varietals.
“We have a saying at Steenberg” says Carryn Wiltshire, “‘Made in the vineyards – cared for in the cellar’.
“When you are in the right space and producing beautiful grapes, you let nature do the work.
“It’s about consistency and the intrinsic fundamental values that produce the quality of the wine.”
Steenberg wines are readily available in the UK through leading online merchants, including Frontier Wines, London’s Vinvm Online Wine Merchant, Wine Direct and Vinello.