High Constantia Wine Cellar

High Constantia Wine Cellar: intimate patio tasting on Groot Constantia Road

High Constantia Wine Cellar is the small, easy-to-miss boutique stop on Groot Constantia Road—literally en route to its famous neighbour—where tasting happens on an inviting patio rather than in a polished tourism pavilion. Official site: highconstantia.co.za. Address: Groot Constantia Rd, Constantia, Cape Town, 7848. Phone +27 21 794 7171; WhatsApp +27 83 300 2064; email info@highconstantia.co.za.

If Groot Constantia is the valley’s living museum, High Constantia is the opposite scale: a working boutique cellar with a short driveway, outdoor tasting overlooking garden and dam, and a five-wine flight priced clearly on the official wine-tastings page. There is no restaurant at the tasting room—plan food elsewhere on the Constantia route, or ask politely about bringing light snacks if the host allows on the day.

Wittebomen roots (1693) to David van Niekerk

Official about page: origins trace to 1693, when the land formed part of a Dutch East India Company outpost known as Wittebomen for its silverleaf trees. A section bordering Groot Constantia to the north was granted to William Duckett, British Agricultural Adviser, in 1806. Jacob van Reenen purchased the farm in 1813; it passed to his brother Sebastiaan Valentijn Jnr in 1821. Nineteenth-century High Constantia wine gained a strong reputation and sold well in England; visitors’ books in the Cape Town Archives record stopovers on the Simonstown–Cape Town route and even wines purchased. Historic layout included three main buildings among gardens, lawns and a great oak near the cellar with a platform for family gatherings.

Today, on a small corner of that original land, owner David van Niekerk has restored winemaking from newly planted vineyards. The estate’s public voice emphasises boutique elegance rather than mass-route volume—exactly why patio bookings for groups matter, and why guests who prefer conversation over crowd flow often rank this stop highly once they find the gate.

Patio tasting: what is published

Official wine-tastings page (verified October 2026):

• R160.00 per person for five wines
• MCC (Méthode Cap Classique) available as an optional extra at R150 per generous glass
• Intimate patio overlooking the estate setting
• Groups of more than 6 asked to book in advance
• No restaurant on site

Notable styles historically associated with the cellar (directories and older press) include Constantia Blanc / Sauvignon Blanc lines, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and estate reds; older vintages have sometimes appeared in flights—ask what is open on the day rather than assuming a fixed museum list. Silverhurst has appeared as a related label in tertiary tasting notes; do not expect every secondary label in every flight. The official page does not publish a fixed flight board online, so the host’s current open bottles are the truth on arrival.

Hours: confirm Saturday close carefully

Two official pages disagree slightly on Saturday closing:

• Wine-tastings page: weekdays 8 am – 5 pm; Saturdays 10:15 am – 3:30 pm
• Homepage / About Open Hours: Mon–Fri 8AM–5PM; Sat 10AM–2:30PM; Sunday Closed

Treat Sunday as closed. For Saturday, phone or WhatsApp the day before and ask which close time applies—better than arriving at 14:45 to a locked patio. Weekday mornings are useful if you want a quiet glass before the Groot Constantia crowds build further up the road.

How to visit without missing the gate

Cape of Good Wine and local guides note a small roadside sign midway toward Groot Constantia’s entrance; a short driveway leads past residential character into a compact cellar setting. Expect a verandah/patio overlooking garden, dam and views toward the Schoenstadt nunnery area rather than a vast lawn picnic operation. Bring curiosity and a flexible palate; leave assumptions about child-play zones, food trucks or cellar-theatre tours at home—none of those packages are published on the official tasting page.

Booking contacts again: +27 21 794 7171, WhatsApp +27 83 300 2064, info@highconstantia.co.za. Walk-ins for small parties are the norm when capacity allows; larger parties must secure a place first.

Place on the Constantia Wine Route

High Constantia earns a listing because it preserves a continuous Constantia address with seventeenth-century toponymy (Wittebomen), nineteenth-century export fame under the van Reenens, and a contemporary boutique revival under van Niekerk—while offering one of the valley’s clearest, lowest-complexity tasting prices. Pair it with a booked meal at Jonkershuis, Simon’s, Constantia Glen or elsewhere; use High Constantia for a calm five-wine pause and an optional Cap Classique glass.

It is also a practical “between stops” cellar when your day already includes Groot Constantia: many visitors drive past without knowing a second cellar sits on the same road. That scarcity of signage is part of the character—and why this portal guide spells out address, hours caveats and the R160 / R150 MCC extras from the official page. Listed on Wined Constantia route / Cape of Good Wine directories; Nominatim GPS was unreliable in batch metadata, so navigate by road address and signage rather than a pin alone.

Practical checklist

1. Save Groot Constantia Rd, Constantia, 7848 and the WhatsApp number. 2. Confirm Saturday closing time before you leave your previous farm. 3. Budget R160 pp (+ R150 if you add MCC). 4. Book ahead if your party exceeds six. 5. Do not expect a restaurant—eat before or after. 6. Ask which five wines and which vintages are pouring; buy library bottles if offered.

FAQ

Is there a cellar tour package? Not published as a priced tour on the wine-tastings page—patio tasting is the offer.

Sunday opening? Homepage states Sunday closed.

Website: https://www.highconstantia.co.za/