Coffee table book celebrates the timeless vision of Constantia Glen

The evocative journey spanning more than 140 years of Constantia Glen, a jewel in the crown of South Africa’s oldest wine region, has been chronicled in a beautiful coffee table book.

Constantia Glen – A Timeless Vision captures the life and times of this boutique wine estate through its turbulent early history and eventual transformation from forest land into one of the Cape’s premier family-owned wine estates.

Carefully researched and written by author Clare O’Donoghue with compelling pictures by Craig Fraser, the book is a celebration of Constantia Glen’s prowess.

Constantia Glen.

This visual feast is a historical account, rich in scale, but it’s also the intimate story of the Waibel family whose determined vision is underwritten by a deep love for the land they have nurtured over four generations.

The book pays homage to the finely-tuned contemporary operations and advances behind its world-class winemaking, the Constantia Glen team’s unflinching commitment to quality in everything that they do, and the “extended family” – the Constantia Glen staff – some of whom have worked on the farm for decades.

“There’s a lot to be said for continuity,” says Alexander Waibel, the third-generation custodian of Constantia Glen. “It’s in the way we learn about our vineyards and the way we value the people who work in them.”

The 60 hectares of undulating landscape have been under the custodianship of the Waibel family, a textile dynasty from Dornbirn in Austria, since the late ’50s – first as rolling forest land, then an Angus stud before returning to their historic wine farming roots.

Constantia Glen.

The first vines were planted in 2000 with the very first vintage of Sauvignon Blanc harvested in 2005.

As a vanguard in the pioneering story of the Constantia Valley, Constantia Glen’s internationally acclaimed Bordeaux-style wines are known for their profound sense of place. “We steer our grapes into wines that are a reflection of where they are grown,” says winemaker Justin van Wyk.

Situated on the upper reaches of Constantiaberg, 20 minutes from Cape Town city, Constantia Glen is a haven from the urban bustle so deceptively close by.

Constantia Glen – A Timeless Vision is published by Quivertree and sells for R500 at selected bookstores.

Constantia Glen – A Timeless Vision.

Info

• Constantia Glen is open from Sundays until Thursdays from 10am to 6pm and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 8pm.
• For more information, visit constantiaglen.com

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