In 2019, British media houses declared ‘move over Majorca’ as British reality show, Love Island prepared to begin filming in Cape Town.
The Midden Cottage, located near Eagle's Nest, plays host to the first season of Love Island that was filmed in South Africa, season six. Love Island is filmed over a racy season that sees contestants (known as Islanders) battle to stay in a couple in order to win.
Eagle's Nest, part of the Constantia Route, is located near The Midden in Constantia. The Midden cottage was transformed specifically to film Love Island in a construction process that reportedly took about two months. While the Love Island antics might make for gripping reality television, the show's arrival has revived Constantia’s unique ability to channel love and romance. Who wouldn’t fall in love with views of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean? Nestled in the winelands, The Midden Cottage was listed at over R80 million, while The Midden House (mansion, but semantics) was listed at R115 million. The architectural marvel, designed by Metropolis, is available for sale at R200 million. It seems difficult to put a price on love, however, the Constantia Wine Route is a priceless destination.
You cannot put a price on love, but a three-story villa located thirty minutes from Cape Town reignites the reality that in Constantia, love is always in the air.
Elunda Basson, cellarmaster at Steenberg describes the ‘air’ in Constantia as cool. According to Elunda, Constantia enjoys a cool Mediterranean climate. She elaborates, “the South Easterly summer wind, together with our shaded slopes against the mountain is our biggest contributor to the Steenberg climate.”
Even without cameras and soft-lighting, the Constantia Wine Route has a firm lens on love. A gourmand’s paradise, with some of history’s favourite wine and unique travel experiences, Constantia has always been prime real estate for love.
World class wine
In 1685, Simon van der Stel, the then Governor of The Cape established Constantia. The land was used to farm cattle, vegetables and wine. Subsequent to Van der Stel’s death, in 1712, the land was divided and sold in three parts – as Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia and Bergvliet. The Cloete family purchased Groot Constantia in 1779. Through efforts like planting vineyards extensively, and building a cellar in 1791, helped to build global wine history. The Grand Constance that was produced at Groot Constantia was appreciated by historical figures, like Napoleon who ordered thirty bottles a month while exiled at St Helena Island. Phylloxera virus caused production of Grand Constance to cease towards the end of the 19th century.
However, history lives on in the form of Vin de Constance at Klein Constantia. Vin de Constance was reintroduced in 1986. Vin de Constance was the first South African wine to be awarded a spot of Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 10 List in 2015. The 1986 vintage of the wine was set at a reserve price of R30 000-R40 000 at the inaugural Wine Cellar Fine Wine Auction at Strauss & Co. in 2019.
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