Cellar Audio Guide: From Berry to Barrel to Bottle

(98 reviews)

Cape Town audio tour: Cellar Audio Guide: From Berry to Barrel to Bottle

This is an indoor tour.

It takes an average of 40 mins to complete.

Cape Town

South Africa

Free

Access all 12 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

Reviews

About the Tour

Follow Groot Constantia’s grapes on their journey through the cellar, where they get destemmed, pressed, pumped over, and left at the mercy of yeast, to emerge as some of the world's finest wines.

You’ll set sail on global trade routes, meet Boela Gerber, the head winemaker here, and finish the tour thirsty, with a much keener appreciation for the flavours in your glass.

Credits:

Adrian Galley - Narrator

Excerpt from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - read by Karen Savage

Music:

Doug Maxwell - Baroque Coffee House
Gary Reuben Morris - Uganda 2

Tour Producer

Groot Constantia

3 tours

Groot Constantia is South Africa's oldest wine estate, established in 1685 by Simon van der Stel on the Cape Peninsula in the shadow of Table Mountain, overlooking False Bay. For over three centuries, this national heritage site has been producing world-class wines from rich African soil, a living testament to one man's vision that grew into a cornerstone of global wine heritage.

Nestled in a steep valley on Table Mountain's eastern slopes, the estate is far more than a winery. It is a cultural landmark that captures the full breadth of South Africa's diverse history, offering visitors cellar tours, wine tastings, and sensory experiences rooted in centuries of craft and tradition.

Groot Constantia's wines have earned their place in literature and legend alike. Timeless, vibrant, and deeply connected to the land, the estate remains as alive today as the vineyards it has lovingly tended since 1685.

We continue the tradition of making world-class wines on our beautiful estate, which is also a national heritage site. We provide tastings as well as cellar tours.

Save with Cape Town audio tour passes

How do passes work?

Buy credits that give you discounted access to your choice of tours

3 Tours

Valid for 7 days

$24.99

Buy Pass

5 Tours

Valid for 30 days

$34.99

Buy Pass

10 Tours

Valid for 90 days

$49.99

Buy Pass

View all passes

Preview Location

Location 4

The Alchemist’s Laboratory

NARRATOR: Welcome to the alchemist’s laboratory, where Groot Constantia’s chief winemaker, Boela Gerber, crafts liquid gold.

Let’s not hang around here, at the top of the stairs. Follow the arrow to your right and carry on all the way over to the farthest corner of the cell... NARRATOR: Welcome to the alchemist’s laboratory, where Groot Constantia’s chief winemaker, Boela Gerber, crafts liquid gold.

Let’s not hang around here, at the top of the stairs. Follow the arrow to your right and carry on all the way over to the farthest corner of the cellar. You’ll know you’re there when you see the sign for location five.

This might be where the magic happens, but Boela Gerber doesn’t like to think of himself as an alchemist.

BOELA: The whole thing about winemaking being an art…I think that whole mindset’s changed. Today, the artform of wine is not really expressing the winemaker’s philosophy. It’s more expressing the vineyard into the wine. So it’s more [sort of] myself working with our vineyard manager Flo, and optimising the quality in the vineyard.

NARRATOR: Flo is Floricious Beukes, Groot Constantia’s viticulturist. Here he is describing his role.

FLORICIOUS: …The vineyards, the soil, the base where the plant is standing in… that is the viticulturalist’s department. To get healthy, beautiful grapes, taking it into the cellar; that’s my job. From there on, Boela will take over.

BOELA: We’re trying to maximise the quality in the vineyard. And from there, y’know, once it’s in the vineyard we translate it into the cellar. Look after the vines and you’ll make magic wines.

NARRATOR: Boela describes himself as a minimalist winemaker. He strives to express the character of the grapes that grow here, on the estate, and through them, the ways in which Groot Constantia’s environment makes its wine unique.

This minimalist approach might sound easy, but to make wine that is full of natural subtleties, Boela actually has to keep a closer eye on how his wine develops. He also has to take a few more risks.

BOELA: The problem with wine is… [it’s] there’s a lot of things you can’t actually control… like maleolactic fermentation… people still don’t really know what exactly makes it work and what doesn’t… It can really affect the quality and the style of your wine, so we need try and keep tabs on the micro and chemistry side of the wine.

NARRATOR: Winemaking here is a process of constant measuring, testing and tasting. Boela keeps tabs on the wine through repeated chemical and micro analyses, to ensure that it doesn’t spoil, and only interferes if it’s absolutely necessary.

Have you found location five yet? It’s long, with a row of illustrations on it. When you’re ready, select it from the list on your screen. We’re going to see what happens when grapes are brought into the cellar.

View locations and route

How VoiceMap Works

Focus on your surroundings, not the screen

The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

Resume playback to go at your own pace

If you'd like to stop for a drink or go into a museum, end your tour then use the Resume feature to pick up exactly where you left off.

Listen as many times as you like

You can listen to your tours as often as you like using both the VoiceMap app and website.

Take virtual tours anywhere, like a podcast

Select Virtual mode in the VoiceMap app to listen to tours like a podcast - at home or in transit.

Buy for less on voicemap.me and sync

Once you've purchased a tour, it's added to your VoiceMap library. To access it in the app, just sign in using the same account.

Do tours without paying for data

Tours work offline, so you don't have to pay roaming fees. Just download them over WiFi before you get started.

Major Landmarks

Groot Constantia

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Constantia, Cape Town, 7848, South Africa
Total distance

224m
Final location
Constantia, Cape Town, 7848, South Africa
Distance back to start location

22.83m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts at the cellar's reception area, just inside the entrance.

Show Directions

Gift vouchers

Buy tours for friends and family who delight in discovery

Buy Now

License this tour

Adapt this tour to use your brand and suit your guests

Find out more

Tips

Places to stop along the way

Best time of day

The cellar is open to visitors from 9:00 to 18:00 every day except Good Friday and Christmas Day.

Precautions

Please stay within the designated areas for your own safety and don't lean over the balustrades on the elevated walkway. Groot Constantia is not responsible for any accidents that might occur while using the Cellar Audio Guide.

Get The App

Download tours to use them offline

Listen hands-free with GPS playback

Get turn-by-turn directions

Scan the QR Code

“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”