CONSTANTIA, a district of Cape Colony, in South Africa, lying on the eastern and n.e. slopes of Table mountain range, and distant from Cape Town about 12 miles. C. consists of only two estates, Great Constantin and Little Constantin, which have long been famed for the quality of the wines produced upon them. Many attempts have been made in other parts of Cape Colony, as also in France and the s. of Europe, to produce a wine similar in quality and flavor to the C., but all have failed; and it is now known that not only to the quality of the C. grape, but also to the character of the soil, as well as to the peculiarly genial exposure of the district, the characteristic excellence of the C. (proper) wines is traceable. The soil of the estates is rich in alkalies to an extent perceptible in the grape itself, and the vineyards have a very equable exposure, being sheltered from all sudden cin..iges of temperature by spurs of the great granite mountain. Thz grapes under this shelter ripen very uniformly, so that the earthy taste. which spoils the character of other cape wines, and which is produced by using unpicked grapes of different degrees of ripeness in the same bunch, does not attach to the C.
wines.
Although the attempts made on other farms in the colony to produce wine similar to that of C., have failed in so far as the peculiar flavor as well as lusciousness of real C. are concerned, yet they have led of late to great improvements in the quality of sev. eral of the South African wines; and where care continues to be bestowed, and the habits of different vines in relation to soil and exposure are more studied, we have evi dence in the quality of the improved "Pontac," and other wines of Wynberg, of what can be accomplished with increased labor by Cape Colony as a wine-producing country. Statistics of the wine trade of this settlement show, however, that only a small quantity of genuine wines finds its way into the market—much of that which passes under the name being similar but inferior cape wines. The produce of the C. vineyards sells even in the colony at not less than 68. per bottle.