So you want to have a mini-escape from the rat-race of your concrete-jungle life, but you don’t want to spend 45 minutes in a hot car driving out into the sticks and pay through your nose for the sky-rocketing price of petrol? We feel the same way. And that is precisely why Beau Constantia is a compulsory stop on your weekend itinerary. We all love to add a little class into our lives from time to time to feel like less of a philistine and more like royalty, especially after one too many weekends of boerewors rolls and beer in the scorched back-yard this past Summer in Cape Town. Bring on Beau Constantia Wine Estate – your distinguished destination of decadence and only a 12 minute drive from the city bowl, if you put foot a little.

We tried it out – and we felt like a million bucks for an entire afternoon. So we will be back. Regularly. Beau Constantia Wine Estate gives you the all-encompassing experience of vineyard-views, award-winning wine and posh food in one pretty awesome tasting room ( its a giant glass box which hangs suspended in the air above an ocean of greenness – so yes, you will be able to impress on the first date or close that business deal at this location). It’s kind of like a really affordable visit to an exclusive club for societies who’s who in a breath-taking location that is usually reserved for the upper-echelon – yet makes you feel totally at home and welcome. Which sounds weird, but actually works.

And best of all, everyone is treated with personalised attention and hospitality to the point that you feel like part of the family within the hour – or it could just be the effect of drinking flipping awesome wine. But who cares when you’re made to feel this content on a mundane weekday right? We enjoyed 6 signature wines created by Beau Constantia’s 20-something wine-maker Justin Van Wyk, matched to the palette with almost mathematical precision to Chef Tjaart Walraven’s South African inspired tasting plate of canapés.

So do yourself a favour and book yourself a seat at Beau Constantia TODAY. And don’t you dare leave without taking home a few bottles of their celebrated Cecily Viognier – that would be sacrilege and not befitting of the royal treatment you will be showered with during this one-stop mini-vacation in Constantia.