Our Philosophy
Constantia Uitsig has a long and rich heritage behind it. However, it’s the prospect of what lies ahead that inspires us most. That’s why we’re passionate about sustainability – in all its forms.
With an uncompromising commitment to the greenest building and farming practices, we hope to create a space that is at once beautiful, bio diverse and most importantly, still enjoyed for the generations that have yet to come. As seen on our labels, we are working toward becoming a haven for not only indigenous flora, but indigenous birds as well.
To this end, we try to work as naturally as possible in the vineyards, using cover cropping, mulching and integrated pest management programmes. Flowers play a central theme at Uitsig too – welcoming a diversity of beneficial insects and bright colours to the vineyards whilst our farm-made compost enriches the soil.
In the process of ensuring our farm is as free of alien vegetation as possible, the wood from felled alien trees has been incorporated into our new building developments. Wherever possible, we’ve used what we’ve found on the land – from the timber beams and tables to the sand in the cement that holds everything together.
"we’re passionate about sustainability -
in all it's forms"
Methods Used
Organic farming is fundamental to every aspect of Constantia Uitsig, with a holistic approach that integrates crop and organic farming to vineyard management. The talented estate farming team are as adept at nurturing vines, as they are developing new land, or working within the winery. Harmony and vitality of the vines is the main focus of all the activities in the vineyard. Our viticulture is centred around the careful use of resources as well as location-specific and natural development of the vines.
Compost from manure and pomace is spread to revitalize the soil; the rich flora of the green rows of vines ensures a balanced supply of nutrients and promotes biodiversity. The use of beneficial insects and the lack of pesticides ensures that the plants and grapes are kept healthy and natural.
Conservation
Everyone working on the farm embodies a strong ethos of taking good care of animals, and everyone understands the importance of the wildlife on the farm. Constantia Uitsig is home to a wide array of indigenous birds and animals. For this reason, we have chosen to use the birds found on the farm to represent our wines, with each wine having its own bird representing it.
Our energetic embodiment of conservation means that we have chosen to use the most environmentally friendly approach to farming and make sure nothing is wasted, along with our use of beneficial insects and lack of pesticides. This ensures that Constantia Uitsig can remain a haven for all those who work or visit here.
Greenhouse & Nursery
Part of our ethos at Constantia Uitsig is restoring the land to its indigenous state. Constantia Uitsig prides itself on having a state-of-the-art greenhouse and nursery. Our vision is to use this for the rehabilitation and restoration of indigenous vegetation that has been lost over hundreds of years of farming. We are also committed to removing all alien plant species on and around the farm, making room for our indigenous plants.
Through these efforts we plan to promote the natural beauty of the Cape, by allowing native vegetation or ‘fynbos’ to grow uninhibited. We hope this can help aid biodiversity and restore the natural balance in our eco system.
We also have a large vegetable garden which our staff have named ‘Eden’, where we are growing organic fruit and vegetables.