Historical wine bottle found off the coast in Stockholm

Wednesday, 2 March, 2011
Groot Constantia Estate
A Groot Constantia wine bottle has been bequeathed to The Historical Museum of Wine and Spirits by a man who found the bottle at the bottom of the ocean in the archipelago off Stockholm in the late 1940's while diving in the area.
The bottle housed in the Historical Museum of Wine and Spirits in Stockholm Sweden is engraved with the inscription ‘Constantia Wyn’ as follows:

CON
STANTIA
WYN

It is believed to be an 18th century bottle from Groot Constantia. It is very beautiful and in good condition, made of dark olive green almost brown glass with a long straight neck and a low shoulder and is thought to be from circa 1790.

Jean Naudé is very excited about this discovery and says “this find adds to the clear evidence that Groot Constantia wines were enjoyed all over the world in the earliest of times: Patently the most sought after wine in the world.”

In another exciting and authenticated addition to Groot Constantia’s history, Jean Naude was contacted by a German Glass Museum in October 2010 with another interesting story.

Three different shards of glass certified as coming from South Africa in the 18th Century are in the historical collection of glass in the Annenwalder Glass Factory. There are three different glass emblems containing the insignia ‘Constantia-wyn’.

German research done by the team led them to the fact that the wine in these bottles had been made in South Africa was of high quality and expensive it was named after the daughter of the then Governor of the Cape Simon van der Stel. These pieces of glass had certainly come from wine consumed at the Royal Court in Potsdam, a village in Germany near Berlin.

Of interest is the fact that this old and broken glass was bought from Potsdam by the Annenwalder Glass Factory in order to be recycled. Fortunately it was recognised to be of artistic and historical significance and kept in their museum where it can be seen today.

Even though it is unnecessary in the face of the fascinating and authenticated history of this centuries old farmland, here are three more pieces in the jigsaw puzzle that confirms the rich and integrated history of Groot Constantia.