KLEIN CONSTANTIA - GREAT WINES - VERY POOR BUSINESS ETHIC!

So...I am an avid wine enthusiast,collector and foodie and to this end, I enjoy spending time at various estates, tasting wines, buying wines and having lunch at the various wine estate Bistros,Restaurants etc, over the weekends.

Last weekend, I took my fiance to a few estates in the Constantia area and we ended off at Klein Constantia, as I wanted her to taste the Vin De Constance for the first time and then have a light lunch. The tasting was excellent and their Metis Sauvignon Blanc is a winner! However, that is where my enjoyment ended. We had asked the tasting team to book us in at the 'Bistro' for two persons for a light lunch after our tasting. We had purchased approximately R2000 worth of wine and were looking forward to lunch.

I was then told that I could not open one of the bottles of wine which I had just purchased not even 10m away from their cellar and was then faced with having to pay R400 for the very same bottle of Metis Sauvignon Blanc than I just had paid R290 for at the tasting cellar?? That was not all....I then opened the Bistro menu! WOW!!!!!! That light lunch we wanted was going to cost us R600 for two persons....as they only have a set menu to choose from starting at R300pp for a 2-course lunch and R400pp for the 3-course lunch. There were no other options!

As I had just ordered the R400 bottle of Metis Sauvignon Blanc and the waitress had already poured out two half glasses by the time I saw the menu prices....We were stuck! We contemplated finishing the glass of wine and leaving, but were told we could not just sit there and drink our wine, so we had to order.

So...we ended up spending R300pp on a light Bistro lunch at Klein Constantia! The total bill for our anticipated light lunch with a bottle of wine and a tip was R1100,00!! SORRY!!! THIS IS ****** HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND IT IS DEFINITELY NOT THE WAY TO TREAT YOUR LOCAL CLIENTS!

WHY MUST I PAY R110 MORE FOR A WINE I HAVE JUST TASTED AND PURCHASED 10M AWAY IN YOUR TASTING ROOM...I AM NOT INTERESTED IN ON-CONSUMPTION OR OFF-CONSUMPTION - IT IS BULL**** AND IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. IF YOU WANT LOCAL SUPPORT OF YOUR ESTATE AND RESTAURANT, THEN OFFER US A FAIR DEAL ON FOOD AND WINE - OR ALTERNATELY, ASK THE OVERSEAS TOURISTS WHO THROW AWAY THERE EURO'S & POUNDS TO HELP YOU PUT OUT FIRES WHEN THEY THREATEN YOUR VINEYARDS!!!

The wine industry is always harping on about poor returns due to climate etc. Well perhaps you need to start supporting those that always support you and not aligning your prices based on your number of tourists visiting your estate and re-align your business model to accommodate more locals...we are the loyal ones.

Ian Ross