The history of the farm dates back to 1685 when it was granted to the first Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel, as an experimental farm for agricultural produce. Van der Stel named the farm “Constantia” and the produce of vegetables and fruit was supplied to ships that called in at the Cape. Van der Stel mainly developed the practice of viticulture on his estate, and thus laid the groundwork for one of the major export industries of South Africa today.

Four years after his death in 1712, the farm was divided into three portions – Bergvliet, Klein Constantia and the main portion on which the Van der Stel manor was built, which officially became known as Groot Constantia during the mid-19^th century.

In 1778 the farm was bought by Hendrik Cloete, a winemaker from Stellenbosch, and remained in his family for over one hundred years. Hendrik Cloete gave the farm a new look – he built a new wine cellar, adapted the original house and expanded the outbuildings in front of the manor house. He also improved the vineyards and introduced his own winemaking methods. His wines became world famous. His family carried on and maintained his standards after his death, and later supplied wine to the exiled French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on St. Helena.

In 1885 it was decided to sell Groot Constantia by auction. The Estate was bought by the Master of the Cape Supreme High Court for the Cape Government, and was used as an experimental wine farm. In 1925 the manor house was severely damaged in a fire. From 1927–1952 the house was restored and refurbished under the supervision of the architect F. K. Kendall, and with items donated and bought solely for this purpose by the art collector A. A. de Pass. To this day, the De Pass Collection still forms the nucleus of the exhibition in the manor house.

Responsibility for the house, its collection and the viticultural functions of the farm was redistributed, until in 1993 the Groot Constantia Trust was established. Today the Estate is owned by the Trust, whose main objective is to preserve this beautiful and historic estate and to honour the name of South African wine.