Is there a secret rice paddy at Groot Constantia?

According to packets of rice on sale in France’s top supermarket, there must be, but neither Iziko Museums (who looks after the buildings) nor Jean Naudé (who run the farm operation) knows anything about such a mysterious field.

Yet Carrefour uses a full-frontal, full-colour picture of the Groot Constantia manor house on its house brand packaging of what it calls Riz des Amériques. The mind boggles at the association of a Cape-Dutch gabled house and rice, but there it is. And the supermarket has, so far, not explained.

Of course, it took a red-blooded South African wine lover to spot the amusing package (in various sizes, nogal.) There it was, all too recognisable: the famous gable, riempiebank on the voorstoep and bright-green oak boughs overhead. Yet, it says on the back that the rice comes, yes, from...Uruguay.

The back label boasts that the ‘riz longs grains ... est idéal pour les apprentis cuisiniers’ and that it is sources from ‘les mellieures régions productrices d’Uruguay’. Next to the picture of the Groot Constantia manor house entrance on the front, the supermarket promises that the rice will cook in 8 minutes and is ‘incollable’ - a saving grace for all apprentice home cooks worried about sticky rice.

Naturally the Capey-in-France was curious about how the muddle-up came about, and if the chaps making wine down south know anything about it.

Carrefour is the world’s second largest supermarket, with a presence in 35 countries. (Clearly not much interest in South Africa.)

Iziko, under whose administration the buildings and heritage of Groot Constantia fall, didn’t seem to care much. A spokeswoman said they ‘certainly did not give permission for the use of the image, but as we cannot be certain where the image came from, if it is an image or a recreation of an image, we cannot comment’.

Jean Naude, the CEO on the wine side, was more worried about climate change - which may well turn the estate into rice paddies (and possible rice wine).

The supermarket’s on-line press liaison has ignored requests for comment.

One would have thought that the locals would be a little more concerned, especially in the years of SA wine 350. After all, isn’t Groot Constantia an iconic brand?