When in Stellenbosch ..... Waterford

Somebody once said that God was in a particularly good mood when He created the Boland, so he spent a bit of extra time and attention here. Driving into Waterford Estate is like entering the very best of the area between the Simonsberg and Helderberg mountain ranges. It’s situated on the Blaauwklippen road a few kilometres from my sister’s house. The first impression you get, passing rolling lawns, citrus groves, and lovely lavender beds as you drive up to the winery (built from mountain sandstone quarried essentially from next to the vineyard land and timber grown on the estate), is that the owners of this place realise just how magnificent a piece of earth they are privileged to own and cultivate – this place is loved and it shows.

The farm was established in 1998 when Jeremy and Leigh Ord acquired 120Ha of vineyard land that was previously part of the Stellenrust Farm. In partnership with winemaker Kevin Arnold and his family, who planned the new winery and resurrected the existing vineyards and orchards, the two families created something extraordinary.

We went to Waterford for their unique wine and chocolate tasting, which was held in the beautiful courtyard with its tinkling fountain surrounded by trees. Three wines are served with three chocolates specially crafted by the Greyton-based chocolatier, Richard von Geusau, all beautifully displayed on a wooden board. First up was the Kevin Arnold Shiraz (which is so special it immediately got itself selected as the husband’s gift from the trip), paired with Masala Chai Dark Chocolate. Next up was a Cabernet Sauvignon with Rock Salt Dark Chocolate. Lastly came the Waterford Heitherleigh with a Rose Geranium Milk Chocolate. The name of this wine derives from first names of Jeremy Ord and Kevin Arnold’s wives – actually, each wine in their range bears the name of a member of the Ord or Arnold families.

Walking out of the tasting room, a slightly unexpected sight awaited: a typical safari type game viewing Landrover. We learned that the farm take guests on a two hour wine drive safari around the farm to show them the flora and fauna on the farm, a bit of the vineyards and spectacular views from high up on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain. Sounds fantastic, so maybe next time?

You can visit their website or like their Facebook page.

Image credits: Some of these photos were taken by me, but as is always the case when I am somewhere with my sister, I just tend to hand her my camera to take advantage of her fantastic eye for a shot. Therefore, most of these beautiful images were captured by Elanie Fourie.