Wine and Chocolate Tasting at Waterford Estate

Pair sterling vintages with sweet treats at this world-class wine farm

In celebration of the sweet things in life, Waterford Estate, the charming Cape Winelands farm that rests in Stellenbosch’s breathtaking Blaauwklippen Valley, invites patrons to indulge in a decadent tasting experience that combines some of the winery’s top vintages with a selection of specially-made dark and milk chocolates.

Flaunting sweeping lawns, fragrant citrus orchards, lines of lavender and a Mediterranean-inspired stone villa as its centrepiece, this unique 120-hectare estate – the cherished child of two passionate families, the Ords and the Arnolds – offers up more than just world-class wines (though, of course, they do boast a superior range of sterling reds and whites); rather, the farm aims to also provide visitors with a multifaceted, memorable experience, one that rejoices in life, abundance, leisure, family and friends.

One important part of this soulful, holistic approach is their wine and chocolate pairing, an innovative offering that the estate has become renowned and well loved for. The delightful result of a collaboration between Cellar Master Kevin Arnold and celebrated chocolatier Richard von Geusau (who crafted the cocoa treats specifically to complement, balance and bring out the flavours of select Waterford varietals), this delicious and rather indulgent sampling showcases the best the farm has to offer.

With heavenly combinations of rich tastes and texture at its centre, the standard tasting marries three of the estate’s finest reds and dessert wines with three distinct squares of smooth, carefully-handcrafted chocolate.

More specifically, the powerful, spicy Kevin Arnold Shiraz is complemented by a decadent cinnamon-infused Masala Chai Dark Chocolate, the savoury, well-structured Waterford Cabernet Sauvignon finds its perfect match in a Rock Salt Dark Chocolate and the vanilla-rich Heatherleigh Natural Sweet is paired with a Rose Geranium Milk Chocolate, making for a seamless blend of rum, soft biscuit and fruit flavours. For those wanting to savour a wider variety of the farm’s wines, there’s also a more comprehensive tasting that includes five additional reds and whites from the Waterford, Pecan Stream and Kevin Arnold ranges.

Visitors can choose to indulge in the sampling either inside in the cosy tasting room (it features a warming hearth that’s ideal for winter), on the adjacent enclosed patio or outside in the enchanting alfresco stone courtyard that comes complete with a tranquil central fountain – the symbol of the Waterford brand. Wherever the pairing experience is had, though, it’s one blissfully delicious enough to have patrons returning to this idyllic farm again and again.

Waterford’s wine and chocolate tasting is available daily from Monday to Saturday. The more limited combination of three wines with three chocolates costs R45 per person, whereas the full tasting of eight wines (with the accompanying three chocolates) will set visitors back R65 each.

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Read more about charming Stellenbosch wine estate, Waterford.

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