SALT Restaurant at Waterford Estate

Great news. Chefs Craig Cormack and Beau du Toit have opened their restaurant, Salt, at Waterford Wine Estate, so you can look forward to a combination of great wines, paired with superb food. We were invited to join a small party and sample both this last week. Waterford is one of the most attractive wine estates in Stellenbosch, up the Blaauwklippen road, and we are always met with a very warm welcome. They have many things to experience and enjoy on the farm; have a look at their website https://www.waterfordestate.co.za/

It was a small group that was invited; people we often used to meet at media functions like this and whom we have missed seeing very much. L to R Journalist Fiona McDonald; Kevin Arnold, Managing Partner and Cellarmaster at Waterford; Damien Joubert-Winn, Head of Sales and Marketing at Waterford; Lynne and Journalist Graham Howe

Salt chefs Craig Cormack and Beau du Toit. We are always very happy to see them cooking;
they produce such great food. They also have a catering company called Goose Roasters

Kevin Arnold shows a wine to Pamela McOnie of Cape Fusion Tours and James Pietersen of The Wine Cellar

The long table on the verandah with Chef Craig joining us for a short while
to tell us about the menu and his philosophy of seasoning with salt
Between Graham Howe and Craig is Maryna Calow who is Communications Manager at Wines of South Africa

A smiling Kevin Arnold, Cellarmaster and Managing Partner of Waterford Wine Estate since 1998
Kevin was one of the founding partners with Jeremy and Leigh Ord
They have had a good harvest in what has been a difficult year for the wine industry

Chef Craig Cormack is well known as the man who knows all about Salt.
He has collected Salts from all over the world. He sells them and he uses them in his cooking

Winemaker Mark le Roux came to suggest some Waterford wines to accompany lunch and to have a chat
He has been very busy with the harvest. We have not seen him for quite a while

The Menu is small but perfectly formed!

What to choose ....? It was not easy

To start, a plate of small delights to share. Potato bitterballen, very crisp sesame encrusted spanakopita triangles,
a delicious Imam Bayildi aubergine and tomato dip, freshly churned butter and soft sourdough bread

A lightly seared, succulent fillet of SASSI Orange listed Red Roman fish on a bed of plump smoked mussels, spicy chorizo in a lake of a classic saffron bourride sauce and topped with crisp melting slices of aubergine was hard to resist. The flavours took one right back to the Mediterranean coast. We were offered different wines to pair with each dish. The wine that came with the fish was the 2018 Waterford Grenache Noir, chosen because of the savoury flavours of the bourride and the chorizo. Lynne asked if she could also taste the unwooded Waterford Estate Chardonnay and was pleased to say that both are, in their own way, beautiful pairings. The crisp Chardonnay, with richness on the nose and palate with lemon and lime flavours, went beautifully with the moist, delicate fish but also put the spicy sauce in its place. And the absolutely delicious fruity and robust Grenache, lighter in colour but not in flavour, has all the charm and flavour to enhance this good dish. It is also the style of Grenache often found near the Mediterranean. Lots of cherry, mulberry and some savouriness

The slow braised and tender Hantam Karoo lamb shank, wrapped in lamb bacon, had the bone removed and was served with a flavourful lentil and vegetable stew, with fermented clementine, a harissa dressing, and minted labneh

John chose the lamb and so enjoyed the pairing of Waterford's Kevin Arnold Shiraz very much
The earthy black pepper and rich, dark berry fruit of the Shiraz made a perfect pairing with the rich, succulent lamb shank

The dishes do not come with carbohydrates; Chef Craig prefers to serve Farinaceous starch,
commonly referred to as pasta, and so they vary the different pastas they use
We were served linguini with seeds and micro herbs in a rich buttery sauce, to share

We had to think hard about dessert, but wilfully succumbed to the Pear Tart aux Fin
Light as air and melt in the mouth crisp, black pepper dacquoise base,
topped with slices of buttery roasted pear and flaked almonds,
an amaretto and pear purée and topped with a red Alaea Hawaiian salt and black pepper ice cream
To dream of - and want more

And another perfect match was the Waterford Heatherleigh dessert wine,
made from 55% Muscat de Alexandre, 30% Chardonnay, 12% Viognier, 3% Chenin Blanc
It is floral with honey, peach and clementine peel on the nose, which follow through on the palate,
and not over sweet, so a very good pairing with desserts
The grape stems are pinched on the vine, to concentrate and 'raisin' the grapes
No botrytis is allowed as it would make the wine too sweet

The Affogato dessert option: Traditional in Italy, it's a good shot of hot espresso black coffee
to be poured over a scoop of home churned vanilla ice cream

Voila! Heat meets icy cold. So enjoyable

Pam McOnie chatting to Beau and Craig. Nicely socially distanced

The courtyard is a lovely place to enjoy Waterford and its new restaurant, Salt
We recommend that you do go and try it

An intelligent graphic in the tasting room

As a final touch, we all enjoyed a glass of the Waterford Cap Classique
100% Chardonnay which spends 7 years on the lees in bottle and has just been disgorged
On the nose there is richness, fruit, brioche from the lees
Crisp and lean, just as we love it, with a lovely prickle from the mousse
then the golden fruit flavours appear, it is so satisfying and enjoyable

and the excellent food and wine made for a beautifully relaxed atmosphere
and appropriately relaxed conversation at the end of the meal

A Liquidambar tree showed us its autumn colours as we left Waterford

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