'I'd started realising how I'd always longed for an opportunity to build a winery from scratch and create a new wine brand.' In hindsight, he says, it was sparked by his time at Robert Mondavi in California.
That opportunity came in 1997 courtesy of a chance encounter with Jeremy Ord, cofounder in the 1980s of information technology leader Dimension Data. Looking to buy a wine farm, as much as a Cape country getaway for the family as a business venture, Jeremy and Leigh Ord asked Kevin to be their real-estate scout.
When Kevin found the piece of land that was to become Waterford Estate, he realised he'd been there before... with Spatz Sperling back in the 1980s! In 1998, the Ord family bought the 120 hectares of prime Stellenbosch mountainside land.
'When the families visited the site together that first time, we were discussing names and looking up at the magnificent waterfall that's in full spate in winter up in the mountain. Jeremy's daughter Ashleigh suggested a name with "water" and we ended up with Waterford... that it contained the Ord name was quite accidental.'
This was no rich man's hobby. 'Buying the land and going the route of experimenting with as many as 11 different varieties was a bit of a gamble. Jeremy left it to me to decide which route to go, on the sole condition that we are cash-flow positive within six years.' They made it: 'Maybe with a little leeway,' admits Kevin wryly.
Waterford Estate's vineyards are on one of three Helderberg mountain ridges. 'They're the pure rock in some areas, incredibly stony with pebbles, like Rioja in Spain, France's Languedoc-Roussillon, and Italy.' This is very unusual amid the rich, deep-red, moisture-retaining soils on the mountain's lower slopes and 'valleys' and promised to lend something unique to the Cape 'super red' blend Kevin had long been envisaging.
It also persuaded him to plant, besides the classic Bordeaux reds, varieties from Mediterranean countries with similar soils: tempranillo from Spain; shiraz, mourvedre and grenache from the southern Rhone; sangiovese and barbera from Italy.
The first Waterford wines to appear were the Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon from 1998. Kevin also released a single label Kevin Arnold Shiraz from that vintage, from outsourced grapes. These wines were made with the help of a few friends who offered cellar space, as there was no winery at Waterford at that time.
In 2004, Waterford registered itself as an 'estate' winery, as all the wines were to be specific to the site on the farm from which they claimed their provenance.
More than two decades later, the sauvignon blanc and chardonnay from old vines growing on the property when it was bought, are 'still stunning', going into single-vineyard wines in the premium Estate range. There are also ongoing experimental blends of bought-in white grapes that form part of Kevin's Library Collection range, each carrying a different 'Edition' label. The best of these find their way onto the Guild auction.
Back then Kevin called on friend and fellow Guild winemaker Jeff Grier of Villiera to help him dust off his white wine-making skills. The two are now involved in a joint Cap Classique venture, Kevin working with specialist Grier on bubblies with years on the lees and in the bottle before disgorgement.
By 2004, at the same time that the farm was registered as an 'estate', denoting all wines under the Waterford Estate label were 100 percent own fruit, the master red blender was ready to start working on the components of his 'super red'.
It was named The Jem after Waterford's owner and released in 2008 to acclaim. A mix of eight varieties led by cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and shiraz, it was generally described as an 'iron fist in a velvet glove', despite the relative youth of the vines.
‘The aim with The Jem has never been about making a small parcel of an icon wine to win competitions. It's about making the best wine I can possibly make and in sufficient quantity to grace the tables of discerning wine lovers and restaurateurs the world over.’
Black mussels with ginger, garlic and chilli recipe with Waterford Sauvignon Blanc by Kevin Arnold....
Prawn bisque recipe with Waterford Sauvignon Blanc by Kevin Arnold. ...