Review: Waterlot Inn’s Jordan Winemakers Dinner

As a foodie, one of my philosophies in life is when offered a food and a wine pairing dinner, do your best to attend.

When offered a food and wine pairing dinner at Waterlot, attendance is mandatory.

Last Tuesday evening, my boyfriend and I headed up to Waterlot for the Jordan Winemakers Dinner.

Jordan Winery is located in Sonoma Valley, California and only makes two kinds of wine — Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tom Jordan founded the company. His son John Jordan now runs the winery.

Their winemaker, Rob Davis, has been with the company since the beginning in 1976.

Courtney Catarzulo, regional sales director for Jordan, flew to Bermuda to present the wines at this wonderful dinner.

About two-dozen diners met outside on The Dock for beautiful canapés and champagne before going inside for the dinner.

Courtney gave us an introduction on the wines and the vintage. Then came the food.

The first course was a Maine lobster salad with avocado, shaved fennel, orange and basil oil.

This course was paired with a 2010 Russian River Chardonnay.

I found the salad to be very light and refreshing, while full of flavour. The wine was also light and paired very well with the salad.

For the second course, I enjoyed a Duo of Beef Ravioli and Seared Jumbo Scallop with a grape reduction and Cabernet Sauvignon Sabayon.

It was paired with a 2002 and a 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The scallop was cooked perfectly and the meat inside of the ravioli was moist and tender.

Out of the wines, I preferred the 2002 Cabernet paired with the dish and to drink alone. I felt it was smoother than the 2003 Cabernet.

The main course was the sure fire winner of the night.

I was treated to an eight-ounce CAB rib cap with cabernet sauvignon glazed pearl onions with gratin potatoes and summer vegetables.

To say this piece of steak was beautiful is an understatement. It was cooked perfectly with a crispy exterior and a moist, juicy interior.

I usually order filet mignon so this was definitely a new experience for us.

The potatoes were creamy, cheesy and delicious and went very well with the wonderful steak.

Now let’s talk wine. I was given a 2004 and 2008 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to test the different vintages.

This time, I preferred the 2004 Cabernet to the 2008 both with the wine and on its own. 

The final course of the evening was a chocolate delice and passion fruit sorbet served with more wine, a 2009 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The dessert was very good but I thought it was a bit too much. The delice was the consistency of a chocolate mouse with a ganache over the top.

If it were half its size, I think it would have been a much more successful dessert.

All in all, this was a fantastic dinner. I have never had a bad meal at Waterlot and this one definitely takes the cake as the best meal I’ve eaten in a very long time.

The food and wine pairing was offered complimentarily to Ms Pearman by the Fairmont Southampton Princess.