Last year, Glam Adelaide visited the gorgeous Clare Valley and the stunning Watervale Hotel to experience their Six Senses Farm Tour, followed by a Six Course Degustation Dinner.
When we say the experience is a South Aussie must it is not an understatement.
The Watervale Hotel is located less than two hours from Adelaide in the heart of the Clare Valley wine region. It has recently been completely renovated and extended to become one of the most exciting food and wine experience destinations in Australia.
After winning a strew of awards, it’s no wonder that the Watervale Hotel is on the top of our list on regional SA must-try experiences. The Hotel was awarded the AHA SA 2021 Best Country Restaurant and was recognised as having the Best Environmental and Energy Efficiency Practices in Australia. In addition, it won the Restaurant and Catering Association’s 2021 Best Restaurant in a Pub/Club, Best Tourism Restaurant, and SA Wine List of the Year.
The Watervale Hotel is all about Ethical Epicurean Experiences. Their promise of farm-to-plate is genuine fresh food, sourced from a number of local farms including their own organic, bio-dynamic Penobscot Farm operated to permaculture principles. Their team of international Chefs, headed by Co-owner Nicola Palmer know that their job is to enhance and enrich the natural flavours mother nature has given us.
As everyone knows there is nothing sadder than a pub feed consisting of limp salad, greasy chips and a deep-fried schnitzel. The Watervale Hotel, on the other hand, is a joy to behold, and steering away from pub grub. Each ceramic dish is plated with leaves and stems of seasonal greens, yuzu grind, apple, squash, radish and a mix of petals and blooms.
The fruit, vegetables and leaves served at the Watervale Hotel have been plucked, snipped or pulled from the ground that morning. As splendid as the transformation of the historic Clare Valley hotel is, the hotel is only part of the story. What is equally if not more important is what is happening a few hundred metres down the road at Penobscot Farm, the source of all these plant-based ingredients.
Both pub and farm are owned by well-known locals Warrick Duthy and Nicola Palmer, whose commitment to this project and the benefit it can bring to the wider region seems boundless.
When we visited Watervale last year our VIP experience began with a tour of the Penobscot Farm. The farm tour adds a depth of understanding and appreciation to the degustation that is to follow.
The tour was led by publican Warrick, who proudly showed us the innovative ways in which he was growing produce for his hotel kitchen. He selected some produce that would contribute to our dinner that night!
As we were hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling and tasting our way through Penobscot Farm, Warrick explained the principles of organic, biodynamic and permaculture farming that gave us a newfound appreciation for the fresh produce we were about to enjoy.
The Watervale hotel pride itself on Biodynamic farming that requires an intuitive energetic connection with the earth and the unique environment cultivated on the farm.
The sixth sense is energetic. Bio-dynamic farming requires an intuitive energetic connection with the earth and the unique environment that is our farm. Activity on the farm is dictated by the moon – both times of the day and times of the lunar month. This magic or alchemy is the aspect that triggers our sixth sense.
A highlight of the tour was seeing Warrick’s ingenious idea of a wine trellis to create a canopy that protects the fruit from sunburn. The concept of the wine canopy is a vineyard that grows overhead diners to create an experience unlike any other.
After our informative hour-long farm tour we had worked out our appetites and were SO ready to get stuck into our Six Course Degustation Dinner. We couldn’t wait to find out what’s in store.
As soon as the appetizer was presented it was clear that the farmers and chefs work in unison at the Watervale to ensure their root to flower philosophy of using the entire plant is incorporated into every meal.
Our six-course degustation was a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds, with matching local wines. The old historic 19th-century pub has been transformed with great style into a modern fine dining restaurant with attractive use of the historic features.
The degustation menu included delicate and elegant dishes such as Spencer Gulf prawns with penobscot fresh orange segments; tortelloni of pork & chorizo, sage & rosemary jus and Martindale farm lamb loin wrapped in saltbush. Palette cleaners are offered between dishes, welcoming you to experience each dish at its best.
The degustation was simply divine. With Nicola and Warrick explaining each wine pairing, we had the chance to reflect on how lucky we are in SA to have world-class dining and wine regions so close to our capital city.
Chef Nicola explained how no two degustations are ever the same. A rotating menu is curated to match the fresh produce from the farm, meaning guests can visit multiple times and always be delighted with a new culinary experience.
The renovated Watervale Hotel has maintained elements of the original fit-out. The elegant cocktail bar, which was once a ladies bar, features florals as an ode to its pasts. Likewise, the stunning courtyard that required weeks of excavation before it could be paved and finished with beautiful quarried stone, has a unique dining space – the Watervale old jail.
At one end of the courtyard, a dozen splayed trout hang from wireframes suspended above a fire pit. A pair of wood ovens sat below where fresh pizzas are made before guests.
The night concluded with a stay at the adjacent Watervale accommodation. The six-bedroom guesthouse sits above the hotel offering unparalleled views of the Clare Valley and is only steps away from the cocktail bar, providing ease after an evening of delicious food and wine.
Guests at the Watervale hotel are treated like family. Warrick and Nicola welcome every guest with open arms.
The Six Senses Farm tour in addition to the degustation is a destination experience in itself. While people may stop by Clare Valley for lunch, we recommend going to Clare Valley to immerse in this experience.
Expect to be encouraged to hear, see, smell, feel and taste your way through the farm as you learn about organic, biodynamic and permaculture farming.
Enjoy the full and fresh flavour as well as health-giving properties of biodynamic food, as you settle in for an evening of some of South Australia’s best food.
The Farm tour must be booked in association with a six-course degustation dinner for $210 / head, or $275 / head including matched wine and tutored tasting. Watervale Hotel Guesthouse guests receive priority booking privileges.
Whilst not cheap, the experience is quite unique and well worth the money. Warrick and Nicola have much to be proud of, and their venture is bound to be highly successful. Our best dining in South Australia so far.
The Watervale Hotel is located at 37 Main N Rd, Watervale SA 5452
Book your Watervale experience here.
NEW: The Watervale Hotel’s latest ‘Teach Me, Feed Me’ Wine Masterclass. The experience will be offered for 7 days, starting from 1 March 2022. Includes an 11am Clare Valley Wine Masterclass followed by 12pm Feed Me Menu. Find out more here.
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