To get a discussion on Argentinian wine into perspective we’ll need to have a brief look at how it all began. In the late 15^th century when the Americas were being ‘discovered’ by the Europeans, there was a notable movement of plants and animals between the two continents – quite understandable under the circumstances. Whilst a considerable amount of local vines were found in Central America, nothing of the sort was found in South America. Interestingly, the Aztecs didn’t make any kind of wine from the vines – probably because they were quite satisfied

with the xocolatl they were making from the cocoa beans. Be that as it may, Mexico was the first to start making wine from the European vinifera wines and then, as the Spaniards moved south, so the vines followed. Next on the list was Peru – very soon after Pizarro trounced the Incas, vines were being planted and within 20 years they had a substantial grape harvest and from there the vines moved to Argentina which is where our story begins – save to say that the reason the Spaniards so feverishly planted vines was that it was needed for the Eucharist – or so they say. We include a few recipes for typically Argentinian food that goes really well with wine.

The vines arrived in Argentina from the following sources:

• Directly from Spain in 1541 – they tried to grow them on the Atlantic coast around the river Plate, with little success.
• From Peru in 1542 when they were planted in the current wine regions – east of the Andes
• Again from Peru, this time in 1550
• From  Chile in 1556

PROVOLETTA

This Argentinian classic originated in Italy and is, today, typically served at parrillas (open-air grills). Hot grilled slices of provolone cheese is coated with lashings of good olive oil and topped with a variety of seasonings. This  recipe is great with wine and notwithstanding the fact that there are those among us who believe hot cheese should not be accompanied by wine, we have no hesitation in recommending this one! It makes a delicious appetizer or even lunch when combined with a salad – topped with roasted red pepperoni or tomatoes it becomes an unforgettable snack.

Ingredients

• 500 g provolone cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil – to brush
• Fresh oregano, marjoram or sage – to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

• Slice the cheese into about 4 cm thick slices – if the provolone is well aged, cut the slices a little thinner.
• Brush cheese with olive oil so that the herbs adhere to the cheese and sprinkle as generously as you like.
• Grill about 12 cm from the heat source on a barbecue or in the oven until the outside crisps up and the cheese becomes a delicious golden brown colour.
• Take care NOT to overcook the cheese or you’ll find you have melted your meal.
• If you like, you can cook this in a cast iron skillet over high heat until the outside crisps but before the middle starts to spread all over the pan – remember to grease the pan well first and always move the cheese around the pan – if it sticks, you’re in trouble!!
• Serve immediately – it cannot be re-heated.

The two most important grape varieties that was cultivated here was, probably, the forerunner of Argentina’s famous  Criolla Chica – the backbone of Argentinian wine.  Wine was grown in the east and in the West but in the foothills of the Andes, the Jesuit missionaries discovered near perfect conditions for growing vines and the first vineyard was planted at Santiago de Estero in 1557. Mendoza was founded in 1561 and 8 – 9 years later, the vineyards of San Juan were already producing on a commercial scale! They went all out to irrigate their vineyards and built dams and irrigation channels so that they could produce enough wine to satisfy the needs of this very thirsty, fast growing new Argentinian nation – wines that could also withstand long journeys since the country wasn’t small.

By the 1820’s, soon after General San Martin managed to get rid of the Spaniards, thousands of immigrants streamed in which was pretty great for the already thriving wine industry and by the time the second wave of immigrants arrived in the early 1900’s, they’d already built a railway between Mendoza and Buenos Aires. Many of these new immigrants were from the wine producing countries like Italy, France and Spain and they brought with them the latest wine-making methods so that the old colonial methods could be dispensed with.  Argentina was the 8^th richest nation in the world by 1920 before the depression but then, as we have seen have seen recently, things went downhill faster than anyone could have imagined.  Above polo-players and sunset, the Argentinian national sport.

EMPANADAS

Ingredients

• 125 ml butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 500 g lean ground beef
• 2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
• ½ tsp crushed chillies
• 1 tsp fresh cumin, roasted and ground
• 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 100 ml raisins
• 150 ml pitted green olives, chopped
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• Sea salt to taste
• 550 g puff pastry sheets – you could use frozen or buy from you local baker

Methods

• Melt the butter and add the chopped onions, fry them until they are just translucent and then remove from the heat – stir in both kinds of paprika, the crushed chillies and salt to taste.
• Spread the mince meat over a large sieve and pour boiling water over it – that’s enough and strange as it may seem, this will cook the meat sufficiently for the purpose of this purpose – now allow it to cool.
• Now add cumin, vinegar and salt to the meat and then mix in the onion mixture thoroughly – allow too cool down.
• Cut the puff pastry into 10 round circles and put a spoonful of the meat mixture on each one, add a few raisins, some olives and some of the hard boiled egg.
• Make sure that the filling doesn’t  come near the edges otherwise the empanada won’t seal properly.
• Wet the edge of the pastry slightly, fold in half and stick edges together so that it resembles a half-moon.
• Seal by twisting the edge between your thumb and your index finger – make sure that you add a little pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl.
• This is the only sealing procedure that really works (simply pinching or using a fork won’t do it – the juice will just come oozing out anyway and you’ll slit with super dry empanadas.)
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
• Put the empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper – then prick each empanada with a fork near the curl so that the steam can escape during baking – bake for about 20 – 30 minutes.
• Glaze it with a little egg-wash for a golden finish.

The landowners didn’t have too much of a problem but the poor got poorer and unrest was followed soon after that. Like the road to Mendoza during winter (above), the economic season that followed was bitterly cold. And then Domingo Peron arrived on the scene and made the kind of promises that all politicians the world over always make in similar situations – he promised them better working conditions, organized, state controlled unions and loads of work and things started to go better. Then, in the 1950’s Peron and his now famous wife Eva were removed by the military and things went from bad to worse, sending Argentina into a decline of note! In the 1960’s and 1970’s bureaucracy was strangling the country as much as the rampant corruption was which led to unrest on every front and by the 1980’s hyperinflation had reached almost 1,000% per annum and the wine industry was on it’s knees. The producers were supplying cheap vino de mesa to a population that had the 3^rd highest per capita consumption of wine in the world and then, finally, in the late 1980’s a few innovative producers decided to start making better quality wines for exporting and then when Carlos Menem came into power, business confidence in Argentina’s future improved both locally and abroad and investment in the local wine industry became feasible.

WINE PRODUCING REGIONS IN ARGENTINA

• Mendoza – the largest an most important wine producing region in Argentina producing the famous pink skinned grapes like Criolla Grande and Cereza (that accounts for about 25% of all plantings and are used for cheaper wines and grape concentrate). Red wine grapes (mainly Malbec but also the Italian varieties and the Tempranillo) make up another 50%. Cabernet Sauvignon production is increasing and some white wine varieties, like Chardonnay, is also on the increase especially in the high altitude vineyards.
• San Juan – the second largest region and known for high-yielding pinks (Cereza) who, because of the high sugar content are great for table grapes, raisins and blending.
• La Rioja – historically, the oldest region but still makes some aromatic white wines from the Torrontes and also Muscatel de Alexandria.
• Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca – home to Torrontes Riojano and Tannat as well as one or two others.
• Rio Negro and Neuquen – the southern cold region of Patagonia produces some Torrontes Riojano and Semillon.

ALFAJORES

Alfajores, a favorite South American pastry, are filled with dulce de leche and rolled in grated coconut to make a buttery-rich biscuit for an afternoon tea, a special dessert or if you’re so inclined a glass of wine!

Ingredients

• 12 tbsp soft butter
• 240 ml granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp cognac
• 600 ml Maizena  (corn flour)
• 240 ml all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 lemon, grated zest only
• Dulce de Leche or an ordinary tin of caramel
• Grated coconut

Method

Biscuit

• Cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy and then add the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the dulce de leche and the coconut until everything is very well blended.
• Knead the dough on a floured work surface until the dough is quite smooth and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 150 C.

To make the biscuits

• Roll the dough out to ½  cm thick and cut into 5 cm rounds.
• Put onto a well greased oven tray and bake for 20 minutes
• As soon as they have cooled down, spread a little dulce de leche on the bottom of half of each biscuit and then  press another one on top – allow some of the dulce de leche to squeeze over the sides and then roll the sides (only the sides not the whole thing) in the coconut until the sides are covered.
• If you can’t buy caramel or dulce de leche in a shop, here’s how:
• Put an unopened tin sweetened condensed milk in a pot with enough water to cover the tin and bring it to the boil slowly.
• Now lower the heat and allow it to simmer for 4-5 hours it has caramelized.
• Take care – you have to keep the tin simmering slowly otherwise the thing will explode and make very sure that the tin is cold before you open it!!!