Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 31

Malbec and Vegetables
Less than a decade ago, the landscape of Argentine
wine was dominated by heavyweight reds: concentrated, superripe and strongly influenced by wood.
The only choice for those wines was a juicy cut of
meat off the grill.
Today, however, wines with less extreme ripeness, with greater freshness, are what tend to predominate. And this has had two important effects.
The first is that the rich panorama of Argentine terroirs comes across more clearly. And, second, the
malbecs are much easier to drink (dangerously easier) and open to a wider spectrum of possibilities in
the kitchen.
For lighter malbecs, look to the Uco Valley, where
the high altitude makes for lower temperatures, producing subtle and fresh reds. Wines from Altamira,
for instance, with their firm tannins, luminous acidity
and vibrant fruit, can match rich, velvety dishes like
spinach croquettes or corn pudding. More exuberant
and aromatic malbecs from the heights of Gualtallary will take on a traditional pascualina, a pie that
Emma prepares with spinach or artichokes bound
in a generous amount of ricotta. More robust styles,
like those from the stony soils of Los Chacayes, can
match tomaticán-a local preparation of eggs with
Mendoza's succulent tomatoes.

Onion Empanadas

Adapted from Emma's Kitchen: Recipes from a Mendoza Family
BY EMMA ZUCCARDI

For specific wine recommendations, see Year's Best
Argentine Malbecs, on page 74.

ways to do them. That is entertaining," she adds.
Despite her age, Emma continues to go to the winery daily,
except on Tuesdays, when she has a standing appointment
with the hairdresser. In fact, her family has told me that, a
few years ago, on the way to the hospital to have hip surgery,
she insisted on stopping at the hairdresser. I ask her if the
story is true and she nods, smiling. "And I tell you something
else: When I had elbow surgery, I even asked the hairdresser
to come to the hospital to comb my hair. Old, lame, but
not with witch hair!" she says, smiling again as we enjoy an
almost ethereal caramel flan for dessert.
Alberto died in 2014, at age 92, but wine still plays an
important role in Emma's life. With him, they drank a glass
at lunch every day, and today she still does the same. She says
she likes her grandson's wines better, in fact, and also that
she loves the one that bears her name, the Bonarda Emma, a
refreshing red from the heights of Uco Valley. But her favorite is Q Malbec.
That was the wine she enjoyed with Alberto. Several times
she remembers him in our conversation. Recollections of her
life before and after Alberto, a young blond who came to
Mendoza and would accompany her throughout her life, a
life in which they built the foundations of their family winery
and a collection of recipes filled with delicious vegetables in
the land of meat. "Would you like a little more of the flan?"
she asks. "Yes. Muchas gracias, Emma."

Pastry
2 cups (500g) pastry flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (150g) cold butter, diced
3 egg yolks
¾ cup milk
Filling
2.2 pounds onions
11/3 cups (300g) butter
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt to taste
To make the pastry, combine the
dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the butter and work it into
the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small
peas. Form a well in the mixture
and add the egg yolks and milk.
Combine, turning the dough
out onto a lightly floured board
to mix completely. Form the
dough into a ball, cover it in
plastic wrap and allow it to rest
for at least half an hour.
Meanwhile, make the fill-

ing: Cut the onions in half; peel
them and slice them thin. In a
large sauté pan, melt the butter and add the onions, cooking them gently until soft and
sweet. Season generously with
oregano and salt; let cool.
Half an hour before you're
ready to cook the empanadas,
heat the oven to 425˚F and line
a baking sheet with parchment
paper. Roll out the dough to a
thickness of ¼-inch and use a
4-inch cutter to form as many
rounds as you need. Spoon a
generous tablespoon of sautéed onions into the center
of each round, sprinkle with
chopped egg, and then fold the
dough over, crimping the edges
together to seal the empanada.
If you like, beat an egg with a
tablespoon of water and brush
the mixture onto the empanada;
it will give it a glossy shine.
Place the empanadas on the
baking sheet and bake them for
35 to 40 minutes, until golden
brown. Serve with a fresh Uco
Valley malbec.

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

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