What do Peru and Argentina have in common?

What do Peru and Argentina have in common? Not much you might think, but Argentine tango and Peruvian criollo music both have African, indigenous and European influences. Well, we are mostly interested in what is in our glass and on our plate.
Text and image: Petri Houweling

Fortunately, Peruvian dishes like ceviche and Argentine dishes like asado are popular in both countries. So we ate those at Nazka where, quite coincidentally, they organised a wine-food evening with wines from bodega Otronia from Argentina. We were very enthusiastically welcomed by sommelier Alessandro Tondini, who surprised us every time with his knowledge of the wines and the beautiful glassware.

The restaurant's name 'Nazka' comes from the Nazca Lines, which are mysterious patterns found in the Peruvian desert. That is not the restaurant's only connection to Peruvian culture. Because on the menu you will find modern versions of traditional Peruvian dishes. With influences from Japanese, Chinese, Creole and Andean cuisine. For example, ceviche, lomo saltado and anticucho. They are presented with a contemporary twist and paired with exciting wines. So tonight, those are the wines from Argentina's Bodega Otronia, an Argentine winery located in Sarmiento, Chubut, on the shores of Lago Musters. At 45°33′ south latitude to be precise. That won't mean much to you, but it is one of the coldest areas in the world for viticulture.

They plant 50 hectares of organic vineyards there at an altitude of 258 metres above sea level. They manage to ripen chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot gris, gewürztraminer, torrontés, riesling, merlot and malbec. Unsurprisingly, their wines just have higher acidity. Then they turn them into exciting blends, for example the '45 Rugientes' line, a blend of chardonnay, gewürztraminer, pinot gris and riesling.

But now to the combination with Nazka's dishes. Anyone who has ever eaten Peruvian knows that there is a lot of acid and spice involved in preparing the dishes. Otronia's wines a really solid-but pleasant-sour, yet not all of them hold up to Nazka's exciting dishes. The Corte de Blancas '45 Rugientes, with the aforementioned blend is the only one that holds its own with the intense-tasting ceviche of dorade and topinambur. It mellows out. The organic chardonnay Block 1 unfortunately loses out to the fantastically prepared 'Pesca y Mole Indio'. A pity because it is a beautiful but too subtle wine. The Vinicunca millefeuille, an intensely fresh dish with wafer-thin slices of potato goes right over the Pinot Noir '45 Rugientes. We also get a sip of 'Jardin Occulto' with it, a super exciting wine from the negro criolla that is spot-on is with the dish. Our stern conclusion is that while Otronia's wines are absolutely worthwhile, they are not up to the spice of Nazka's cuisine. We would love to come back another time to taste the right combinations.

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