Innovation and Chocolate at Pulenta Estate
Visitors to Pulenta Estate winery find different things to praise. Some are enchanted by the dramatic, glass-walled tasting room overlooking towering stacks of oak barrels, and others swoon for the outdoor patio with panoramic Andean views. But the image that will surface in my mind when I shuffle through my memories of Pulenta Estate, is a small dark room, tucked away on the basement floor.
The Pulenta family has been a prominent figure in Argentine wine history, but today it´s the third and fourth generations that carry the winery into the future. “The third generation winemakers think more like winemakers than owners. They understand that to make wine you have to experiment, and play around. This space is their playground,” said Michelle Schromm, director of hospitality, as she led us into a dimly lit room.
Instead of curly slides & monkey bars, this oenological playroom is replete with the latest technology in winemaking. The right side of the room is lined with roll fermentation barrels, special oak barrels are rotated twenty times a day to keep the liquid in contact with the yeasts. And to the left stand various micro fermentation stainless steel tanks, ranging both in size and content. Along with new equipment, winemakers use this space to experiment with different yeasts, grape varieties, harvest dates and irrigation techniques.
Though wine experiments take courage – recognition that most creations never make it to market – they also require patience. Years are invested into waiting on the vine, on the barrel fermentation, on the barrel and bottle aging, until finally it´s time to uncork. Few wineries have the infrastructure to invest in such projects – and even fewer have the corporate culture to support experimentation.
But wine and experimentation are an inseparable pair: from vineyard to tasting room, wine is always trial and error. Take for example, the Pulenta Estate wine & chocolate pairing.
Depending on who you talk to (and even more importantly – who you believe), chocolate and wine pairing can be a stairway to heaven or a failed endeavor from the start. A tricky pairing as it may be, it deserves the best quality ingredients, which is why Pulenta brings in Bianco y Nero chocolates, delicate morsels made by a Mendoza chocolate shop and local legend.
Standing before a table laden with wine glasses and chocolate bonbons is hardly an unwelcomed sight, but it can be unclear where to begin. Thankfully, Michelle prepared a very detailed tasting menu, indicating which sip pairs with which nibble, but also explaining why.
For example, it explained how the green pepper & herbaceous notes in the 2010 Gran Cabernet Franc balance out the bitterness of the dark chocolate. And why the 2009 Gran Corte´s 16 months in French oak make it the perfect companion to a walnut or semi-bitter chocolate, warming your mouth with supple tannins and strong toasty, roasted nut flavors.
We sipped and nibbled our way through the 4-course tasting menu, following the suggestions of both our map and our guide. But then, we began to go off the map, foraging new flavors based simply on what we liked. We backtracked through our wine glasses, swapping wines and chocolate, looking for new interactions and – on more than one occasion – stumbling upon a sensual combination.
With our heads down and noses in our glasses, we hardly noticed that the table was filling with bottles upon bottles of wines. What began as a simple pairing had evolved into freestyle experimentation. Merlot, Pinot Noir, Malbec and a few blends came out of the woodwork, and we swirled them all, playing with the chemistry of food & wine.
While our chocolate and wine playground pales in comparison to the winemaking projects taking place below ground, it goes to show how wine innovation comes full-circle. Innovation, in my opinion, is best served with a small dose of wild abandon, a willingness to make mistakes as you search for success – how else would we ever stumble upon wine experiences that stop us in our tracks? Or at the very least, cause us to sit back in our chairs, toss the pessimists aside, and savor a bite of chocolate and a sip of wine.
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