Malbec events gather pace in pubs
ETM Group site the Jugged Hare, in Moorgate, London, warmed up for the day on Wednesday evening when it paired a number of ‘robust’ Argentinian Malbec wines with rare breed White Park beef from Devon.
Sommelier Guillaume Mahaut was on hand to guide customers through five wines matched with five different courses. The menu included braised short rib, asparagus, peas and morels paired with a 2011 Familia Zuccardi Serie A, from the Valle de Uco; and sirloin, marrow croquettes, wild garlic purée, heritage carrots and apple vinegar with a 2009 Finca Perdriel.
The dessert was a Valrhona and espresso mousse, and tarragon sorbet with a 2011 Familia Zuccardi Malamado Reserva. The five-course meal was £65 per head.
Free wine
The Prince Albert, in Camden, north London, celebrated World Malbec Day by offering customers a free bottle of Malbec with every two steaks ordered throughout the month of April. The pub said it represented a 33% saving on its meal, and recommended its Santa Julia Organic.
At the Fig Tree, in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, a four-course World Malbec Day dinner menu was on offer for £40. Dishes included beetroot and Welsh goat cheese tarte tatin with a 2012 Alpataco Malbec; fillet of mackerel, wild mushrooms, wild garlic and capers with a 2012 Saurus Select Malbec 2012; and a chocolate nemesis dessert with a late harvest 2010 Susana Balbo.
World Malbec Day commemorates the day, in 1853, when Domingo Faustino Sarmiento officially pledged to transform Argentina's wine industry. The the future president of Argentina tasked French soil expert Michel Aimé Pouget bring over new vines, and among them was Malbec.
