Helado de Vino

Helado de vino is a specialty of Argentina's northwestern wine region, particularly Salta and Cafayate, where the high-altitude vineyards produce Torrontés and Malbec wines. The ice cream is made by reducing wine into a concentrated syrup, then folding it into a cream or milk base and churning. The Torrontés version is floral and aromatic, the Malbec version deep purple and berry-like. It is served in heladerías (ice cream shops) throughout the wine region, a sweet way to taste the local terroir, and the wine gives the ice cream a sophisticated, slightly alcoholic flavour that distinguishes it from fruit ice creams. Cafayate, surrounded by vineyards at 1,700 metres, is the heart of the tradition.

A pale gold or deep purple ice cream, intensely flavoured with wine, floral or berry-like, creamy with a faint alcoholic warmth. Each scoop tastes like the vineyard it came from, sophisticated and refreshing.

The technique reduces wine into a concentrated syrup before churning. Wine (Torrontés for white, Malbec for red) is simmered in a pan until reduced by half, concentrating its sugars and flavours while evaporating most of the alcohol. The reduced wine is cooled and folded into a custard or cream base (cream, milk, sugar, egg yolks), then churned in an ice cream machine. The wine gives the ice cream its colour, aroma and a complex flavour, while the reduction prevents the ice cream from being too liquid (wine's alcohol would prevent proper freezing if not reduced). The result is a creamy, intensely wine-flavoured ice cream, unlike any fruit version.