Pingüino Argentino

Why is there a ceramic penguin statue on the dinner table, and why am I seeing them on restaurant menus? This was one of the oddities that I noticed when I first visited Argentina nearly 10 years ago, and something that just seems normal to me now. In fact it didn’t make my list the night a few weeks back when at dinner some of our friend’s children asked me what was “raro” (weird) to me about Argentine culture. But being that I have just been to Mendoza (wine country) my memory has been jolted. I actually have one of these penguins at home, it was gifted to me on my first visit here, so how could I forget about it.

Essentially back when there were no laws governing the packaging size it was left up to the shop, restaurant or bar owner to divide up the bulk (e.g. 500 / 50/ 5 litre) containers they would purchase from the wine producers. They needed a vessel from which to serve wine easily and make it table friendly – this is where the penguin serving vessel came in to play. Before that, there were jugs & bottles with wicker baskets & handles, a lot like the ones used in Italy. It is not really known exactly who and when the penguin was introduced, it’s a topic widely discussed but it is generally accepted that it was introduced by Italian immigrants in the 1930’s era.

The penguin was phased out in the mid-80’s when wine packaging was at origin was introduced and the industry underwent a lot of regulation. Most were regulated to the back of cupboards or on shelves at antique stores. Fast forward to today and the penguin has made a bit of a come back at trendy bars and restaurants. But you don’t have to look too hard to find one of these little guys, they are after all an institution of Argentinian gastronomy.