Map To Pisco, Peru. Pisco Province. Of the Ica Region in Peru.

Pisco is a city and an important port on the Peruvian coast. The name originates from the Inca word for a bird. The valleys around Pisco, contain extremely fertile soils and are wonderful for the cultivation of the wine grape. The wine industry in Peru has actually been around far longer than most people realize. Wine grapes were first introduced to Peru by the Spanish conquistador Marquis Francisco de Caravantes who visited there during the sixteenth century. Ever since then, Peruvians have been working on perfecting their wine growing techniques. Today, wine makers in province of Ica are producing some very good wines. Peruvians know this well and now the rest of the world is finding out too. Peruvian Wine Culture The city of Ica lies within the province of Ica, which is the center of Peruvian wine culture. This is the area where wine grapes were first introduced and many smaller wineries still make use of ancient techniques to produce wines. The province of Ica is known as an area of sand, sea and oases. Despite its hot and dry climate, Ica is actually a perfect place to grow wine grapes. The fields are thoroughly irrigated with water from the Andes and virtually any crop in the world can grow here. Peru's best wineries are located here and are referred to as "bodegas" which actually means "wineries". All Peruvian wineries are prefixed with this word; Bodega Tacama, Bodega Ocucaje, etc. In some ways, Ica (the province) is not just the cradle of Peru's wine culture but of Peru as a whole. Saints and medicine men are a part of everyday life and this is also where the best Pisco brandy is distilled. Pisco has attained a certain degree of world fame and is considered to be Peru's national drink. It would be very hard to find a Peruvian winery that doesn't make Pisco alongside their wines. The name "pisco", has three origins: means a Quechua word that translated to English means "bird". The mud container was called "botija", meaning where pisco was deposited. Grapes are crushed and pressed. Then, the grape pressings are transferred to botijas where fermentation begins. Eight days later, the famous "cachina" is ready. During the third week the must is distilled in stills or alembics. The result is a unequaled Pure Peruvian Pisco, unique in the world. The botija was a practical container that used in the production of pisco and then to transport and keep it. In the botija the grape juice was fermented. Afterwards the pisco is stored in botijas. When the botijas are empty they stowed them face down, until being used again in the next vintage. Pisco was initially made from 'Quebranta' grapes, a local non aromatic variety of the black grape brought from Spain, that gives it a very particular and characteristic flavour. This drink is known as 'Pure Pisco' and is also obtained from the distillation of other non-aromatic selected grapes, such as 'Mollar' and 'Negra Corriente'. There is also an 'Aromatic Pisco' obtained from the distillation of aromatic Muscat grapes such as 'Italia', 'Moscatel', 'Torontel' and 'Albilla'. A third type is the 'Acholado', obtained from the mixture of aromatic and non-aromatic grapes. Finally, you can find the 'Mosto Verde', which is distilled from unfermented grape juice. We stopped in the City of Pisco and toured a Pisco Brewery and Distillary. The photos below are of that visit. We visited Pisco on April 12, 2006 at about 1:00 PM.

Grape Press For Wine And Pisco Brandy.

Grape Press	Grape Press
Grape Press	Grape Press
Grape Pulp	Wine Brewing Jars
Wine Brewing Jars	Wine Brewing Jars
Brewing Equipment	Brewing Equipment
Brewing Equipment	Distilled Pisco Brandy.
Wine Brewing Jars	Distilled Pisco Brandy.
Audrey DeLange Distilling Pisco Brandy	Harvesting Grapes
Mashing Grapes	Mashing Grapes