Tasting in Nazca
Cocktail Magazine edition No 54, grateful for the opportunity.
I participated in the XX Meeting of Producers and Pisco Nazca 2022 Contest. Since 2011, I have been a taster at the event organized by Mr. Alan Watkin. Additionally, it has been twenty years since the contest began. The name was suggested by the late Reynaldo Valencia (Ministry of Agriculture Ica), who was a great contest organizer and suggested not using the name Pisco Contest, but instead the Meeting of Producers & Pisco Nazca Contest to avoid any inconvenience with the CRDO-PISCO or the Conapisco. Great job, Reynaldo! It has been an honor to participate for more than 10 years in different scenarios, always with the aim of doing the best work for our national drink.
This time, the XX Pisco Contest was held at Hotel Majoro, applying all the necessary protocols for COVID-19. 175 samples of pisco from Ica, Moquegua, Tacna, Arequipa, & Lima were evaluated by tasters from 4 pisco-producing regions.
Everything went smoothly: the tasting room was impeccable, as well as the organization that was led by Engineer José Carlos Falconi, Director of Tasting. I participated in Table No.02 along with colleagues Ismael Hernandez and Jesus Sulca, evaluating Black Creole, (Negra Criolla), Italy, (Italia), & Aromatic Green Must piscos (Mosto Verde Aromático). It's worth noting that each year the quality of the participating piscos surprises us immensely. It's clear that producers strive to offer the best from their cellars.
The fact of sitting in front of a glass of pisco to evaluate & taste it will always be a challenge to the senses of oneself. As the taster's work progresses, olfactory sensations and aromas that recall lived moments are perceived. Likewise, through the palate, what was perceived in the aromas is confirmed, the balance, the harmony between nose and taste. One wonders with the glass in front of him: what did the master distiller want to achieve with that sample? We have to guess. Remember, for the master distiller, his pisco is his masterpiece, as if it were his child, he puts all his knowledge & passion into making it. Additionally, it's very likely that while distilling, he stays day and night by the pot still, in case any eventuality arises, ready to solve it and not miss any detail. It should be noted that pisco is distilled to proof, by law, can only be distilled once, which means being close to the still to achieve it.
It's to achieve excellence, the best spirit, the number 100, difficult, but not impossible. The producer will always seek to achieve a gold medal, and our responsibility is to evaluate the three stages of tasting: view, aromas, and taste. We are only informed of the variety - whether it's pure, and to which grape it belongs - or the type of pisco, pure, "puro", blended, "acholado" or green must "mosto verde".
We, the taster judges, assume that all the samples presented in the contests have the Pisco Appelation of Origin, and have been elaborated rigorously following the current Pisco Denomination of Origin Regulations. This brings to mind a phrase from Mrs. Juanita Martinez, the Lady of Pisco: "The main ingredient of Pisco is honesty..." Since the XVI century, tasters or "mojoneros", cupbearers, poculators, who participate in these events have evaluated the quality of wine & pisco, it's a subjective and hedonistic opinion. Always with responsibility.
Results of the XXI Meeting of Producers and Pisco Nazca Contest 2023 "Also Results 2010 - 2022
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Cocktail Magazine No. 54, july 05, 2022.
Cocktail magazine (spanish) in issuu
Pisco & music
July 2022.
Where pisco is the only protagonist!
#lapiscoteca #piscosour #winelover #pisco #pasionporlacata #bar #elpiscoesdelperu #vino #vinosdelperu #pisco #piscolover #Lima #Peru #Moquegua #Tacna #Arequipa #Ica
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