In the land of Pisco... 10 years tasting Piscos!
Pisco tasting evenings (Noches de Cata con Pisco) celebrates 10 years tasting piscos. This is the phrase that characterizes us:
"The main ingredient of pisco is honesty..."
Mrs. Juanita Martínez, The Lady of Pisco
Juanita Martínez La Dama del Pisco
The group was initially formed by alumni of the Wine & Pisco Institute's of the San Martin de Porras University, 2nd Prom 2007, who took the Specialist & Pisco Taster course. Our intention in joining was to continue practicing tasting & contribute to improving the quality of our National Cultural Heritage "pisco", offering our service in a transparent, honest manner. As the months passed, specialists from other proms joined us.
We buy Piscos in the market & evaluate them in blind tastings. In the end, we're like a bridge between producers & consumers. We are interested in having knowledgeable consumers, as this will support good producers, whether they are large, medium, or small. Remember: "Los Mojoneros," as the tasters were called in the 16th century, played a very important role in evaluating the wine, piscos, liquors and distillates that were made at that time.
Over the years, we have experimented a lot and learned to write tasting notes, to do a job that no one had done before on the fly, and that someone needed to do. Initially, as with any novelty, we were very harsh in our evaluations. We received complaints from some producers about our texts, asking why their piscos didn't score high enough to receive a medal. We also received support from others who, despite not receiving good scores, used those results to improve. We have a case of a large winery that sends a copy of the tasting notes to the Master Distiller every time one of their piscos appears on the blog "Pisco Tasting Evennings" (Blog de Noches de Cata con Pïsco), whether it receives a medal or not. That's the work we have always wanted to do: a proactive job, supporting to the best of our ability to improve quality. Every day, and this is a personal opinion, there are better piscos for us consumers to enjoy.
To properly do our job as tasters, we have to go through a series of workshops where we're evaluated through different tests: duets, trios, aroma differentiation, intensity of citruses, bitters, etc. Tasting is a constant practice & accumulation of experiences. The more we practice, the better our evaluations become. We cannot evaluate our National Cultural Heritage without being properly trained. Additionally, we're always willing to improve. We were the first to use the scoring system of the "OIV" International Organization of Vine and Wine in our tastings. When we were suggested to make some changes to the blog regarding the texts, we did so. From then on, if a pisco doesn't score a minimum of 80 points, we don't include the tasting note. Instead, we offer it to the producer through our email, so they can improve their product.
Since 2009, we have participated in Regional & National Pisco Contests, which has solidified our experience in pisco tasting. There are still things to improve, and we'll do it. In 2015, we formed the Peruvian Association of Tasters "ASPERCAT" to bring together all those interested in this fascinating activity of tasting. The only way to become masters is by practicing. That's the constant challenge that "ASPERCAT" aims for.
I want to thank the great group of professionals who have made it possible to reach 10 years of uninterrupted tastings: Gladys Romaní, Mercedes Acevedo, Diana Arbulu, Rosa Revilla, Lucero Villagarcia, Paul Contreras, Walter Espinoza†, Arturo Inga, Jorge Jiménez, Juan Arias, Moisés Peña. They are the backbone of all of this. Of course, I don't forget all the guests who participated: tasters, sommeliers, bartenders, pisco producers, chefs, winemakers, food experts, journalists, agronomists, engineers, professors & enthusiasts who accompanied us all these years. Thank you all a thousand times! Let's keep moving forward! Our Web: www.nochesdecata.blogspot.com. Enjoy pisco responsibly.
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
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Pisco & music
Cocktail Magazine No. 18 June 18, 2018.
Cocktail magazine (spanish) in issuu
June 2018
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