In the land of Pisco... "The Pisco Festivals"
Something that has always caught my attention about Pisco are all these events, fairs, and contests that take place throughout the year, especially in the Pisco-producing regions. Almost always on the occasion of the anniversary of the locality, whether they are districts, provinces, and/or regions, the Mayor himself is the main organizer, summoning Pisco and wine producers and inviting tasters from the regions. They are in charge of evaluating the different samples, and as usual, at the end, those who have obtained the highest score are awarded with their medals. In the main square, booths are set up where producers offer tastings of their products. Of course, the contest winners are the most visited, & there's music, dancing, talks, etc.
I have participated in several of these events over the years. One that I remember was in Paullo, a village near Lunahuana, 187 km southern Lima. We were newer tasters who arrived at the main square at 10 am and tasted more than 70 samples until 5 pm. Just for information of the readers, the maximum number of samples a taster can evaluate in a day is 30. However, some producers don't yet have the Authorization to use the Appelation of Origin Pisco, and want their spirits to be evaluated while they complete the procedures. That is precisely the purpose of these events. Initially, we tasted the Piscos, and then what we call distilled spirits (without A.O.). At that time, a tasting room was set up in the square, and you can imagine the heat. As newers tasters, our scores were not valid, but what we were interested is in participating, accumulating valid tasting hours to become experts tasters in the future.
Other events are held in Jita, Lunahuana, Pacaran, Cañete, Huacho, Huaral, north of Lima, Nazca, Santiago, Los Aquijes, in Ica, not to mention those in Arequipa, Moquegua, & Tacna. In each of these regions, events are held throughout the year where Pisco is the protagonist.
Apart from that, we have the grape harvest festival, which takes place from Tacna to Lima from February to April, depending on the harvest. I recommend the one at El Sarcay de Azpitia Winery in Lima region, a well-organized family party with a grape-stomping competition, unlimited Pisco chilcanos, pachamanca, dance music, etc. It's very entertaining and worth it.
In September, the Peruvian Pisco Academy instituted the pruning festival, which takes place at the Ricardo Palma University, which has several grapevines, and we are always invited.
Finally, we have the important dates in the Pisco world, which are:
April 7th: National Institute of Culture (today Ministry of Culture)"Pisco" National Cultural Heritage
December 12th: Pisco Appelation of Origin Directorate Resolution 1990
Last Saturday in September: Arequipa Pisco Day, Regional Ordinance No. 367
Fourth Sunday of July: National Pisco Day since 1999
First Saturday of February: Pisco Sour Day since 2004
Second week of January: Chilcano de Pisco Week since 2009
– 7 de abril Instituto Nacional de Cultura “Pisco” Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación
– Resolución Directoral Denominación de Origen Pisco 12 de diciembre de 1990.
-Día del Pisco Arequipeño Ordenanza Regional Nro. 367, último sábado de septiembre
– Día Nacional del Pisco desde 1999 cuarto domingo de Julio
– Día del Pisco Sour desde el 2004 primer sábado de febrero
– Semana del Chilcano de Pisco desde el 2009 Segunda semana de enero
I would add one more, April 30th, the date of Pedro Manuel 'El Griego's' (The Greek) will, the first testimonial document of Pisco (1613-2023). As you can see, dear readers, we have opportunities throughout the year to celebrate in many ways with Pisco. Let's always do it responsibly.
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Pisco & music
Cocktail Magazine No. 17 April 23, 2018.
Cocktail magazine (spanish) in issuu
April 2018
Since 2006 Spreading Pisco Culture to the world
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