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Mojonero 16th Century vs. Taster 21st Century

Mojonero 16th Century vs. Taster 21st Century

Placeres magazine edition No 30, grateful for the opportunity

It is fascinating to observe how what we today elegantly call a “sommelier” or “sensory judge” was, in the roots of Peruvian history, known as a mojonero: a sturdy man with an implacable palate, capable of deciding with a single sip the economic fate of a wine or a pisco in the 16th century. In conversations with several pisco producers—who preferred not to be named—I heard their main concerns for not participating in the 2025 National Pisco Competition: the perception of a lack of transparency and the feeling that “it’s always the same tasters, and what’s more, they are producers. Aren’t there any new ones?”

It is important to clarify a few points. According to the regulations, tasters who are also producers must submit a sworn statement detailing the samples and types of pisco they have entered. This measure is precisely intended to prevent them from participating in the panels where their own products are evaluated. Transparency is also linked to the number of samples and the number of tasters. In the previous edition, 392 samples (from more than 100 producers) were evaluated by 42 judges, distributed across 6 panels of 7 tasters each. Of these, only 5 were Expert Judges, the category defined by NTP-ISO 8586:2014 for the most experienced and qualified tasters.

In my opinion, to achieve greater objectivity and credibility, it would be advisable to significantly increase the number of expert tasters per panel. This will only be possible if we succeed in getting greater participation from producers in the national competitions. If that happens, it would be advisable to work with panels of 7 or 8 expert tasters. In that way we would reach the level of transparency that is being demanded. Another relevant aspect is that we tasters do not charge for participating in the competitions. Our work is ad honorem: we are invited, our travel expenses are covered, and we gladly attend to fulfill this duty.

This conversation about tasters and competitions reminded me of the meeting convened in May 2025 by the president of the competition with the three tasters’ associations. At that meeting we were asked to present suggestions for the preparation of a National Registry of Tasters. To date, the only known registry is the one prepared in 2011 by the now-defunct Regulatory Council of the Pisco Denomination of Origin (CRDO-PISCO).

Of the three associations convened, concrete proposals were presented by the National Brotherhood of Tasters of Peru, which was then presided over by Eng. Juan Mendiola Huayamares, and by the Peruvian Association of Tasters (ASPERCAT), which I have the honor of presiding. In addition to the registry, we proposed drafting a Tasters’ Regulations that would organize the activity, define functions, and establish clear sanctions. In our suggestions we recommended returning to the criteria that were applied in the competition regulations up to 2018.

You may consult:

Regulations of the 2018 National Pisco Competition (Article 36)

Proposal for a Registry of Tasters – ASPERCAT

Proposal for a Registry of Tasters – National Brotherhood of Tasters

For ASPERCAT, what is fundamental is to achieve the participation of the three associations as soon as possible, so that we can have a National Registry and a National Regulations for Tasters of Peru that raise the standards of the profession. Let us not forget that the craft of the mojonero or wine-taster already had its own regulations since 1595, later ratified by Viceroy Luis Velasco in 1603. This historical document appears in the book by historian Lorenzo Huertas Vallejos, Chronology of the Production of Wine and Pisco in Peru 1548-2010 (p. 264, September 2023). Enjoy pisco responsibly.

Til next time!

By Livio Pastorino Wagner Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo

Placeres magazine No. 30 august 07, 2026

Pisco & music

Where pisco is the only protagonist!
#lapiscoteca #piscosour #winelover #pisco #pasionporlacata #bar #elpiscoesdelperu #vino #vinosdelperu #pisco #piscolover #Lima #Peru #Moquegua #Tacna #Arequipa #Ica #piscopunch #piscosour #piscotonic #capitan #chilcanodepisco

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