Pisco, brandy, distilled, spirit, liquor, water of life, waterfire, firewater, eau de vie.
Regarding all this talk about brandies, distilled spirits, liquors, piscos, etc. that are exported to Chile, much is said, but the truth is that this has been happening for many years, and Chile is our most important buyer in the world and the largest consumer of pisco. Chile has had the Pisco Appelation of Origin since 1931, and in 1936 they changed the name of a town called La Unión (or La Greda) to Pisco Elqui, thus overtaking us by almost 60 years. It was not until 1990 that Peru finally registered the Appelation of Origin Pisco. What happened? I must understand that our authorities at that time had other priorities, as did the producers who also didn't raise their voices in protest.
In Peru, grape brandy exports are included in the statistics as pisco. I ask, how are we going to regulate if what is being sent is pisco and not a brandy? In this case, it could be made from pomace, table grapes, aged, or produced with two distillations, the addition of distilled water, and so on. There are many variations in the production of brandies, but not so with pisco, which must be made according to Directive Resolution No. 072087 DIPI of December 12, 1990, which states: "Declare that the appelation Pisco, is a Peruvian appelation of origin for products obtained by the distillation of musts resulting exclusively from the fermentation of mature (fresh) pisco grapes, in accordance with the provisions of the Obligatory National Technical Standard ITINTEC N0. 211.001 (Standard replaced by the Pisco Appelation of Origin Regulations of Feb 2011), produced on the coast of the regions of Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua, and the Locumba, Sama & Caplina valleys of Tacna region."
The National Consumer Protection Authority (Indecopi), has the arduous task that we all hope it can achieve for the good of our distillate, such as demanding that the name Pisco be more important to producers who have authorization to use the D.O. than their own brand, which I see as difficult but not impossible. Exporting to Chile is fine, but not under the name that is marketed as Pisco.
Indecopi grants authorization to use the name without the need to have a winery or grape fields, so we have no way of knowing where the grapes come from or whether the producer has their own pot still. This needs to be regulated, and the label should show it, so that consumers are informed and can decide what they buy. It goes without saying that for it to be called pisco on the bottle label, it must indicate: Authorization of Use of the Appelation of Origin Pisco, number issued by Indecopi.
Another matter of utmost importance is to control what we export. We have received information from readers of elpiscoesdelperu.com abroad, many of whom are pisco buyers. The problem they encounter is very low prices from some importers, and piscos that don't sell in Peru priced from US$5.00 per liter, which is impossible! We can only find the main grape ingredient for about US$0.50 per kg, which is about 6 kg of grapes per liter, plus bottle, label, boxes, transportation, taxes, etc. There's much to be done. Enjoy pisco responsibly.
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Pisco & music
Cocktail Magazine No. 14 September 19, 2017
Cocktail magazine (spanish) in issuu
September 2017
Since 2006 Spreading Pisco Culture to the world
#lapiscoteca #piscosour #winelover #pisco #pasionporlacata #bar #elpiscoesdelperu #vino #vinosdelperu #pisco #piscolover #Lima #Peru @Piscorevista @elpiscoesdlperu @elmagozurdo @aspercat1 #Moquegua #Tacna #Arequipa #Ica
All rights reserved. Total or partial reproduction is authorized as long as proper credit is given to the author and active links to the source are provided."