Una historia acholada (A Blended Story)
Cocktail Magazine edition No. 62, grateful for the opportunity.
I'd like to share some memories of how I got into pisco. Most Italians who arrived in Peru substituted grappa, an Italian pomace brandy, for pisco. Typically, in my paternal family, they drank it at the end of the meal with a good cup of coffee or made their "correcto" (a few drops of pisco in coffee). For dessert, "pasta frolla," a strawberry or quince cake: the perfect post-meal conversation. But my relationship with pisco doesn't end there. In the late 80s, my brothers, some friends, and I embarked on an agricultural project in the Pampa de Villacuri, Ica. It was at the asparagus boom.
I remember on Saturdays - payday after a grueling day of work - when it was 35°C in the shade, the staff would come over to offer us pisco. They all carried a half-liter bottle without a label and a small glass for tasting. I asked them, "Where do you get this excellent pisco?" Each one was better than the last. "On the way to work, we buy it at the neighborhood store," they said. Unbelievable! I had never tasted anything like it. The grape was noticeable on the palate, and in my taste left sweet with a raisin flavor. Those were my first experiences with pisco, especially with Quebranta. In Lima, except for one or two brands that had nothing to do with the pisco bought by the people in the estate, it was unknown. They just wanted to have a little pisco after work, talk, and share.
Shortly thereafter, one of the farm workers suggested we plant vines. We had free hectares, so we got to work and bought Quebranta grapevines. At that time, Quebranta patterns were used, but nowadays, American patterns are used to graft the pisco variety. We didn't know much about vineyards, but we were excited about the idea. Time passed, and one day, visiting the field, the engineer in charge said to me, "Here are some Albillas and Toronteles." "What? Weren't all the grapevines Quebranta?" I responded. I had no idea there were other grape varieties besides Quebranta. With a whole collection of vines of different varieties, in a nutshell, we were in front of a Acholado (Blended) vineyard. From that moment on, I was committed to pisco. I found the topic fascinating, the vineyard work, the pruning, fertilizing, watering, and cleaning all required a demijohn (porrón) of pisco that was shared among the workers. Our first harvest was distilled in a winery in Guadalupe, 5 km from Ica. It had an old Falca (Falca" is a very old copper still. It has been known in Peru since the 16th-17th century. The difference from the "alambique" is that it doesn't have the swan neck. A copper tube comes out of the pot and leads to the condenser. It is said that due to the ingenuity of the people in that era, they created the "falca" when an "alambique" without a swan neck arrived. They adapted a "calicanto" (calico cover) lid and a copper canon to distill using the "falca"). Seven tons of grapes from three different grape varieties were distilled, and the great Miguel Jhong Aquije from "La Esperanza" estate was the master distiller. Hug to the heaven, Miguel. Thank you for your advice.
The process was entirely handmade. Crews of men were responsible for stomping on the grapes in the lagar (rectangular cement deposit), in two or three shifts. The huarango press was indispensable, turning the last of the clusters into juice. By gravity, the freshly pressed must goes to the puntaya, (a smaller vessel than the lagar), where it accumulates; then to the "mosteras jars" (clay jars also call "piskos"), were the must is stored to start fermentation. After about 15 days, always by gravity, it goes to the Falca for distillation and then to rest. The temperature of the must and the quality of the distillate is controlled. I must point out, only human hands were involved at all times.
That time we tried "fresh grape juice", "chinguirito", juice grape with pisco, "fresh cachina" grape must fermented one week, we share it by moonlight, "chicharrón", pisco comes hot from still, then, head, body, & tail, finally after the required rest, tasted the pisco. Everything was new to me. I knew about asparagus, but nothing about pisco. From that first experience we produced 300 gallons of pisco. Based on what we learn all these years, we made an Acholado (Blended) at that Falca... Drink responsibly.
Enjoy pisco responsibly.
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Cocktail Magazine No. 62 april 06, 2023.
Cocktail magazine (spanish) in issuu
Pisco & music
April 2023.
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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