DE SU BURBUJA - Vitis Magazine

las dUnas de ica
dientes de la cultura de los paracas, los pishcos, que elaboraban unas hermosas
ánforas con cierta reminiscencia de jarrones griegos. en esas mismas
vasijas se empezó a guardar más tarde el producto de la destilación
de las uvas, el pisco, por lo que esta palabra sirvió para nombrar tanto a
los elaboradores como al continente y al contenido.
Una rápida mirada al mapa del perú haría pensar que el territorio
geográfico en el que se circunscribe la zona pisquera es tremendamente
vasto. pero en la práctica, se trata de una gran región, casi desértica, atravesada
por algunos riachuelos que sólo traen hilitos de agua provenientes
de glaciares cordilleranos. en torno a ellos se forman pequeños valles,
muy verdes y llenos de vegetación, que, sumados, no dan una superficie
demasiado grande.
la corriente de humboldt, que fluye hasta poco más al norte de lima,
hace que perú tenga en esa zona arenas secas, frío en las noches y calor
en el día en vez del clima tropical que le correspondería por latitud. sin
embargo, allí donde hay agua para regar, esas arenas son estupendas para
producir uvas pisqueras, de las cuales incluso se pueden obtener hasta
the producers, the containers and the contents.
a quick glance at the map of Peru might suggest that
the area encompassing the pisco-producing zones is very
widespread. but in actuality this is a very vast mostly deserted
region sprinkled by a few streams carrying elusive ropes of
water from mountain glaciers. along them we find small,
intensely green valleys with plentiful vegetation, but their
added areas are not at all impressive.
The Humboldt current, which reaches the area of Lima
before turning west, makes this area of Peru a zone of
dry sands, cold nights and hot days instead of the tropical
weather one might expect given the latitude. However,
in those areas with enough water the sand turns into an
excellent culture land for pisco grapes, which may even yield
two crops every three years. The aim is exactly the opposite
as everywhere else in the wine industry, which is mostly
driven by high yields to deter concentration, and high brix
readings to reach the alcohol degrees desired.
HIGH-END PISCOS
While some time ago pisco lost some of its popularity
among Peruvian consumers (they allegedly envy the
amount of liters the chilean domestic market is capable
of absorbing), today Peru is determined to restore its
status, and therefore it has begun producing it with quality
standards that permit to obtain high-end distillates. Luckily
enough, because tasting a top-tier pisco equals entering a
world of fascinating and sophisticated aromas and flavors
that are worth those of any other more renowned tipple.
Like its three elder cousins – cognac, armagnac and
Xeres brandy – pisco is a noble spirit. it is an “eau de vie de
vin” (wine spirit) in whose production there is no room for
residues like grape skins, which are used to produce grappa.
unlike chilean pisco, Peruvians decided that their pisco
should be colorless, limpid and translucent, making it shine
with a glow of its own. “silver dug out of the andes depths
and diluted in a bain marie…” poetically says Johnny schuler.
Hence the criticism of this Peruvian pisco promoter for,
among other things, our insistence on keeping both piscos
isolated instead of joining efforts with Peru to present this
product as “the fine distillate from the new World”.
The distillation of Peruvian pisco is a process known in
the technical parlance as “distilled to proof”. it begins by
discarding the distillation head and tail, using only water to
obtain the alcohol content required by law (between 38º and
48º). Therefore, instead of ranking piscos by their alcohol
contents as we do in chile, they classify them horizontally,
by variety. only eight varieties are permitted: four aromatic
and four non-aromatic ones. among the latter, perhaps the
most widely recognized is Quebrantal, also known as negra
criolla. all these varieties give birth to four large types of
pisco: aromatic, non-aromatic, acholado (blends of aromatic
and non-aromatic grapes in different proportions) and green
musts. Green must is a distillate produced from sweet must,
▼ Vitis Magazine l novieMbre 2008 l 51