The Ica region is Peru’s leading grower of grapes, with the area around the city of Ica itself being the epicenter. Pisco, a sweet aromatic grape brandy is produced here, as well as wine.

Intipalka, produced in the Peruvian pisco heartland in of the region of Ica, manages to accomplish something that rarely occurs with Peruvian wine: not be spit out. Sure Tacama has put out a few alright wines, mostly their reserves, but nothing that could ever rival an average (lets not get carried away here) vino from Argentina or Chile. This wine isn’t half bad. Drinkable even. It proves Peru has the grape growing potential that extends beyond pisco.

On the Pan-American highway, the Pan-Americana, about an hour south of Lima near Cañete, there’s a roadside criollo restaurant, which borders a gas station, called El Piloto. Originally, El Piloto, was intended for truckers, but became so popular that the truckers have been priced out.

Paracas, South America’s first coastal desert resort, now has three Pacific facing hotels. Each is a little different and all of the hotels opened in 2009. The resort area sits beside the coastal town of Pisco, which was nearly wiped out in an August 2007 earthquake. Apart from breathing new life into what was a complete and utter disaster these hotels are helping the region rebuild and give visitors to Lima an easy 3-day getaway that’s a completely different side of Peru (the desert coast) from what most typically think of the country (Andes, Machu Picchu, the Amazon, Lake Titicaca, etc).

Living in Peru has a translation of an article from Lima, Peru’s El Comercio newspaper about Johnny Schuler, the founding member and president of the National Tasters Guild of Peru and a member of the Peruvian Academy of Pisco, who is part of a big pisco project in Ica that is being targeted at… Read More →

Mosto Verde Pisco is almost always the priciest bottle from any major pisco vendor. The name isn’t referencing the type of grape used in the pisco rather it relates to the distillation process. Mosto Verde simply means green must. Unlike a normal Pisco distillation, Mosto Verde does not allow the grapes to ferment completely, which leaves the liquid with some sugar content. The resulting taste is smooth, velvety, and full bodied. Mosto Verde is pisco is typically drank straight, though more and more mixologists that understand it’s subtle qualities are using it in cocktails that let those flavors shine.

Tacama Vineyards in Ica, Peru have always produced Piscos, though I have never really been that impressed with them in the past. They have never been terrible, but just average. On a recent visit to Ica I stopped by the Tacama distillery to see what’s new and taste a few of their new piscos and wines and I was impressed on both fronts.

Few realize the quality of wines produced in Peru most likely because the grape growing region is quite small. Ica, south of Lima, is the epicenter of the Peruvian wine and Pisco industy. There are just a few major labels such as Ocucaje and Tacama. The region benefits from the… Read More →