Pisco facts for kids
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored spirit produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain. It had the advantages of being produced from abundant domestically grown fruit.
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Etymology
The oldest use of the word pisco to denote Peruvian aguardiente dates from 1764. The beverage may have acquired its Quechua name from the Peruvian town of Pisco, once an important colonial port for the exportation of viticultural products, which is located on the coast of Peru in the valley of Pisco, by the river with the same name. From there, "Aguardiente de Pisco" was exported to Europe, especially Spain, where the beverage's name was abbreviated to "Pisco".
The Viennese newspaper Wiener Zeitung in 1835 reported on the Peruvian spirit made from Italia grapes:
A large quantity of a spirit known as Pisco de Italia, imported from Peru, was consumed in Chile. But since the import duties are so high, a similar grape with large oval berries has been used to produce a similar drink, which has almost completely displaced the Peruvian. [Ehemals wurde in Chile eine große Menge des unter dem Nahmen Pisco de Italia im Lande bekannten Branntweins verbraucht, der aus Peru kam; aber seitdem die Einfuhrzölle so hoch sind, hat man aus einer Art Traube mit großen ovalen Beeren ein ähnliches Getränk bereitet, welches das peruanische fast gänzlich verdrängt hat.]
In the Medical Lexikon of Robley Dunglison (1858) it is stated that, following observations of Swiss Johann Jakob von Tschudi:
In Peru, the common brandy obtained from grapes is the Aguardiente de Pisco, so called because shipped at the port of Pisco.
Chilean linguist Rodolfo Lenz said that the word pisco was used all along the Pacific coast of the Americas from Arauco to Guatemala, and that the word would be of Quechua origin meaning "bird".
This claim is disputed by Chilean linguist Mario Ferreccio Podesta, who supports the former Real Academia Española etymology according to which pisco was originally a word for a mud container. However, the Real Academia Española later supported Lenz's theory, and underlines the Quechua origin.
Other origins for the word pisco have been explored, including a Mapudungun etymology where "pishku" has been interpreted as "something boiled in a pot", which would relate to the concept of burned wine (Spanish: vino quemado).
The term influenced the Mexican Spanish use of the slang term pisto to denote distilled spirits generally.
History
Early Aguardientes
Unlike the land in most of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, where only very few vineyards were established (mostly for the production of sacramental wine), some locations in the Viceroyalty of Peru were quite suitable for growing grape vines. By 1560, Peru was already producing wine for commerce; over time, a significant wine industry arose in the region. It grew sufficiently strong and threatening to the Spanish mercantilist policies that in 1595 the Spanish Crown banned the establishment of new vineyards in the Americas to protect the exports of its native wine industry; however, this order was largely ignored. As further protectionist measures, the Crown forbade exportation of Peruvian wine to Panama in 1614 and Guatemala in 1615.
In 1572, Santa Maria Magdalena, a town in Peru, had a port by the name Pisco. Pisco became a crucial route for distribution of an alcoholic beverage — aguardiente. Port of Pisco shortened the name to just Pisco, which was the name of the grape liqueur that was originated in the area.
Distillation of the wine into pisco began in earnest around the turn of the 17th century, perhaps in response to these pressures. Until the early 18th century, however, most aguardiente was still primarily used to fortify wine, in order to prevent its oxidation. This method of conservation corresponds with fortified wines that were shipped to Italy and Spain from other parts of the world e.g., wines from Madeira and Marsala.
In the 17th century production and consumption of wine and pisco were stimulated by the mining activities in Potosí, by then the largest city in the New World.
Recession of Peruvian pisco
Historians state that the first grapes ever imported arrived in 1553. The production of pisco started at the end of the 16th century. After the process of fermentation and distillation the juice from the grapes was then made in to liquor. This juice was then stored in clay jars called piscos.
The entire southern coast of Peru was struck by the 1687 Peru earthquake, which destroyed the cities of Villa de Pisco and Ica. Wine cellars in the affected area collapsed and mud containers broke, causing the nation's wine-growing industry to collapse.
In the early 18th century, wine production in Peru exceeded that of pisco. By 1764, pisco production dwarfed that of wine, representing 90% of the grape beverages prepared. With the suppression of the Society of Jesus in Spanish America, Jesuit vineyards were auctioned off, and new owners typically did not have the same expertise as the Jesuits – leading to a production decline.
In the late 18th century the Spanish Crown allowed the production of rum in Peru, which was cheaper and of lower quality than pisco. In the 19th century demand for cotton in industrialized Europe caused many Peruvian winegrowers to shift away from vineyards to more lucrative cotton planting, contributing further to the decline of wine production and the pisco industry which depended on it. This was particularly true during the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865) when cotton prices skyrocketed due to the Blockade of the South and its cotton fields.
Pisco was also popular in the US, in San Francisco and nearby areas of California since the 1830s, during the Gold Rush, in the 1860s, and early to mid 1900s.
The process of making pisco
The processes of making pisco all come from the fermentation of specific grapes called Muscat or Italia grapes. The grapes are then distilled in copper basins. However, before this, the grapes have to go through a process called grape-stomping. Grapes stomping usually occurs in the afternoon to avoid the dry heat on the coast of Peru. A group of men spread around the winepress and stomp on the grapes for about 6 intervals. During this process the men will enjoy their time as they sing, joke around, and have pisco punch. The grape juice then falls into a saturation basin called puntaya. Here the juice will sit for 24 hours. Later, the juices are restored in fermentation tubs. The fermentation process usually lasts 7 days. This is so the natural yeasts in the grape skin take in sugars and process it into alcohol. Usually, the pisco producers will control the temperature of the fermentation so the heat does not increase. Otherwise, the natural aroma of the grapes will evaporate and not give the pisco a certain characteristic that is crucial in high quality pisco. When the fermentation process is over, the pisco is distilled in large copper basins.
Ecological concerns
Chile has taken steps to have a clean and environmentally friendly production of pisco. In order to crack down on pollution, and to increase competitiveness, the National Council for Clean Production agreed with the pisco producers and pisco grape agronomists to collaborate, signing an Agreement of Clean Production (APL). Capel, by itself invested more than CL$ 800 million.
Peru's production of pisco remains artisanal and does not alter the physical, chemical or organic properties before bottling. The pisco must be bottled directly after aging, without alteration or adding any product which could alter the odor, flavor or appearance.
Appellation of origin
The right to use an appellation of origin for pisco is hotly contested between Peru and Chile, though historians generally believe that pisco originated from Peru.
Peru claims the exclusive right to use the term "pisco" only for products from Peru, but they have not generally been able to persuade other countries to adopt that interpretation. Chile, in contrast, regards the term "pisco" as generic, and it argues the spirit is simply a type of alcoholic beverage made from grapes (as in the case of whisky and vodka). It cites the name being used to designate a similar grape brandy produced in both countries and maintains two regions of Chile, Atacama and Coquimbo, that it authorizes to use the term.
Large-market countries (e.g., the European Union, the United States, France, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Australia, etc.) generally allow products of both Peru and Chile to be identified as "pisco". The European Commission considers that pisco originates from Peru, but also allows the term to be used for products from Chile.
See also
- List of piscos
- Singani
- Cocoroco
