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South American Wines
An Introduction to the Wines of South America for Visitors to Peru
Wines from Peru: Introduction / Regions / Notable Producers / Reviews
Introduction
Peru is one of the oldest South American wine-producing
countries, but is not one of the largest or most important. Vines have been
grown in Peru at least since 1566, when Francisco de Carabantes planted some in
the vicinity of Ica, an oasis south of the capital city of Lima.
Peru can lay claim to having South America's first cultivated vineyards. The Spanish planted vineyards in Peru from around 1550. Wine-growing spread south from Peru, through Bolivia, and into Argentina, then west across the Andes into Chile.
Most vineyards in Peru lie close to the Pacific coast. Vineyards to the north of Lima largely produce grapes for the table. Far south of Lima, around Arequipa and Moquegua, vineyards produce grapes that are mainly used to produce Pisco, Peru's national drink. The best wine-producing vineyards can be found near the town of Ica, an oasis about 300km south of the capital city of Lima.
In the past the quality of Peru's wines has generally been poor. An undemanding local market and only sporadic export sales mean that there is little incentive to invest. However, in August 2007, an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 caused much damage to the wineries around Ica. Some of the larger wine producers have taken the opportunity to rebuild their wineries and invest in state-of-the-art technology which should help improve the quality of their wines in future years.
Viña Tacama, seems to be the exception to the rule, and is Peru's only winery with an international reputation. Tacama Selección Especial (65% tannat, 35% petit verdod) and Tacama Gran Tinto (51% malbec, 44% tannat, 5% syrah) should not be missed on a visit to Peru, both offering excellent value.
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Peru and Wine
It seems that every country has its own types of liquors and spirits. Peru, with
its Pisco, is certainly no exception. But, did you know that wines from Peru are
also gaining in recognition?
Peruvian Wine History
Until recently, Peruvian wine exports were very limited. This is because
Peruvian wine production has traditionally been quite low when compared to other
more commercially developed South American countries, such as Chile and
Argentina.
Peru's micro wine production has actually played to their favor though, by
allowing them the time to experiment with different blends and wine making
techniques without getting a reputation for low quality wines. Instead, Peruvian
wine exports have arrived on the market as a seeming newcomer with surprisingly
high quality. In fact, you could be forgiven for not even knowing that Peru has
a wine industry.
The wine industry in Peru has actually been around far longer than most people
realize. Wine grapes were first introduced to Peru by the Spanish conquistador
Marquis Francisco de Caravantes who visited there during the sixteenth century.
Ever since then, Peruvians have been working on perfecting their wine growing
techniques. Today, wine makers in province of Ica are producing some very good
wines. Peruvians know this well and now the rest of the world is finding out
too.
Peruvian Wine Culture
The city of Ica lies within the province of Ica, which is the center of Peruvian
wine culture. This is the area where wine grapes were first introduced and many
smaller wineries still make use of ancient techniques to produce wines.
The province of Ica is known as an area of sand, sea and oases. Despite its hot
and dry climate, Ica is actually a perfect place to grow wine grapes. The fields
are thoroughly irrigated with water from the Andes and virtually any crop in the
world can grow here. Peru's best wineries are located here and are referred to
as "bodegas" which actually means "wineries". All Peruvian wineries are prefixed
with this word; Bodega Tacama, Bodega Ocucaje, etc.
In some ways, Ica (the province) is not just the cradle of Peru's wine culture
but of Peru as a whole. Saints and medicine men are a part of everyday life and
this is also where the best Pisco brandy is distilled. Pisco has attained a
certain degree of world fame and is considered to be Peru's national drink. It
would be very hard to find a Peruvian winery that doesn't make Pisco alongside
their wines.
Peruvian Wineries
There are three industrial wineries in Peru worth mentioning and all are located
in the province of Ica.
The winery Tacama lies about 10 kilometers north of the city of Ica and is one
of the best known and well respected wine exporters in Peru. Their Cabernet and
Sauvignon Blanc wines are a true testament to what they can do with wine grapes.
If you have ever tried a wine from Peru there is a good chance that it came from
Tacama. There also are a couple of other wineries in the area that produce
excellent quality wines as well.
About 40 kilometers south of the city of Ica is the winery Ocucaje. Ocucaje is
arguably just as well known as Tacama, mainly because Ocucaje was the first
winery to be established in this area. They are mainly known for the care and
attention they put into producing some of the nation's best Piscos year after.
But, they have not shied away from putting that same effort into producing high
quality wines as well.
The winery Vista Alegre lies about 3 kilometers north of the city of Ica and
produces wine and Pisco using some of the most modern machinery available. Vista
Alegre is probably the most technically advanced of the wineries located near
Ica but they have also managed to keep some traces of Peru's rich wine growing
history. A wine from Vista Alegre is certain to be good.
Beyond the three industrial wineries, there is also a collective of about 85
different small wineries known collectively as the Artesanales wineries. These
wineries follow many of old wine making traditions, including crushing the
grapes by foot. During the harvest season, there are many festivals throughout
Peru and it is not uncommon for the entire community surrounding one of these
independent wineries to help stomp the grapes during the celebrations. While the
three industrial wineries have abandoned this practice, there is something to be
said for making wine in the traditional fashion and wines labeled as "Bodegas
Artesanales" do have a certain old world charm to them.
While some Bodegas Artesanales wines are good, do not expect the same level of
quality that comes from the industrial wineries. The industrial wineries have
abandoned the traditional Peruvian methods in favor of more the widely accepted
practices of fermentation in oak barrels and the use of stainless steel
machinery.
Conclusion
Peruvian wines aren't likely to soar in popularity anytime soon, mainly because
there just isn't very many of them being exported.
You can find Peruvian wines and Piscos in certain parts of the United States but
supplies are usually limited to cities with a reasonable number of South
Americans living in them, like New York and Chicago. The UK probably has the
healthiest supply of Peruvian wines outside of South America. So, you may want
to consider buying some for there if you really want some.
The biggest Peruvian wine exporter is Bodega Tacama and they do produce very
good wines. It is also possible to find wines produced by Bodega Vista Alegre
and Bodega Ocucaje. But, you are not likely to see any wines being sold under
the label Bodegas Artesanales outside of Peru.
Peruvian wineries have a long way to go before they can compete with other more
developed wine growing countries like France, America, Italy and Australia. Even
their neighbors, Chile and Argentina, are much more developed that Peru is when
it comes to commercial wine production. But, that is also one of things that
make Peruvian wines stand out the most. They are different. The diversity of
wines from around the world is probably the one thing that makes wine the best
drink in the world. So if you are looking to try something different then you
may find that a wine from Peru is exactly what you are looking for.
http://www.easy-wine.net/peru-wine.htm
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13 January, 2009
17:17:27 | in cuisine
Wine Production Increases in the South of Peru
Jose Rosales Vargas - El Comercio
Translation:Vanessa Castro Chesterton - Living in Peru
Investing US$10 million in five years is a good way to begin. The well know
Queirolo Bodega decided to get involved in the national wine industry and so it
acquired 400 hectares of land in different valleys of Ica (273 hectares) and
Cañete (120 hectares), in which it planted several different types of grapes
with which it will begin, within the first trimester of this year, to produce up
to eight different types of wine.
With six types of red wine and two types of white wine, the well known bodega of
the Old Magdalena fund (known today as Pueblo Libre) hopes to enter the
international market and, once their brand is securely placed there, to compete
with other manufacturers from Argentina and Chile, those best known in the
region.
Similar proposals which have been developed within the same time frame have
added themselves to this one, such as wine companies Tacama (with the brand Don
Manuel), Vista Alegre (Picasso) and Ocucaje (Rubini) in the valley of Ica, as
well as Tabernero in Chincha, which handles the Quinto Roble brand. The Queirolo
Bodega manages the Shiraz brand.
General Manager, Santiago Queirolo remembers that in mid 2000 the family’s third
generation members decided to begin renovating the bodega. They were assisted by
renowned French enologists, Jacques Blouin and Edmundo Bordeu. They advised them
after touring the valley of Ica and assessing it, to acquire land in the
district of San Jose de los Molinos (located 25km from the city).
“With the family’s hard effort the lands were acquired, two years later, the
first 200 hectares were baptized as Viña San Jerónimo, located in an area
exceptionally well suited for growing different types of grapes. It’s proximity
to the Andes Mountains will give it thermal capabilities which are important
when growing grapes. Those capabilities are complemented by the sunny desert
climate and the water transferred from the Inca Achirana channel”, he explained.
In 2003, with the assistance of the Mercier international botanical center,
samples brought from France, the U.S. and Argentina began to be planted. Four
years later the first viable crops for wine making were harvested which led the
way for the making of a reserve of red and white wines.
Growth Phase
While this patient process of wine grape development (Cabernet Sauvignon,
Malbec, Merlot, Tannat, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Trebbiano Bianco
and Petit Verdot) as well as Pisco grapes (Quebranta, Torontel and Moscatel),
was carried out the group began, in 2004, the modernization of their production
plant in Pachacamac, which meant installing 52 surgical steel tanks with a
capacity to store approximately 50 thousand liters each and which allows them to
insure the production of up to four million liters of wine and Pisco a year.
“After that, in 2007, the family acquired new oak barrels to develop the wine”,
explained the enologist and sommelier for the company, Jorge Queirolo, who
shares the elaborating, evaluating and selection duties with a team of
specialists, among them Chilean Ernesto Jiusan.
As we can see, the expectation created from the increase in national wine
production is seriously increasing.
http://www.livinginperu.com/blogs/features/643
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Peruvian wines
by Tom Cannavan, 07/07
The Anglo-Peruvian Trading Company (anglo-peruvian.com) sent me some samples of
their wines: my first experience of wines from this South American country that
lies to the north of Chile on the west coast of South America.
The wines come from three producers, the best-known of which is probably Tacama,
some of whose vineyards where established in the 16th century and who can count
the eminent Emile Peynaud of Bordeaux amongst their past consultants. Viña
Ocucaje was founded in 1898, whilst Vista Alegre, founded 1857, also has a
reputation for quality.
Peru does not enjoy the reputation of either Chile or Argentina, and indeed the
wine industry is nowhere near the quality and level of development. Yet, the
wine industry is a long established one, and some high quality vineyards and
wineries do exist. Grapes (mainly Muscat) are also grown for distillation into
Peru's most famous alcoholic product, Pisco.
white wines
Tacama (Peru) Blanco de Blancos 2005
A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay, this wine from Viña Tacama
pours a light gold colour and has a fresh, lightly tropical aroma with a
definite apricot note and glimpses of quite ripe Sauvignon notes of lychee and
guava. On the palate there's a fruit cocktail syrupy quality to the flavour,
with a slightly blowsy Viognier character dominating. But this is a bone dry
wine, and a pithy lemon acidity runs through it, giving an edge to that just
ever so slightly cloying fruit character. A powerful wine this, though alcohol
is modest at 13%, and it finishes with good length.
Vista Alegre (Peru) Pinot Blanc NV
Vista Alegre is one of the largest estates in Peru, and has been involved in
wine since 1857. This Pinot Blanc is made in stainless steel, and has a nicely
ripe, fruity aroma with notes of peach and yellow plum, as well as some herbal
and tiny smoky nuances. With only 11% alcohol it is light and quite crisp on the
palate, though a touch underpowered, with the fruit not really pushing through
the mid-palate. It is nevertheless quite elegant, with a dry, quite taught
acidity and a reasonably long finish. Enjoyable, if a little simple and short.
Ocucaje (Peru) Fond de Cave Chardonnay NV
Viña Ocucaje has been in the drinks business - Pisco and wine - since 1898. This
non-vintage Chardonnay has a slight note of oxidation on the nose, and
unfortunately a touch of corkiness too. There's some pear and melon fruit that
is quite cool and subtle. On the palate the TCA taint is fairly obvious, giving
a slightly dirty character which is a shame, because the fruit and balance seem
pretty good.
red wines
Tacama (Peru) Gran Tinto 2005
Tacama's Gran Tinto is a 12.5% alcohol blend of Malbec, Tannat and Petit Verdot
that pours a deep crimson colour. The nose has copious ripe, black fruit, with
plummy depth and a touch of sweet, damp earth and violet. On the palate there's
a little lick of firm, liquoricy structure here, with a nicely tart and juicy
black cherry acidity, overlaid with much softer blackberry and spicy fruit
compote flavours. A nice, easy-drinking wine this with very good balance.
Tacama (Peru) Seleccion Especial 2004
Seleccion Especial is one of Tacama's top wines, a blend of Tannat and Petit
Verdot, with what smells like a touch of high quality older French oak. This
deep, crimson red wine has a lovely nose, with a gentle cedar and smoke quality
set against plenty of creamy, ripe, raspberry and blackcurrant fruit. There's a
nice, kirsch-like element of brightness here, and also a suggestion of
minerality in a really quite complex profile. The palate has a lovely fruit
quality, with more of that ripe, creamy berry character and a nicely spicy, firm
oaky, tannic background. This has very good acidity too, adding a crispness and
poise into the finish. This is a well-mannered wine which some may find lacks a
little mid-palate weight and depth, but it is beautifully composed and quite
long and elegant.
Ocucaje (Peru) Fond de Cave Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon NV
Ocucaje, meaning "Between Hills", lies south of Lima, and the vineyards were
established in the 1930s with vines selected from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal
and the Rhine. This Malbec/Cabernet blend pours a medium ruby/crimson colour,
and has an immediately cedary, smoky, spice and tobacco nose with good black
fruit beneath. On the palate there's an earthiness and pleasant touch of
leafiness about this, and even a tiny echo of Brettanomyces that actually sits
well in a wine that is very classically European in its profile. The tiny
metallic edge on the palate does not detract from a savoury, grainy black
fruited wine with a good spine of rustic tannins and acidity.
For stockists of Peruvian wines in the UK, see wine-searcher.com.
http://www.wine-pages.com/organise/peruvian-wine.htm
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South American Wines - An Independent Guide to the some of the Best Wines from Peru, Argentina & Chile.
www.south-american-wines.com Copyright 2009