In the land of pisco... From our Readers

Pisco / Perú more than 400 years of History & Tradition (1613-2015).

 Thanks, NOEMI
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Subject: Thanks
From: "Noemí"
Date: Monday, May 28, 2007, 6:33 pm
To: opinion@elpiscoesdelperu.com
Dear friends, the video that you sent me is very nice, as are the articles and récipes. Thanks for sharing them. Keep moving forward, as the Pisco bulletin is very interesting and cultural. Sincere greetings, and any suggestion you might have I’d be happy to receive. Your friend, Noemí
Thanks, FRANCISCO
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Subject: RE: What you missed in May, elpiscoesdelperu.com
From: "Francisco"
Date: Saturday, May 26, 2007, 3:03 pm
To: boletin@elpiscoesdelperu.com
Dear Sirs,
"Pisco is from Peru". Thank you very much for registering me as a user of your bulletin. I am another defender of our Pisco, and have been for many years. I am working on spreading the word about Peruvian Pisco in Germany and the US. Thank you for the news such as that which I receive via your bulletin—it is very useful for me. Soon you will have more news about my activities. Cordial Greetings,
Francisco
Thanks, MANUEL
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Subject: Subscription
Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 11:55 am
To: editores@elpiscoesdelperu.com
The Bulletin was truly very interesting and entertaining for me. I would like to congratulate you! I would like to be a subscriber. Name: Manuel. Thanks
Thanks, ALBERTO
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Subject: Greetings!
From: "Alberto"
Date: Sunday, May 13, 2007, 10:55 am
To: opinion@elpiscoesdelperu.com
Congratulations to all of you who have created this website. It is very interesting to learn about many details that we didn’t know about Pisco. I have been living for a long time outside of my dear country (Peru), and what I would like is that you send me the complete and true history of our Peruvian Pisco (as there are many versions). I await your quick reply. Cordial greetings. Alberto P.S. It has to be and will be 100% Peruvian. Cheers.
Thanks, CARLOS
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Subject: Online Question
Date: Saturday, May 19, 2007, 1:11 pm
To: editores@elpiscoesdelperu.com
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Pisco is from Peru
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Contact information
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Name : Carlos
Subject : information
Message : Congratulations, this website is fabulous because it spreads the cultura of Peruvian Pisco, which is unique in the world.
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http://www.elpiscoesdelperu.com/boletines/junio2007/07.htm


Thanks, WALTER
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From: "W@lter "
Date: Sunday, May 13, 2007, 10:58 pm

Friends, thank you very much for the articles. They are very interesting. I would like to thank you for considering me to be a member. I will support the development of many different topics related to our famous Pisco.
 
Translated by Katrina Heimark
 

Pisco bilingual magazine

In the land of pisco... Surprise Guest: A Dane who is more Peruvian than many

Pisco / Peru more than 400 years of History & Tradition (1613-2015).

Don’t miss this interview in “Pisco Gatherings.” This month of June we have interviewed Mr.Carsten Korch, editor of www.livinginperu.com. Mr. Korch is Danish, has fallen in love with Peru and has created the website in English which is dedicated to bringing information on or country to the world. Very interesting!

1. Good morning, Mr. Carsten. Why Peru and not a different country?

Because my wife is Peruvian and so are my two sons. Also because Peru has the best food in the world, and the best liquor, which is Pisco.

Friends that visit Peru come back so they can take more limes and Pisco with them. It is a beautiful country that is worth visiting. You can do anything, hunt, walk the countryside, adventure tourism, ecological tourism, etc. Everything is possible in Peru, and I think it is possible to improve Peru’s situation. Also it is true that with lower income you can have a very good life in Peru. One can live very well!

2. So our readers understand, what does livinginperu mean?

The idea for the website came from the purpose of changing Peru’s image. Part of the Peruvian population and 99% of outsiders think that in Peru there are only poor and hungry indigenous people living in the mountains. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems in Peru, but also, we have to get to know the other side of the truth. There are beautiful beaches and landscapes, the jungle, many ecosystems and unique geography, rich fauna, interesting history, colonial architecture, etc. It is important to share and inform the world about the positive side too, as many think that there is nothing, which is not true.

So from this idea we talked with many embassies and we began to make livinginperu.com two years ago. We have 10,000 pages in English and in reality, there are not many people who have this. Currently, we have 90,000 monthly visitors, of which 45% live in Peru.

Today, Livinginperu.com is a source of information and knowledge about Peru, above all for those who are interested in Peru and not just visiting Machu Picchu, which is just the tip of the iceberg.

3. What is your profession?
I studied Marketing and Economics in Denmark. I’ve worked in the show business sector-particularly music and events, tourism and the media.

4. In your April 29th interview with El Comercio you mentioned that you are a passionate fan of the Pisco Sour. Have you tried pure Pisco? Do you especially like a particular variety?
I’ve tried pure Pisco and I love it. Before I go to bed I drink a shot of pure Pisco. I like the Biondi Pisco and the Mosto Verde (Green Must). Peruvian grapes are very tasty and there is a great variety. When I eat an Italia grape, it is like drinking Pisco without alcohol.

5. You say that Peru is a land of oppotunities, why?
Before it was the United States that said it was the “country of opportunities.” Now I think it is “Peru, the country of opportunities.” We must improve the information about the country, the infrastructure is improving, but we need to improve the educational system as without it we cannot get ahead.

6. Of all the places you hav visited in Peru, do you have a preferred spot or a place that calls your attention?
I don’t know why, but I love the jungle. The green world is incredible! But there are other places such as Mancora in Piura, Arequipa. I still haven’t visited Tarapoto, I hope to go there someday. However, I have traveled to Oxapampa, Villa Rica and the road there is one of the most beautiful that I have ever seen.

7. Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
My hope is that more people will believe in Peru and its products. It’s sad that many people want to leave the country when there are so many opportunities here. I hope we can change this. It is important to spread the word regarding what Peru has—if you know people abroad or you have friends that don’t speak Spanish, you can visit www.livinginperu.com and use this website as a way to present Peru to the world.

Thanks for everything, and good luck!

Translated by Katrina Heimark

elpiscoesdelperu 

In the land of pisco... Caraveli, high altitude Piscos

Pisco / Peru more than 400 years of History & Tradition (1613-2015).

At 1,779 meters above sea level, the moscatel grapes enjoy a generous soil that allows them to open up in all senses of the Word. There are Piscos and wines that are more than 400 years old that you will only find in this valley in Arequipa. The sun rises in Caraveli when Don Pedro Ramirez’s melancholy violin changes the mood and gives a festive mystical essence to this colonial tradition in the Chirisco Estate. In the stone winery, under the eunich eyes of the music, the group of eight men stands ready for the first notes with which to begin, with enviable choreography, the traditional stomping of the grapes in the Caraveli valley. Dona Rosa Montoya, patron of the stomping of the grapes and of the Chirisco Bodega, is required by the musical duo (Luis Montoya on guitar) to choose the captain of the stomping. Leoncio Huamani is chosen with three moderate slaps on his backside with grape vines. He has participated for more than twenty years in the folklore of the wine and Pisco and he learned to stomp, he confesses from his father when he was a boy. 

“Women are the devil/related to the scorpion/when the poor man comes/they stick out their tails and they go”
Leoncio is a living reminder of this colonial practice that today, because of the modern de-stemming machines and the presses, is practically extinct. But in Caraveli, this tradition is still living. 

The town surrounds the winery’s tank. The captain takes the Moscatel grape vines that he has attached to his belt in order to choose the cave. This charismatic whiskered man at the same time chooses the second captain, who in due time, will do the same to choose the Second Cave, which repeats until the famous and awaited fifth cave is chosen. This person, of prodigious movement, is who is in charge of the “stompers,” and the public assistant always have a glass of “cachina” or wine in their hands to satiate their thirst. 

The dance of the stomping of the grapes is started by the Captain with a rough voice and clear shouts. And “Ay!” to he who would dare to break the harmony of the steps. He is thrown to the edge of the tank and to the beat of the violin of Don Pedro Ramirez, is whipped with the damp grape vines. It is a harsh punishment that the assistants applaud, with their cheeks reddened from so much wine. This also happens for the Fifth Cave. 

The task begins at four in the morning with the harvest in the fields and is extended—depending on thirst—until the wee hours of the morning. In the afternoon, when the grape pulp fades into the tank, it is once again sprinkled with the must extracted from the grapes in order to obtain this unique flavor that is still present in the pulp, argues Marcos Montoya, son of Dona Rosa. This time, in order to give the hardworking group a break, rocks do the crushing work. 

The assistants also put together a party. They sing, dance and drink up the cachina that has been resting in the ancient earthenware pots of the Chirisco Bodega (the majority date back to the 1700s). To the innocent foreigners, like this author, they set a trap and make them participate in the game of the Fox. “Don’t drink the fox,” they say. They extract the delicate eardrums from a guinea pig and they put them in a glass of wine. “You have to drink everything, but don’t swallow the fox,” they warn. “If you do, you have to repeat it all over again.” 
In my first attempt, the “fox” stayed stuck on the bottom of the glass. The second, third and even the fourth attempt the blessed fox never moved. It was only then that I realized, when my sight lost all coherent sense of direction, that this was the game—that the fox would never become unstuck as it had a certain type of natural glue. The idea was that whoever falls victim to the game would fall, exhausted from so much wine. Lucky for me, a local woman warned me in time. 

This party takes place in the majority of bodegas in Carveli. 

Translated by Katrina Heimark

Pisco bilingual magazine