Chilean pisco

Chilean pisco Cups next to lilies from the Norte Chico field of Chile. At the bottom is an old copper alambique.

Pisco de la Capel Museum in Elqui Valley.

Chilean pisco bottles, of various brands, together with Chilean grapes.

Barricas of oak for the saving of Chilean pisco of the aged type.

The pisco from Chile is an alcoholic beverage of the brandy family, belonging to a variety of grape brandy, produced by distilling wine from certain grapes (Vitis vinifera ), in the Chilean regions of Atacama and Coquimbo. It is a product with a designation of origin (D.O.) —the oldest in South America—, legally established in Chile and recognized in other countries.

The historical background of Chilean pisco dates back to the XVI century, during the period of Spanish domination, consolidating the foundations for its emergence in the Kingdom of Chile around the 17th century. It is a spirit drink that is part of Chilean gastronomy, with a national production of more than 100 million liters per year, widely consumed by its population —calculating a consumption of 2.2 liters per capita per year—, and an export product, whose main destinations are the United States, Argentina and various countries of Europe.

About the denomination of origin "pisco" and its use, there is a controversy between Chile and Peru. Peru affirms that said name, applied to the distilled beverage, has a close relationship with the geographical space where it would have started to be produced in that country, in the stage of Spanish rule, so that it should have exclusivity in its use. Chile argues that it is equally applicable to the distilled beverage produced in its territory, in which there is a legally delimited geographical area —sixty years before before Peru did it—and a town with that name —for eighty years—; he does not deny that it could have been first manufactured in the Viceroyalty of Peru, but he maintains that the denomination has been used to designate certain spirits from grapes produced in current Chilean and Peruvian lands since the colonial period, so it can be used by both countries, being binational.

History

16th to 18th century

Skin and wine processing techniques according to Myers' observations, in Travels in Chili and La Plata, vol 2, pag 297.

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the Chilean territory, the valleys of Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limarí and Choapa, located in the current regions of Atacama and Coquimbo, were inhabited by indigenous agro-pottery peoples; In the area of the Copiapó Valley, the culture of the same name was located, and in the rest of the Chilean north, the so-called Diaguita. With the expansion of the Inca Empire, during the reign of the Inca Túpac Yupanqui, the area populated by the Diaguitas was conquered around 1470; in turn, the Copiapó culture was dominated by the Tahuantinsuyo, with the help of the Diaguitas, and would end merging with the latter. As a consequence of the arrival of the Incas, their administration was imposed in the north of Chile, through the designation of curacas, the Diaguita culture incorporated Inca forms and decoration into their ceramics, and place names appear in the area in the Quechua language.

The Spanish explorers and conquistadors toured the Chilean lands starting in 1536, with Diego de Almagro and his expedition, which crossed the Andes and entered the Copiapó valley –returning to Peru the following year–, and settled permanently after the expedition of Pedro de Valdivia, who took possession of the territory in 1540, in the same valley of Copiapó, to later found, the following year, the city of Santiago de Chile. This territorial entity dominated by the Spanish Empire, which constitutes the nucleus of the current Republic of Chile, would then come to be known as Reyno de Chile.

In 1543 or 1544, the Spanish captain Juan Bohón founded, near the mouth of the Elqui River, the town of Villanueva de la Serena, a town that five years later was destroyed by an indigenous uprising; On August 26, 1549, by order of Pedro de Valdivia, Captain Francisco de Aguirre, it was refounded under the name of San Bartolomé de La Serena.

According to the French naturalist Claudio Gay, the Spanish products that arrived in the Kingdom of Chile, via Lima, prospered and multiplied very quickly, so much so that in 1551 vines began to be cultivated in La Serena and the surroundings of Santiago. The chronicles also cite Diego García de Cáceres, who in 1554 would have planted vineyards in Santiago. grapes on their land.

In 1576 the lands of the Pachingo sector in the Limarí valley were ceded as a grant by the governor of the Kingdom of Chile, Rodrigo de Quiroga, to the nobleman Vasco Hernández Godínez, founder and genearch of the Galleguillos family in America. In a will dated in La Serena, on March 20, 1592, he declares that he is the owner of his Pachingo farm, among others, vineyards for the production of wine and stills to produce spirits, which were entrusted to him by the indigenous people.

According to researcher Pablo Lacoste, the characteristics of the soil, the temperature and the waters coming from the Elqui River facilitated the development of the vine and wine industry in the area. Such environmental conditions produced grapes with a lot of sugar that would have made it possible to make excellent spirits. That is why La Serena became strong in the production of wines and spirits from early times. These alcoholic beverages, which were consumed by the elites and the common people, were distributed through the so-called "pulperías"; Around 1678, La Serena had 1,000 inhabitants and had four grocery stores. Lacoste deduces that the price reflected the quantity of production; in 1681 the Cabildo fixed the price of a pint of brandy at 4 reales.

In the Limarí valley, Diego Pizarro del Pozo y Clavijo Gálvez, in a will dated January 28, 1643, states that he owns vineyards, stills to produce spirits, a winery with a capacity of more than 1,300 Castilian arrobas –1 arroba=11.5 liters, approximately–, something like 15,000 liters per year, and everything necessary for the harvest.

The field master Antonio Gómez de Galleguillos, grandson of Vasco Hernández Godínez, in 1695, one of the largest landowners in the Limar valley, declares that he is the owner of the Pachingo hacienda and possessor of the ranches of La Punta, El Sauce, Yerbas Buenas, Ramadillas, El Totoral, Guasha Macho, Quebrada Seca, Los Algarrobos, adjacent to Pachingo, possessing a vineyard that had more than 5,140 plants and 20 vines. enabled, both in its construction and in the implements and tools necessary for the harvest, since it had presses, stills, birques to cool cooked foods, a spout and an abundant amount of vessels and jars of various sizes and qualities, some of them for preparing vinegars.

After the death of Antonio Gómez de Galleguillos, in 1695, his sons Pedro, Gabriel, Álvaro and Juan Antonio de Galleguillos y Riberos de Castilla will maintain the property, continuing the production of wines and spirits, and beginning to make a fortified wine in Málaga-type muscatels which were exported by his relative Pedro Cortés Monroy y Zabala, I Marqués de Piedra Blanca de Guana y Guanilla who was one of the main managers of the trade boom that from around 1680 encouraged wine exports and spirits to Peru and Alto Peru, today Bolivia. This commercial exchange increased thanks to the increase in demand due to the opening and boom of the new mining markets, such as Porco, Potosí and even Cochabamba; Pedro Cortés Monroy was an important rancher who owned Piedrablanca, Guana, Guanillas in the Limarí Valley and Los Choros, Cutún and Quilacán in the Elqui Valley; His farm in Quilacán, near La Serena, functioned as a collection center for wines and spirits along with other products from his agricultural properties, which were exported to the ports of Callao and Arica to be marketed in various mining centers..

During the 18th century, according to the writer Manuel Peña Muñoz, the wines and spirits produced in La Serena gained prestige and importance in the markets of Chile and Peru. In the middle of that century, the area of La Serena produced close to 6,000 arrobas of wine and spirits for domestic consumption, but which were also exported to Peru.

This boom will also be taken advantage of by the Society of Jesus established in 1676 in San Bartolomé de La Serena. 1,215 arrobas of wine and 56 of spirits in wineries. Despite this, in the San Isidro sector, according to an account book of the San Isidro Hacienda, formerly owned by the Pinto family and then belonging to the priest Basilio Egaña, an almost continuous production appears between 1769 and 1777, as well as levels even expenditure on inputs, which may be a sign of peak growth in the levels of artisanal production. Cavieres Figueroa comments in this regard: "In 1770 and 1772, the figures related to these expenses were higher because it was necessary to repair or buy vessels, pans and the skins from the press and pisco store". And several pages later, he will comment on the production prior to these years in these vineyards. wines and spirits, and different agricultural products which were exported to Lima, Callao, Guayaquil, Potosí, Paraguay, Panama and Buenos Aires. Being the Jesuits together with the Franciscans, they were the ones who brought the muscatel, albilla and torrontés vines together with new methodologies and technologies to the then Corregimiento de Cuyo in present-day Argentina. These techniques were quickly disseminated and assimilated to the other side of the Andes mountain range, beginning around 1740 to appear in wills and inventories of the Corregimiento de Cuyo place where it spread to the entire Argentine Northwest.

In 1700, the cavalry captain of La Serena, Miguel Pinto de Escobar y Blanco, bought a large part of the Elqui Valley lands from Fernando de Aguirre, great-great-grandson of the conquistador Francisco de Aguirre, former owner of these lands, in virtue of favors granted by Governor Pedro de Valdivia.

From the first third of the XVIII century, according to a study by the Chilean historian Hernán Cortés Olivares, in the Captaincy General from Chile the brandy produced in the small North began to be called "pisco" by the popular groups; This study indicates that, since that time, in wills dictated in the Elqui Valley, contained in notarial records, the deceased distributes assets such as "such as six full pisco jars", in reference to brandy jars. An example of this would be the will, registered in the notarial protocol of La Serena, issued on December 5, 1748, by the daughters of Gregorio de Aquis, cacique of the town of "El Tambo", in which they indicate as their assets "Ytten three jugs of pisco".

In the La Torre hacienda, located in the Elqui Valley, and owned by Captain Marcelino Rodríguez Guerrero, pisco was made between 1727 and 1733. In this hacienda, a vineyard of 11,000 plants was cultivated in its cellars They had presses, 50 jars to make and preserve wine, and had copper equipment to distill brandy, such as bottoms, pans, and cannons. After the death of Marcelino Rodríguez Guerrero, which occurred in 1733, an inventory of assets was made in the hacienda La Torre, in which, in addition to other products, "three jugs of pisco" were registered; which has been considered the oldest record of the use of the word "pisco" to refer to grape brandy, in Chile and Peru.

Miguel Pinto de Escobar y Blanco's son, Miguel Nicolás Pinto de Escobar y de las Cuevas, was the one who made the valley productive with numerous farms and haciendas, including a sizable property named San Buenaventura de Montegrande (origin of the town of Montegrande) that contained 70,000 vines and a cellar that reached 80 square meters to store wine and brandy. Cavieres Figueroa adds that in 1760, after his death, the San Buenaventura de Montegrande estate was divided between two forced heirs: his sister Petronila and Doña Magdalena, his widow, executor of his fifteen children.. At that time the vineyard was in full production and, in the local context, quite well suited for the production of wine and brandy. In addition to granting 35,000 plants to each of the beneficiaries, Petronila received two stills (one with a copper lid and drawer), 24 jars, three coolers, loaded with large baskets, nine cowhide pylons for storing pomace. "To Magdalena, the winery, a garnish pan with its cannon for making brandy, a leather press, 22 jars, a cooked cooling birque and another pisquero".

The Chilean historian Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna reports that "piscos" broken on the beach, which would have come with brandy from Pisco del Perú. Peru so that the construction of defenses could be facilitated and Chiloé was separated from the jurisdiction of the Captain General of Chile and the Royal Audience of Santiago; likewise, the port of Callao was the only one that maintained regular communication with Chiloé. Fray Francisco Menéndez, in his diary of the trip he made to the south of present-day Chile in 1783, refers to the Gueñaucanos –the ancient inhabitants of Llanquihue– and their fondness for excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, of which the numerous "piscos", that is, vessels where brandy came from the port of Pisco, found in the uninhabited forests of the area; likewise, Menéndez mentions that he took from Lima & # 34; six jugs of brandy from Pisco or Ica & # 34; for his trip.

The Elquino writer Galvarino Peralta Herrera estimates that in Elqui the term «Pisco» was used as a patronymic, referring to the Peruvian port, where the botijas would come from, since it began with a capital letter; unlike the word wine that began with a lowercase;^{[citation required]} as an example indicates that,^{[citation required]} in 1790, Gerónima de Rivera y Rojas, a neighbor of Elqui, declared in a will that she owned "eleven jars of wine and nine jars of Pisco; that several ships from Peru unloaded aguardiente in the area,^{[citation required]}, the alcoholic beverage being registered indistinctly as "aguardiente pisco" or "pisco aguardiente".

Based on his study, Cortés Olivares maintains that from the 18th century and during the 19th century, the word "pisco" began to be used in Chilean colonial society to designate a brandy whose organoleptic characteristics, alcoholic graduation and production techniques to process requires special strains", unlike the spirits that were produced south of Aconcagua made with borujo. In turn, the Chilean columnist Juan Manuel Vial estimates that "pisco" It began to be produced first in Peru —then the Viceroyalty of Peru, belonging to the Spanish Empire—, around the XVI century and, shortly after later, the process would have been imitated in Chile —then General Captaincy of Chile, belonging to the Spanish Empire—.

19th century

Map of the old province of Coquimbo, towards 1895.

Around 1810 and 1821, the Elqui and Ica Valleys, respectively, were possessions within the Spanish Empire, governed by colonial authorities. At the beginning of 1818, Chile formally became independent from the Spanish monarchy. In December of that year, the governor of Quillota complained about the economic scarcity of his area and proposed a tax "on incoming merchants and passersby or on those who introduce a copious number of liquors from the place of Elqui".

In 1819, inhabitants of the Elqui Valley requested the establishment of a town in the area, due to the boom in agricultural activity, including the production of wine and brandy^{[citation required]}. This request finally materialized in 1821, with the foundation of San Isidro de Vicuña.

According to Justo Abel Rosales, chronicler of the late XIX century, the use of the term «pisco» in Chile would have started after 1825, after the return of the Liberation Expedition of Peru, with Rosalía, a cook who lived in Lima, traveled to Chile with the military division and installed a restaurant in the Chilean capital that would be known as "El Club de los Picarones", where "No brandy was served, neither pure nor mixed; served pisco. The novelty of the name, recently imported from Peru"; that is, it would have incorporated the name "pisco" into "ethylic folklore" national, because according to Hernán Eyzaguirre Lyon, until then, it would have been unknown to the Chilean population.

Between 1838 and 1842, the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi made a trip to Peru, which he recorded in a book, describing the spirits that were shipped in the port of Pisco, indicating that "great part of Chile, stock up on this drink from the Ica Valley" and that there were two types shipped to this country: the common brandy called «aguardiente de Pisco» because it is shipped in this port and the "fino brandy, much more expensive distilled from muscatel grape, [which] is called "aguardiente Italia".

Around 1847, the Copiapino writer José Joaquín Vallejo narrates that in the port of Copiapó –that is, the current town of Puerto Viejo– it was possible to find products for sale, among others, Pisco brandy;, in Huasco –around 260 km away– and in other places in northern Chile, pisco was already being produced.

In a report sent to deputy Ramón Lira and published in 1861 in the Memoria de la Marina de Chile, an account is made of the sale in the port of Valparaíso of brandy from Pisco shipped in El Callao, noting that " The Peruvian boat Teodorico, who had to come from Callao to this port, had [...] first go to Valparaíso, to sell (1000) jugs of Pisco brandy that was at his side. board [...] he could only manage to get rid of the pisco, for the amount of four thousand pesos [...] the inhabitants would have had a good pisco, which now they do not it is possible for them to take it". That same year, Juan de Dios Pérez Arce, a Vicuña notary, marketed his own grape brandy in the area, labeled "Pisco Italia".

In 1868, José Rodríguez Callejas built a cellar in the town of La Greda, in the Elqui Valley, to establish his winery and distillery of piscos and fortified wines, which would give rise to the "Los Nichos&#34 estate;. In 1870, the owner of the Paihuano hacienda, Luis Hernández, began to produce brandy from grapes labeled "Pisco Luis Hernández".

After an epidemic of smallpox and as a result of the solidarity that arose among the inhabitants of La Greda as a result of the tragedy, in 1873, the residents agreed to name the town "La Unión". The name given to the town was ratified on March 20 of the same year, when La Unión was designated as one of the sub-delegations of the department of Elqui.

«Pisco G». First trademark of pisco. Granted in Chile in 1882 to José María Goyenechea de Copiapó.

By means of a law of November 12, 1874, an official registry of factory and trade marks was opened by the National Society of Agriculture. In 1882, the brand "Pisco G" was registered in the aforementioned registry. in the name of winemaker José María Goyenechea, from Copiapó, and the following year the pisco brand "Cóndor" was registered in the name of Juan de Dios Pérez Arce, from Vicuña.

Juan de Dios Peralta founded a pisco distillery in 1875, installing its main workshops in La Serena, which due to its characteristics has been considered the first Chilean pisco industrial establishment; Crosses". During that year, the Dictionary of Chileanisms by Zorobabel Rodríguez was published in Santiago, the first of its kind, which does not contain the word “pisco”, however, when explaining the expressions “chambado”, “ gloriado" and "once" refers to brandy; this work was the object of criticism and defenses, due to the omission of words that it would have presented, which is reported in a work by Fernando Paulsel published in 1876.

At the same time, the industrialist from Paihuano Olegario Alba Rivera traveled to Peru, to Locumba, Tacna, where he dedicated himself to studying the production of pisco, knowledge that he would apply to the "Bella Sombra" farm, acquired in 1868, and where the "Pisco Alba" was created; the first production of Chilean pisco, at least from that origin, went on the market in 1878, being sold first in Coquimbo, then in Valparaíso, in 1882, and later in the rest of the country, the Pacific coast and Europe. The Chilean historian Virgilio Figueroa considers Olegario Alba as the true creator of the Chilean pisco industry; for the Elquino historian Cesar Esquivel, he would be the first to use the name in the country "pisco" to apply it to the drink he produced, apparently after traveling to Peru where, he points out, it would have been made first.

Around 1880, Luis Hernández lost his distillery and pisco brand in a horse race, being acquired by Samuel Zepeda Ibáñez, who continued with the production of pisco at the Paihuano hacienda, maintaining its commercialization under the “Luis Hernández” brand..

At the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona in 1888, the pisco made by Olegario Alba received an honorable mention. The following year, at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889, the piscos "Tres Cruces", "Luis Hernández" and "Alba", from Chilean pisco producers, were presented, among others, and were awarded prizes in the contest.

20th century

Elqui Valley in 1906.

Towards the end of the XIX century and beginning of the XX, pisco activity in Chile was fundamentally organized through small distilleries, each one with private brands, which covered their own market.

According to the Peruvian linguist Martha Hildebrandt, at the beginning of the XX century, «pisco» would still have been felt in Chile « as a term that recently came from Peru". However, the word is collected by Aníbal Echeverría y Reyes in his work Voces chilenas , published in 1900, expressing that "pisco" is "a certain kind of brandy »; in the work Nuevos chilenismos by Abraham Fernández, published the same year, the term pisco is not mentioned. Later, the Chilean priest and lexicographer Manuel Antonio Román, in his Dictionary of Chilenismos y de otros locutiones viciosos (1901-1918), expresses that this was a “highly esteemed brandy that is manufactured in Peru, and also in Chile, and already known throughout the world. It began without a doubt in the Peruvian port of Pisco, and that is why it took that name". i> (1905-1911), that pisco was a «good grape brandy; the best in Chile is made in Huasco and in other places in the north”, and when explaining its etymology, he expresses that “the current pisco used to be called "aguardiente de Pisco" because it came from there and from Ica".

Chilean pisco label "El Aviador", 1915.

In 1916, Law 3087 was published, which contained an exemption for the benefit of natural piscos —that is, the genuinely pure ones that were produced directly from special grapes, without added essence or other substances than those allowed by the regulation, and that they were bottled directly by the vineyard that produced them—, regarding the payment of the tax on the manufacture of spirits and other liquors, established by the alcohol law. In 1925, Lorenzo Bauzá began to market "Pisco Lorenzo Bauzá", made in the Limarí valley and which would later be known as "Pisco Bauzá".

José Toribio Medina, in his work Chilenismos: apuntes lexicográficos of 1928, states that «pisco» was «[from the town of Pisco, in Peru] Aguardiente de muscatel grape of that origin and with whose name it is also manufactured in Chile", and which was also "the jug itself in which it is packaged". That same year, the Elquino farmer Rigoberto Rodríguez Rodríguez, son of José Rodríguez Callejas, created the “Tres Erres” pisco.

In 1929, Law 4536 stipulated that non-flavored spirits and natural piscos would pay half the tax on liquors. By means of decree with force of law 181 of May 15, 1931, issued by the government of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, the denomination of origin "pisco" was created in Chile, establishing the departments of Copiapó, Huasco, La Serena, Elqui and Ovalle (in the latter case, in the area that extended to the north of the Limarí, Grande and Rapel rivers), located in the provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo, and reserving the name exclusively "to the spirits that come from the distillation of grape broths within the regions" mentioned above.

Old bottle of "Pisco Control".

The impact of the Great Depression was felt in the Chilean pisco industry around 1930, due to the fact that the size of the most traditional companies –small and family-type– made it difficult for them to survive in the new economic environment; As a result of the foregoing, in 1931, nine businessmen from the sector decided to unite informally, in order to achieve "control", the production and quality of the pisco they produced, establishing what was called the "Unique Bottling". ”. The association, which acted informally as a trade union body – achieving, for example, that the decree with the force of law 181 was issued that year–, was successful, so it was decided to maintain the union permanently. Thus, In May 1933, the Cooperativa Agrícola y Control Pisquero de Elqui Limitada, later known as CONTROL or Pisco Control, was established in La Serena, a pioneer cooperative in the field, which was granted legal personality in August of the same year, and that it would market under the brand name "Pisco Control". mination, providing that the name "pisco" was "exclusively reserved for spirits that come from the distillation of grape juices obtained in the departments of Copiapó, Huasco, La Serena, Elqui and Ovalle, in the area that extends to the north of the Limarí, Río Grande and Río Rapel rivers", prohibiting giving the aforementioned name "to any drink that is not made exclusively by distillation of the broth of grapes from the previously indicated areas".

In 1935, then congressman Gabriel González Videla defended the entry of Chilean pisco into the United States, which had been claimed by the Government of Peru, the latter arguing that "pisco" was a product exclusively from the region from Pisco, Peru. Said claim was initially accepted, but later suspended, since González Videla presented, together with Humberto Álvarez Suárez and Pedro Enrique Alfonso – all deputies for the departmental group of La Serena, Elqui, Ovalle and Illapel, from the period 1933-1937–, a project of law to name Pisco Elqui to La Unión, a town in the Elqui Valley, which was quickly approved by the National Congress. Thus, by law 5798, of February 1, 1936, it was established that the town of La Unión would be called hereinafter Pisco Elqui, allowing Chilean pisco to be ""oriundo" and placed anywhere in the world without legal difficulties". That same year, by law 5841, the territory of the commune of Monte Patria, in the province of Coquimbo, was incorporated into the pisco zone.

A year earlier, the "Sociedad Productores de Elqui" was created in Paihuano, a small association of farmers from the Elqui Valley; in 1938 it became the "Sociedad Productores de Elqui, Cooperativa Agrícola Pisquera y Vitivinícola Limitada", which was granted legal personality in February 1939.

Former bottles of "Pisco Luis Hernández".

Law 6179, of 1938, established that "unflavored spirits and piscos made by vineyard owners or pisco cooperatives", would pay only half the tax on liquors. In 1943, by decree 3355 of the Ministry of Finance, it was established that "The name of pisco is reserved for spirits that come from the distillation of wines from grapes produced within the pisco area and obtained by means of stills. that, in the opinion of the General Directorate of Internal Taxes, guarantee the quality of the product".

Law 11256, of 1953, recast the rules on the denomination «pisco», establishing the departments of Copiapó, Huasco, La Serena, Elqui and Ovalle as a pisco area, in the area that extends to the north of the Limarí river, Río Grande and Río Rapel, and, furthermore, in the territory of the commune of Monte Patria, which is understood to be south of the Grande and Rapel rivers", and prohibiting "giving the name of pisco to any drink that is not made exclusively by distillation of the broth of grapes from the previously indicated areas", likewise, it maintained the reduction of the tax on liquors in favor of pisco, but only those made by pisco cooperatives located within the pisco area.

Old bottles of "Pisco Capel".

Old distillery in Pisco Elqui.

Circa 1962, the Chilean writer and folklorist Oreste Plath points out that «the current Pisco used to be called Aguardiente de Pisco because it came from the Peruvian town, Pisco. The vessel was also known by the name of Pisco, the jar in which the legitimate Aguardiente de Pisco was imported before. But, as certain vineyards in the north of Chile offered a good raisin, and so Huasco and Elqui offered the brandy that came to be called Pisco del Huasco or Pisco de Elqui". By decrees of 1963, the Chilean pisco zone was extended to some valleys and sectors of the departments of Ovalle, Combarbalá and Illapel in the province of Coquimbo, and the varieties of pisco grapes were established.

In 1964, the decree that had expanded the pisco zone to some valleys and sectors of the departments of Ovalle, Combarbalá and Illapel was replaced, in order to include others, which had been omitted, located in the same departments, and the "Sociedad Productores de Elqui, Cooperativa Agrícola Pisquera y Vitivinícola Limitada" It is renamed Cooperativa Agrícola Pisquera Elqui Limitada (CAPEL), commercially creating the brand "Pisco Capel".

In 1980, the pisco cooperatives of the time, plus some private producers, created the Pisco Association of Chile (APICH), the first formal union organization in the field; however, after approximately two decades, its activity ended up declining.

After the country's regionalization process, in 1985, Law 18455 established that the denomination "pisco" was reserved "for brandy produced and bottled, in consumption units, in Regions III and IV, elaborated by distillation of genuine drinkable wine, from the varieties of vines determined by the regulation, planted in said Regions".

Towards the end of the 1990s, the CAPEL and Control Pisquero cooperatives explored the possibility of merging, which ultimately did not materialize, although it had been approved by the Central Preventive Commission, one of the Chilean antitrust authorities at the time.

21st century

In 2003, the Association of Pisco Producers (APP-AG or Pisco Chile AG) was created, which is the current trade association that brings together viticulturists, winemakers, distillers and bottlers from the Chilean pisco industry.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) and Cooperativa Agrícola Control Pisquero de Elqui y Limarí Limitada (Control Pisquero), in 2005, formed a strategic association that contemplated a joint venture to create a new company anonymous, with the participation of both, which was established in March of that year, as Compañía Pisquera de Chile, which has become one of the main players in the Chilean pisco industry. Previously, CCU had contacted CAPEL, when he tried to take his first steps in the Chilean pisco industry, without reaching any agreement.

Later, in the same year 2005, Viña Santa Rita and Compañía Pisquera de Chile submitted binding offers to CAPEL, in a process through which the latter sought to find a strategic partner, with whom it would create a closed corporation and contribute its assets pisqueros (commercial brands, some land, plants and stocks). However, said process was declared void by CAPEL, who decided to continue operations under its traditional business model.

Designation of origin

Chilean Pisco Legislation

Law 18455 of November 11, 1985, which sets the standards for the production, preparation and marketing of ethyl alcohols, alcoholic beverages and vinegars —alcohol law in force today—, establishes in its article 28.º a) that the designation of origin pisco «is reserved for the brandy produced and bottled, in consumption units, in Regions III and IV, made by distillation of genuine drinkable wine, from the varieties of vines determined by the regulation, planted in said Regions».

In turn, the Regulation of the Pisco Denomination of Origin (decree 521 of May 27, 2000) defines it in its article 2.º b) as the «aguardiente produced and bottled, in units of consumption, in Regions III and IV of the country, made by distillation of genuine drinkable wine, from the varieties of vines that are determined in this regulation, planted in said regions».

According to article 2.º c) of the aforementioned regulation, the Pisco Denomination of Origin is the «denomination reserved by law to exclusively designate pisco in recognition of its special characteristics derived fundamentally from traditional natural and human factors, proper and inherent to its geographical origin”. The Pisquera Zone includes the entire Atacama and Coquimbo regions.

International controversy over appellation of origin

There is a dispute between Chile and Peru regarding the denomination of origin "pisco" and its use. Peru considers that said name, applied to the spirit drink, has a close relationship with the geographical space where it would have started to be produced in that country, from the stage of Spanish rule, in the town of Pisco —which has existed since pre-Columbian times— and its surroundings, in the current department of Ica, so that it should have exclusivity in its use, as the case of champagne in France, which in Spain is produced under the name of cava. For its part, Chile maintains that the term is equally applicable to the distilled beverage produced from grapes in its territory, in which there is a geographical area that was legally delimited in 1931 to use the denomination —before Peru did— and where there is a town with that name, Pisco Elqui, renamed in 1936; he does not deny that such a product could have been first manufactured in Peruvian lands –then belonging to the Viceroyalty of Peru of the Spanish Empire–, but he argues that such This denomination has been used to designate the grape brandy produced in the territory of both countries, since the colonial period and for various factors, so it can be used by Chile and Peru, since it is binational.

Chile maintains that "pisco" It is a denomination used for a type of alcoholic beverage made from grapes. It does not deny that such a product could have been first manufactured in Peru, but argues that this name was used to designate the grape brandy produced in both countries due to various factors (packaging, export port, etc.). In addition, it bases its support on the existence of a wine-growing geographical area, in only two regions of Chile, legally delimited to use the term "pisco": Atacama and Coquimbo.

Peru, for its part, bases its support on historical documents on the origin of the word pisco, pisku or pisko, applied to hunter-gatherer human settlements, called piskos, to the antiquity of the term and its multitude of applications: to "bird", to "valle", to a "river", to a port, to a pre-Hispanic town, to liquor, to a vessel and also to a city. That is, the argument begins from the etymological point of view, to culminate arguing a historical path to reach the place name.

In May 2005, Peru submitted an application for international registration of said appellation of origin according to the Lisbon System, before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which then grouped twenty-five countries (Algeria, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Moldova, Korea, Czech Republic, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Togo and Tunisia).

In August 2006 the result of this application was known. Of the aforementioned States, Bulgaria —it had initially rejected it due to a previous national recognition of the term, which was not related to this grape spirit: «P.I.C. Co", which he later rectified -, Slovakia, France Hungary, Italy, Portugal, and the Czech Republic rejected the application for exclusive registration of the Pisco appellation of origin submitted by Peru, solely because it would mean an obstacle to the use of the designation of origin Pisco for products originating in Chile (in French: "La protection de l'appellation d'origine PISCO est refuseé uniquement en ce qu'elle ferait obstable à l'utilisation pour des produits originares du Chili de l'appellation PISCO protégée conformémént à la l'Accord établissant une association entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et la République du Chili, d'autre part"), by virtue of the Economic Association Agreement that this country has with the European Union. In turn, Mexico also denied it "only if it constitutes an obstacle to the use of products from Chile with the name Pisco", protected by the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Mexico. Iran rejected the registration because it is an alcoholic beverage, the consumption of which is prohibited under its legislation. Meanwhile, the states of Algeria, Burkina Faso, DRC, Cuba, Georgia, Haiti, Israel, Nicaragua, North Korea, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Togo and Tunisia, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Lisbon Agreement, exclusively recognize the name "Pisco" to Peru.

International recognition of Chilean pisco

Countries that recognize the name of Pisco origin to Peru Countries that recognize the name of Pisco origin to Chile and Peru Countries that recognize the name of Pisco origin to Chile

Canada, by virtue of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by Chile and that country, in force since 1997, recognizes «Chilean Pisco» as a geographical indication, in accordance with the Trade-Marks Act. While Mexico recognizes the designation of origin "Pisco" for its exclusive use in products originating in Chile, without prejudice to the rights that it may recognize, in addition to Chile, exclusively to Peru, in relation to Pisco, by virtue of the FTA signed with that country and in force since 1999.

The United States of America recognizes "Chilean Pisco" as a distinctive product of Chile, based on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into with said country and in force since 2004. In turn, South Korea recognizes the geographical indication "Pisco" for Chile, by virtue of the FTA with said state and in force since 2004, without prejudice to the rights that it could also recognize in Peru.

The European Union, in accordance with a joint declaration with Chile, a member of the Association Agreement between the two, which came into full force in 2005, recognizes the designation of origin "Pisco" for the exclusive use of products originating in Chile, without prejudice to the rights that it may recognize, in addition, to Peru. In 2013, the European Union recognized "Pisco" as a geographical indication of Peru, without prejudice to the use of the name for products originating in Chile under the Agreement of Association between the European Union and Chile of 2002.

In the same way, Brunei, New Zealand and the Republic of Singapore recognize "Pisco" as a geographical indication of spirituous beverages from Chile, in accordance with the provisions of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (P4), in force since 2006; In the same agreement, the parties undertook, one year after its entry into force, to consider the recognition of distinctive products, in particular Chile expressed that it will seek recognition of "Chilean Pisco" as a distinctive product (in addition Pajarete and sunny wine).

The People's Republic of China recognizes "Chilean Pisco" as a geographical indication, according to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by that country, in force since 2006. For its part, the Directorate of Intellectual Property of El Salvador resolved on July 3, 2007, an appeal to a first instance ruling of 2006, recognizing Chile the denomination of origin "Pisco", based on the Free Trade Agreement between said country and Central America, signed in 1999 and entered into force in 2002; it had previously done so with respect to Peru, so it definitively recognizes such denomination to both countries. Later, in July 2013, the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador revoked the decision of the National Center of Registries, recognizing the denomination of origin in favor of Peru, requiring the establishment of measures that allow the commercialization of both products.

Japan, in the Agreement between the Republic of Chile and Japan for a Strategic Economic Association, in force since September 2007, recognizes «Chilean Pisco» (Chilean Pisco) as a geographical indication for beverages spirits with respect to Chile. In 2008, the Costa Rican Industrial Property Registry accepted the registration of the name "Pisco Chile", in favor of Chile.

Australia recognizes «Chilean Pisco» (Chilean Pisco) as a product manufactured exclusively in Chile, in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Chile and Australia, in force since March 2009. In turn, Turkey recognizes "Pisco", in the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Turkey, in force since March 2011, as a Chilean geographical indication for spirits, without prejudice to the rights that it could recognize, in addition, to Peru.

Malaysia recognizes «Chilean Pisco» (Chilean Pisco), in the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Malaysia, in force since April 2012, as a Chilean geographical indication for spirits, without prejudice to the rights that it could recognize, in addition, to Peru.

In May 2012, the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) took the necessary steps for the Chilean Pisco designation of origin to be incorporated into the records of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), an intergovernmental organization of reference in the field of vineyards, wine and other derived products, made up of 45 countries and of which Chile has been a member since 1952.

Vietnam, in the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Vietnam, in force since February 2014, recognizes «Pisco», accompanied by an indication of Chile such as «Chileno», «Chile», as a geographical indication Chilean for spirits, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement; the foregoing is without prejudice to the rights that Vietnam has recognized, in addition to Chile, to Peru in relation to Pisco. For its part, Hong Kong recognizes "Pisco" as a geographical indication of Chile, by virtue of the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Hong Kong SAR, in force since November 2014; furthermore, in accordance with the same treaty, and subject to Due to the laws and regulations of Hong Kong, China, any of the terms listed in Exhibit 3.10—including “Pisco”—may receive relevant intellectual property protection in Hong Kong, China.

Thailand, according to the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Thailand, in force since November 2015, undertook to ensure, in accordance with its laws and regulations, and in accordance with the WTO TRIPS Agreement, the protection of Chilean geographical indications, among which is "Pisco", provided that the geographical origin and country of production are clearly indicated at the end of said indication, as there is homonymy.

Chilean pisco production

Crafting

Uva pisquera Chilean.

Alambiques in a CAPEL plant.

Packaged and bottled pisco "Alto del Carmen".

Chilean pisco is a brandy made by distilling genuine drinkable wine. Its production consists of four major phases: the cultivation and harvest of the pisco grapes, the vinification for pisco purposes, the distillation of the wine to obtain the pisco and, finally, the packaging in consumption units. Such activities can only be carried out in the “pisquera zone”.

Wine alcohol for the elaboration of pisco can only come from the following grape varieties of the species Vitis vinifera L., planted in the pisco zone and which are collectively called "pisquera grapes":

Main varieties

• Moscatel of Alexandria (or grape Italy)
• Moscatel Rosada (or grape Pastilla)
• Torontel
• Moscatel of Austria
• Pedro Jiménez (rape different from grape Pedro Ximénez)

Accessory varieties

• Early White Moscatel
• Chaselas Musque Vrai
• Yellow Moscatel
• Moscato de Canelli
• Frontignan Moscatel
• Hamburg Moscatel
• Black Moscatel
• Muscat Orange

The harvest of the pisco grapes begins in mid-February of each year, usually with the earliest variety —the Muscat from Austria—, and concludes with those with the longest cycle —the Muscat from Alejandría and the Pedro Jiménez—, and is ultimately defined by the degree of potential alcohol that the grapes have in the bunch, which must be equal to or greater than 10.50º G.A.P.

The vinification for pisco purposes is made in white with controlled temperatures, ruling out the use of equipment for grinding and destemming the bunches, with high rotation speeds, which cause excessive breakage of unwanted elements in the musts, such as: seeds, stalks, etc. Likewise, the use of continuous type fresh pomace presses that work with high pressures is prohibited. This work consists of the following stages: reception of the pisco grapes; grinding; eventually maceration and pressing; and fermentation by the action of yeasts.

The wine distillation process for the production of alcohol for pisco must be done in discontinuous cycle stills. The distillation of the wines of each season begins immediately after they are ready for this purpose, and cannot exceed the date of January 31 of the following year, to avoid coinciding with the fruit of the incoming harvest. The alcohols, after being distilled for the elaboration of pisco, must have a minimum rest of 60 days, which can be done in steel tanks or in raulí foudres.

In Chilean pisco, producers can add demineralized water to adjust the resulting alcohol content, which regularly reaches 60° and reaches 73°, to the desired one, as is done in the preparation of other spirituous liquors, such as whiskey, vodka and singani. This has generated a rapid popularization of varieties with low alcohol content, due to their low price, generally 30, 33 and 35º degrees of alcohol, however the best quality Chilean piscos are found above 40º, in the special and reserved categories..

In high-alcohol varieties, Chile produces scented piscos stored in wooden vessels that add a very pleasant touch to the drink.

Varieties and styles of Chilean pisco

Barricas with Chilean pisco, on a plant in Capel.

Chilean pisco is classified according to the regulations according to its minimum alcohol content, which is indicated below (however, a difference of up to half a degree less than the indicated minimums is tolerated):

• Current Pisco or traditional: 30°.
• Special Pisco: 35°.
• Pisco reserved: 40°.
• Great pisco: 43°.

Notwithstanding the previous classification, there are piscos called guarda, whose alcohols are stored in noble wood barrels for a minimum period of 180 days, and aged, whose alcohols are aged in noble wood and for a minimum period of 360 days.

Features

The Chilean Regulation of the Pisco Denomination of Origin, which regulates the use of the denomination of origin pisco and the conditions, characteristics and modalities that must be met with respect to the raw material to be used, preparation and packaging of this product, establishes the following requirements:

• Primary: Pisco processing is not allowed with potential alcohol grade grapes less than 10.50o G.A.P.
• Distilation: the distilled product, resulting from the process of distillation of wine for the production of alcohol for pisco, cannot have an alcoholic graduation higher than 73° Gay-Lussac.
• Contents: the fish should have a content of volatile acids not exceeding 1.5 grams per litres and a minimum of 3 grams per litre impurities to 100° Gay-Lussac at 20°C of temperature and its sugar content may not exceed 5 grams per litre.

In Chile it is considered that pisco is a strong alcohol and that, in general, it is drunk mixed with another non-alcoholic beverage, usually with a cola drink (Coca-Cola and Pepsi), a cocktail to which the name of Piscola, widely consumed in the country. It is also drunk to a lesser extent with other drinks, such as ginger-ale, lemon-lime, and sometimes with orange juice and other fruit juices, or as a Pisco Sour, with sugar, Pica lemon juice, and ice. There are also other 'sour' with various fruit juices, such as Papaya Sour (see section, Serena Libre below), Chirimoya Sour, Mango Sour, Cherimoya Alegre, Lucuma, etc. well known and tasted in Chile in its commercial format or made by hand. With it you can also make the drink called monkey tail, typical of Chilean Christmas festivities.

Production areas

Vineyards in the Elqui Valley.

Vineyards near Monte Patria, Valle del Limarí.

The Chilean pisco production area, the so-called "pisquera area", was defined by decree with Force of Law 181 of May 15, 1931. This area included the provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo, equivalent to the current regions of Atacama and Coquimbo.

In this zone, known as Norte Chico, the intermediate depression is replaced by transversal valleys, which go from the mountain range to the sea, irrigated by the Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limarí and Choapa rivers.

With temperature contrasts and a hot and dry climate, the area is ideal for growing muscatel grapes, the main one used to make Chilean pisco.

Area planted

In the year 1985, there were 5,875 hectares of land devoted to the cultivation of pisco vines in the Atacama and Coquimbo Regions, with the highest proportion located in the second (with 5,364 ha).

By 2004, said area had almost doubled, reaching 9,883 ha (9,282 ha in the Coquimbo Region). The latest figure, according to the National Wine Cadastre 2004, is distributed as follows: 2,606 ha of pink Moscatel; 1,747 ha of Moscatel of Alexandria; 2,283 ha of Muscatel from Austria; 2,363 ha of Pedro Jiménez; 778 ha of Torontel; 62 ha of yellow Muscatel; 20 ha of early white Muscatel; 1 ha of Albilla; and 20 of other varieties.

Production volume

In 2006, according to the Pisco AG Producers Association, Chile produced 49 million liters of pisco and exported US$1.3 million to various countries, such as the United States, Japan, Argentina and some European countries. Chilean pisco exports have doubled in the last 6 years.

In July 2008 Chilean exports were surpassed by Pisco from Peru.

The two major companies that produce and market Chilean pisco are Cooperativa Agrícola Pisquera Elqui Limitada (CAPEL) and Compañía Pisquera de Chile.

Promotion and development of Chilean pisco

National Pisco Day

On May 15, Chile celebrates the «National Pisco Day». The idea of establishing this festival was generated, in April 2008, at the national pisco table, made up of the Minister of Agriculture, the Mayor of the Coquimbo Region and representatives of the Association of Pisco Producers.

This celebration, which was made official with a protocol of establishment signed by the Minister of Agriculture Marigen Hornkohl, the mayor Ricardo Cifuentes and the president of the Association of Pisco Producers, Pelayo Alonso, in a meeting held in Pisco Elqui, contemplates various activities related to the item, in the town of Pisco Elqui, the city of La Serena, capital of the main Chilean pisco-producing region, and surroundings.

Piscola Day

Previously, in 2003, national pisco producers established the «National Piscola Day», to be celebrated every February 8. On this date, which does not have an official existence, different activities are carried out regarding both pisco itself and piscola, especially parties in discos, pubs and other venues in the sector, where promotions are usually made to purchase the drink for a minor price.

Pisco routes in Chile

Vineyards in the Huasco Valley

Capel Plant in Elqui Valley

Uva pisquera near Vicuña

Archaeological site Valle del Encanto in Ovalle

The tourist routes or circuits associated with the pisco activity in Chile are found in the Atacama and Coquimbo Regions:

Huasco Valley

The Pisco Route of the Huasco Valley is associated with the production of small pisco plants. It develops from the city of Vallenar, in the Atacama Region, located 650 kilometers north of Santiago and then inland to the town of Alto del Carmen, where the main plant of the CAPEL Cooperative is located and where the produces most of the alcohol to produce Alto del Carmen pisco. In this town, the National Chilean Pisco Day is celebrated every year. From this town, the production of artisanal pisco Bou Barroeta also stands out, an artisanal plant located in the town of El Rosario, just 10 minutes away from Alto del Carmen along the route C-485 (Valle del Carmen). Artisanal pisco has been produced here since 1925 with a production that does not exceed 60,000 bottles a year, is attended by its own owners and requires reservations at least 48 hours in advance for your visit.

Another of the artisanal plants located in this Valley is the Horcón Quemado Plant, located in the town of San Félix, a 40-minute journey along the same route, which has hundred-year-old vines, a copper still and a bottling center craft where several local families work. The artisan plant is attended by its own owner and also requires reservation in advance.

Elqui Valley

In 2003, the CAPEL and Control cooperatives began the Pisco Route project, with the aim of showing visitors and tourists a tour of various places in the Elqui Valley, related to the history, tradition and production of Chilean pisco.

The Elqui Valley Pisco Route begins in the city of La Serena where it can also be reached by air. Following route 41 that leads to the interior of the Elqui Valley, the main tourist town of Vicuña, the ABA pisco plant is located in its surroundings, at kilometer 66, with free daily visits and guided tour service through its vineyards and facilities for buy bottles in their cellars.

Another point on this route is the town of Pisco Elqui, nearby is the Mistral distillery, whose name is due to the Chilean poetess Gabriela Mistral. This distillery has an assorted restaurant and a guided tour service and access to a small museum and an underground cellar..

In the framework of the Pisco Route, CAPEL created in 2004 the Pisco Museum in the vicinity of Vicuña, where the history of Chilean pisco is exhibited, from its origins around the 16th century, and the main milestones in its production.

A little further up, just 3.4 km from Pisco Elqui, near the town of Horcón, is the Los Nichos pisco, famous because President Gabriel González Videla used to come here to taste his liqueurs. A large part of its facilities were built in the XIX century, constituting an important heritage in the region.

Limarí Valley

This route begins in the city of Ovalle, capital of the Limarí Province in the Coquimbo Region, about 25 minutes from the center of Ovalle in the sector called Huamalata is the Mal Paso pisco plant, whose production began in the '60s. It is currently a fairly modern pisco plant with technology that allows the production of 9,500 bottles a day. It has skylights in the production processes that allow you to observe the process of boiling the wine to make pisco.

On the road that goes from Ovalle to Monte Patria, next to the town of Varillar de Rapel, is the Bauzá pisco plant. It began to produce pisco from the year 1925. Its colonial mansion stands out, surrounded by vineyards of pink muscatel and alejandría muscatel. It has modern stainless steel vats, old copper stills and oak vats to preserve the pisco. This floor is open to visitors but advance reservations are required.

Near Monte Patria is Chañaral de Carén, a distillery located in the Fundo Huallilén, with a traditional character and artisan production that has already obtained gold medals in its production.

Chilean pisco aroma wheel

The "aroma wheel" It is conventionally used for tasting and includes a list of concepts that represent perceptible aromas in the drink. The objectivity of this procedure is given because these aromas have natural referents, recognizable by most people.

Because it was not possible to use the parameters of cognac, whiskey or other distilled beverages, due to the peculiarities of Chilean pisco, the Aroma Center of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile developed between 1999 and 2001 a project to create a terminology roundtable for pisco aromas, which brought together winemakers, experts and technicians from the industry.

The project participants were generating the terminology with which it is possible to describe the different pisco samples. "After tasting more than fifteen brands, winemakers came to describe 42 pisco aromas. From "citrus", "jasmine" or "vanilla", to "soap", "burning" and "vinegar. "Wheel of Aromas of Chilean Pisco".

Organizations, programs and alliances for the promotion of Chilean pisco

Pisco Producers Association

The Association of Producers of Pisco AG is a trade association created in 2003, which has legal personality, and which brings together winegrowers, winemakers, distillers and pisco bottlers, covering with its members more than 95% of said productive areas. It groups and represents the interests of 11 companies linked to pisco, which in turn, brings together 15 pisco brands that are marketed in the internal and external markets.

National Table of the Pisco

The "Mesa Nacional del Pisco", or simply, the "Mesa del Pisco", is a work body established in April 2008 by the Ministry of Agriculture, which brings together to representatives of the public and private sectors, linked to the pisco production chain, which seeks to develop a strategy to improve the competitiveness of the pisco industry.

Pisco Spirits

The "Pisco Competitiveness Improvement Program" (PMC), known as Pisco Spirits, is an initiative created in 2009, which brings together the main pisco companies and producers of pisco grapes from the Atacama and Coquimbo regions, which aims to position pisco worldwide "as a Premium experience and product".

PIT Pisco

The "Territorial Innovation Program for the Pisco Productive Chain" (PIT Pisco), is a public-private initiative, coordinated by the Intihuasi Regional Center of the Agricultural Research Institute (INIA), in which the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Agriculture, the Association of Producers of Pisco AG, the ARDP, ProChile participate, Corfo, INDAP, the Agricultural and Livestock Service, the Clean Production Council of the Chilean Pisco Industry and most of the companies that produce Chilean pisco. It will take place between 2009 and 2012 and its objective is to "develop a strategy to improve the competitiveness of the industry at a national and international level, covering the most important links in the production and commercial chain".

Pairing with Chilean pisco

Chilean pisco is versatile in terms of pairing, its variety of aromas and flavors allow it to be enjoyed much better with seafood and desserts.

Chilean pisco has four varieties to be used in pairings: transparent, aged, aged and artisanal.

Cocktails with Chilean pisco

Piscola

The piscola is a popular cocktail consisting of the mixture of Chilean pisco with a cola drink. Its creation coincides with the introduction of cola drinks to the national market, particularly with the entry of Coca Cola to Chile during the 1940s.

It is one of the most popular and representative alcoholic beverages in Chile, due to its low cost and easy preparation. Over the years, it has displaced other beverages—such as beer, chicha, rum, and whiskey—in popularity across all socioeconomic strata.

Chilean Pisco Sour

Pisco sour in a restaurant in Santiago de Chile

The Chilean pisco sour is a cocktail prepared based on pisco and lemon juice from Pica with various additions. Regarding the origin of this cocktail, there is also a controversy with Peru.

It has usually been prepared at home, however, in recent years the Chilean pisco industry began to market bottled pisco sour.

According to the original version of article 58 of Decree 78 of October 23, 1986, of the Ministry of Agriculture, it is the cocktail produced and bottled in Regions III and IV, prepared with pisco, lemon juice or natural flavoring thereof, and may also contain authorized additives such as stabilizers, thickeners, emulsifiers, clouding agents and colorants. Its minimum alcohol content must be 20° Gay-Lussac and its minimum impurity content of 3.5 grams per liter. This regulation accepted that this drink be prepared with the juice of other citrus fruits or their natural flavorings, but in this case the product must be named "Pisco Sour", followed by the name of the corresponding fruit., the name of the pisco sour was modified by Decree 75 of April 13, 2009 of the Ministry of Agriculture, stating that its minimum alcohol content will be 12° Gay-Lussac and its minimum content of impurities will be 2.0 grams per liter..

One of the most frequent Chilean pisco sour recipes is 3 measures of Chilean pisco, 1 Pica lemon juice, an egg white, sugar and ice to taste, and shaken.

Piston

The piston is a traditional Chilean cocktail that is obtained with the combination of pisco, tonic water and lemon. Its consumption, which is associated with summer, began in soda fountains in the 1950s. After losing popularity, resumed its preponderance in the mid-2010s.

Its classic preparation consists of serving the pisco in a long glass with ice and a slice of lemon. Then, the drink is finished with the tonic water.

Serene free

The free serena or serena sour is a Chilean cocktail created during the 90s, in the bars of the city of La Serena, based on pisco and papaya juice, a fruit widely cultivated in the area of the Coquimbo region and symbol of the city.

It is easy to prepare, as it contains: 2 measures of Chilean pisco, papaya juice, powdered sugar to taste and ice, ingredients that are shaken.

International Awards

2000

• Pisco Capel achieves gold medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2000.

2003

• In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2003 Pisco Capel won gold and silver medal.

2004

• Pisco Capel gets 2 bronzes while Pisco ABA achieves one in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2004.

2005

• Pisco Capel gets a silver medal with Pisco Capel Pisco and another bronze medal with Pisco Capel Alto del Carmen in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2005.

2006

At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2006 Pisco Capel won a gold medal with Pisco Capel Pisco and a silver medal with Pisco Capel Alto del Carmen, Gran Reserva.

2007

• In the Brussels World Competition (Concours Mondial de Bruxelles) of 2007, one of the most prestigious worldwide, with only five exhibits presented, the Chilean pisco won 2 medals: 1 gold medal ("Pisco Los Artesanos del Cochiguaz Reservado") and 1 silver ("Alto del Carmen Reservado" by CAPEL).

2008

• In the Brussels World Contest 2008, the Chilean pisco won 2 medals: 1 gold medal ("Pisco Bauzá Reserved 40o") and 1 silver ("Pisco Alto Del Carmen Aging").
• In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2008 Mistral achieves double gold medal with Pisco Mistral Nobel and gold medal with Pisco Mistral Reserved. On the other hand Capel achieves two silver and C control medals a silver medal.

2009

• In the 2009 Brussels World Contest, the Chilean pisco won a total of 3 medals: 1 gold medal ("Pisco Bauzá Reserved 40°") and 2 silver ("Pisco Capel Reserved Moai" and Pisco Mistral Nobel").
• In the contest Vinalies Catad'or Latin America, organized by the Union of Enologists of France, in July 2009, the "Pisco Bauzá Especial Doble Destilación 40o" won a gold medal.

2010

• In the 2010 Brussels World Contest, the Chilean pisco won a total of 3 medals: 2 gold medals ("Pisco Capel Reserved 40° Transparent Double Distilated 2009" and "Pisco Bauzá Especial Double Destilado") and 1 silver ("Pisco Bauzá Reserved Double Distilated").

2011

• In the 2011 Brussels World Contest, the Chilean pisco won a total of 6 medals: 3 gold medals ("Bodega Pisco Tres Erres Reservado", "Pisco Alto del Carmen Reserva" and "Pisco Mistral Reservado") and 3 silver.

2012

• In the 2012 Brussels World Contest, the Chilean pisco won a total of 10 medals: 4 gold medals ("Pisco Alto Del Carmen Aging", "Pisco Alto Del Carmen Reserved", "Pisco Capel Reserved Double Distilled Range" and "Pisco Especial Bauzá Doblo Destilado") and 6 silver.
• In the International Competition Wine " Spirits Competition 2012 from London, the Chilean pisco won 8 medals. The "Pisco Alto del Carmen Reserved 40° obtained the highest recognition (Gold Outstanding) and the "Pisco Alto del Carmen Aging" obtained gold medal; other 6 silver medals were delivered to CAPEL snots.
• In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2012, one of the most important distilled contests in the world, the "Pisco Waqar" won the category Best Pisco and obtained double gold medal, being qualified with 95 points by the specialized magazine Wine Enthusiast. Pisco Kappa with double gold medal and Pisco Aba and Capel with gold are also featured in the same event.

2013

• In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2013 the Chilean piscos Bauzá, Capel and Kappa won 3 silver and 2 bronze medals.
• Pisco Waqar highlighted with a gold medal at the International Spirits Challenge 2013In addition, the Chilean piscos obtained 3 silvers and a bronze in the contest.

2014

• In the San Francisco World Spirit Competition 2014The "Pisco Waqar" was awarded as "Best Pisco" and "Best White Disturbance of the World". In the same contest Pisco Kappa obtained a silver medal while Pisco Capel and Pisco Alto del Carmen Pisco Reserved received bronze.
• In the International Spirits Challenge 2014, the Chilean pisco won 4 gold medals ("Pisco Bauza Reserved", "Pisco Bauza Crystal", "Pisco Bauza Aniversario" and Pisco "El Gobernador") and one silver.

2015

• Pisco Kappa is named "Best Pisco" and "Best White Disturbance of the World" plus a double gold medal in the San Francisco World Spirit Competition 2015Also in the contest there were three silver medals, two for Pisco Capel and one for Pisco Waqar.
• Pisco The Governor got silver in International Spirits Challenge 2015Pisco Bauzá Reserved Crystal and Aniversazio 40 both won bronze medal.
• In the Vinialies Internationales 2015 "Pisco Bauza" gets two gold medals with Bauza Pisco reserved 40° Aniversario double distilled and Bauza Pisco reserved crystal 40° double distilled and a silver medal with Bauza Pisco reserved 40° double distilled.

2016

• International Spirits Challenge 2016, Pisco The Governor of Miguel Torres Chile obtained gold, while Pisco Bauzá Anniversary Double Distilled Extra Old Reserved 40°, Pisco Bauzá Crystal Double Distilled Reserved 40° and Pisco Bauzá Double Destilado 40o Reserved obtained silver.

• San Francisco World Spirit Competition 2016 Pisco Lapostolle, Kappa and Pisco Capel of 40° The Essence of Muscat were awarded with gold medals, the Pisco Alto del Carmen Reserved, Waqar and Wiluf were awarded with silver and bronze for Capel double distilled.

2019

• On 27 September 2019, the Central Court of Intellectual Property of the International Trade Tribunal, rejects Peruvian appeal and recognizes the denomination of national origin. https://www.elmostrador.cl/dia/2019/09/27/en-tailandia-el-pisco-es-chileno-corte-de-ese-pais-desestima-recurso-peruano-y-reconoce-deormina