Ica

After a 5 hours’ drive away from Lima on the West coast of Peru, the natural environment changes into desert. In the middle of the Desierto de Atacama lays the city of Ica. Not spectacularly but famous for the best wines and piscos (national brandy) of Peru. In the mid-16th Century, the Spaniards brought the vine grapes to Peru. As it doesn’t rain in Ica, the water used to entertain the vineyards is taken from a river that originates in the High Andes.

We stayed in Ica on our way to Ayacucho and visited two wine producers. The first one was a commercial one called ‘Tacama’ and well known across the borders. It is the oldest vine producer in South America. The second one was a very small producer who uses traditional artisanal procedures.

After tasting the wine and the pisco, we enjoyed the sunset in Huacachina, a small oasis surrounded by sand dunes.

An interesting fact about this region concerns the mummification process of human bodies. Because of the dry climate without humidity, human remains don’t decompose as fast as in other regions and therefore a lot of well-preserved pre-Colombian Mummies can be found here. There were a few exhibited in the national Museum of Ica but unfortunately it was prohibited to take pictures of those interesting historical testimonies.

A different landscape compared to Lima.

In the middle of the desert a green field of plants stands out.

An old wine-grape press at the industrial wine-producer Tacama.

The mansion of the owner family of Tacama includes some small houses for the workers, a big house for the family and a church. At the time, people made a fiesta near this fountain square after they collected the grapes.

This wine yard could also be situated in the South of France.

Tasting the wine and the Pisco.

The artisanal producer still uses this traditional grape press. First the grapes get crushed with bear feet. The juice streams through the second pond into the small hole. Then the remaining pulp of the grapes gets moved with shovels to the second pool and get squashed by this wooden grape press to collect the rest of the fluid.

The juice passes through a tunnel into those vessels.

The liquid remains 1 week in the vessels to ferment and then the first 'wine' is ready to consume. The liquid for Pisco is kept 2 weeks.

14 percent of alcohol but very light. During march, locals organize a big fiesta with this 'wine'.

After the fermentation process, the 2-weeks-old liquid is poured into this huge tank. Underneath the tank, they start a fire to boil the liquor.

Due to the fire, the liquor evaporates into this pipe. The water in the basin cools it down and the condensed Pisco can be collected in bottles. If you look very closely, you can see the shadow of somebody enjoying the last drops of her Pisco ;)

Watching the sunset at the Oasis with some Sandboarders and Buggies.