Tradition and pride
From the beginning of the colony to the present day, the producers of pisco live the oldest traditions of the masters, puts all their effort, affection and technology to create a product of the highest quality, that prides the Chileans and is a reflection the five hundred years of history of everything.
Currently, production of 36 million liters per year is estimated, with per capita consumption of 2.1 liters per year nationally. As an export product, its main destinations are the United States, Argentina and Europe. The importing mayor is currently the United States, due to the boom in demand for new, high-quality products.
Today’s pisco industry aims at quality and versatility. We have a great variety of piscos, which are not only differentiated by their degree, but by their guard time, grape strain used in their preparation, etc. In the market you can find transparent, fresh and aromatic piscos, others with touches of wood thanks to its rest barricaded in barrels, or dark even, woody and complex, with a lot of time and aging. The concepts of double and triple distillation have also been developed.
Until a few years ago, the Chilean market was more receptive to quantity than quality, so Premium piscos with a very limited space. After the massive arrival of imported alcohols in the 1990s, the supply of distilled and other alcoholic products expanded markedly, and people begin to prefer quality.
Since then, high-end piscos have increased their presence in the market, betting on an audience that wants to rediscover the pisco, enjoy its versatility and view them with fruits, herbs and other distillates.
The excellent quality of the pisco has led it to be worthy of recognitions and awards in the main competitions internationally. He has even received the distinction of «Best White Distillate in the World» by the San Francisco World Spirit Competition. Also «Eau de Vie» by Vinalies Internationales of determination that one of our piscos is the «finest fruit distillate in the world». The pisco sweeps these competitions, so it has a very positive evaluation by bartenders and sommeliers from all over the world.
Along with quality, one of the key factors in the repositioning of the pisco is its versatility: it can be drunk alone, as a low, or in various preparations, from the simplest (mix with sodas or juices) to the most elaborate ones, as a base of high-end mix preparations.
It’s been a long time since the pisco was no longer limited to piscola or pisco sour. The consumer trend has evolved into new experiences, innovative proposals and with local products. The gastronomic offer in general is experiencing a turn towards our roots, a return to the typical products, privileging the flavors and products of the area. Today historical drinks are being recovered, tales such as the piston or the pichuncho, which surprise by their freshness. Molecular mixology also giving much to talk about, inviting you to discover new shapes and flavors in the world of cocktails.
Distilled and aromatic, with silky tannins and delicate sweetness, which persist in the mouth expressive and elegant. The pisco continues to accumulate recognitions and medals in the main competitions unscathed internationally, being found as the best and finest fruit distillate in the world.
Psycheros Valleys
During the 17th century, life in the nascent city of La Serena was hard. Pirate-derived attacks caused a strong impact and the sense of unprotection was increasing. The fire of the lobby building in 1680 at the hands of pirate Bartholomew Sharp reinforced the city’s sense of responsibility, causing different ducts: some opted for territory and emigrated; left, with a fearful attitude.
Among the neighbors who decided to remain in the Coquimbo corregimiento, there was an innovative and active group. Participants by Don Pedro Cortés y Mendoza, this sector made the decision to affirm its presence in the region, but taking preventive measures in the face of possible overseas attacks. They agreed to value the lands of the upper Elqui Valley, to build their farms there with their vineyards, wineries and stills. These were located by the Claro River, between the towns of Monte Grande and Pisco Elqui themselves.
The Claro River wine cluster had significant strengths, tales such as distance from the sea (about 100 kilometers from the coast, it was well protected from pirate attacks), altitude (in these conditions, stills are more efficient. In addition, the greater thermal amplitude of the mountain has a positive effect on the grape, the valley stands out for having special microclimate and for the fertility of the soils
The farmers planted vines, erected wineries and installed stills. In the narrow space between the Claro River and the mountain ranges, the haciendas were erected with all the necessary equipment and facilities for the work of wines and distilling spirits.
There was a remarkable will for leadership in this wine cluster. For example, the first tubing furnace in northern Chile (in Hacienda La Torre) was erected there and the first still of northern Chile (on the property of Don Rodrigo Rojas) was installed there. These innovations were later imitated by the other local farmers, and soon the dynamic wine polo in northern Chile was completed. The inventories of consirium goods in the repositories of the National Archives show in detail the investments that these estates had between fines of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century.
Thus the desert and the eternal sun witnessed the produce of our pisco, emblematic product of the valleys of Elqui, Limarí, Choapa, Huasco and Copiapó. What the pisqueros valleys have to offer a reflection of who we are as a country.
Map
Contribution of the pisco to the development and economy of Chile
How do five hundred years of tradition, effort, quality and national identity get into a bottle? The pizzas of Chile know it. From the beginning of the colony to the present day, the living live the oldest of the master fishmen, puts all their effort and technology to create a product of the highest quality, that prides Chileans and is a reflection of an entire country.
Each drop of pisco is the result of the work of more than 2,800 fish grape producers from the valleys of Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limarí and Choapa, places in the regions of Atacama and Coquimbo, the only two producing areas according to the Denomination of Origin Pisco, dating from 1931 and is the oldest America third and world level. This regulation sets the strict quality standards for the production, which will be the time to this day.
The agribusiness of the pisco represents about 10,500 hectares planted with pisquera grapes, generating about 3,500 permanent jobs and almost 40,000 seasonal, in addition to approximately $50 million per year in taxes.
Today, pisco is the most ovolo distillate in Chile; in fact, more pisco is consumed than all the other distilled together. Internationally, it continues to accumulate awards and medals in the most prestigious competitions, being sercho as the best and finest fruit distillate in the world.
The quality and versatility of the pisco are of the most striking characteristics, positioning our distillate as a fresh and novel alternative in the bars of Europe and the United States, where the pisco is a distillate and aromatic, of silky and delicate tannins, which persists in the mouth, expressive and elegant.
History of the film industry
- 500 hectares planted with Pisquera grapes
- 175 million grapes produced in the last harvest
- Chileans consume 2 litres of pisco per capita per year
- The industry’s estimated contribution to the national treasury is $130 million
- 500 producers
- 85% of them are small producers
- 90% are associated with the corporate model
- The piquera industry generates 3,500 permanent jobs
- 000 mind jobs
Exports
- 2015
- FOB Value: $3,253,413
- Volume (liters): 423,423
- 2016
- FOB Value: $2,737,836
- Volume (litres): 379,671
- 2017
- FOB value: $2,799,979
- Volume (liters): 411,695
Major international markets
- United States
- Argentina
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- Spain
- Poland
- China
Cocktail
- Videos
- Recipes
Material of interest
- Decalogos in English and Spanish
- Videos
