For today, we had to explore the other reason the region of Ica is famous, the Pisco! Apparently the harsh arid climate is exactly what pisco grapes need to thrive. We also got pretty lucky and as we reached our first bodega, the taxi driver offered to stay with us the rest of the day for a fair price, so we ended up with our own private driver for the day!
Our first bodega for the day is one of the larger ones that has left their artisanal roots behind and have gone full fledged industrial. They still had some of the old equipment around though which was neat to look at, kind of like a pisco museum. They also claim to be the oldest pisco bodega.
Next we visited a few much smaller artisanal bodegas and saw the old machinery that’s still in use today. They even still stomp the grapes with their feet! And also got to see the original pisco vessels still in action, these oval shaped clay containers. Apparently, when the Spaniards first started making pisco back in the 1500’s, there were no casks around and only these clay vessels to store their distilled wine. The vessels had the quechua name “pischco” which over time gave the name to the liquid inside of “pisco”.
After this we had a quick meal and then off to our last bodega of the day, and one whose pisco we had actually drank before in the states! These guys had a neat mix of both the old equipment and the new industrial stuff to make their pisco.
After the full day of tastings we got our driver to take us back to Huacachina where we hung out by the pool in our hostel and catched up on blogging and prepping for our next adventure into Lima.
Travel Fun With Cassie and Alejandro 