The Pisco Vineyards of Ica

Grapes have been distilled in the Ica valley since the sixteenth century, and it is the largest of the coastal regions entitled to use the pisco name. The rules are narrow: distilled to its final strength in one pass, no water added afterwards, no ageing in wood, and only from a defined list of grape varieties. Quebranta gives the plain, robust style used in most pisco sours; Italia and Torontel give the aromatic ones. The bodegas range from industrial plants with stainless steel to small mud-walled operations still using clay jars, a mule-turned press and a copper falca. Vines grow in sand under a sky that essentially never rains.

What you actually see

• The clay jars - traditional botijas still used for resting spirit at the small bodegas.
• The stills - copper falcas and alembics in the distilling sheds.
• The grape varieties - Quebranta, Italia and Torontel tasted side by side.
• The March harvest - picking, pressing and the vendimia celebrations in the valley.

When to go

March is harvest and the valley's festival month, when the presses run and the town is at its busiest and priciest. The rest of the year the bodegas still open and are far quieter. Visits are almost always in the morning or early afternoon; some small producers want a call ahead. It is desert heat all year, so take water.

Honest expectations

The standard tour visits two or three bodegas with tastings, in full desert heat, and the spirit is around forty percent, so afternoons come apart quickly. Many of the accessible bodegas are set up for bus groups and push sweet cream liqueurs alongside the actual pisco. Ica town itself is unremarkable and has little to hold you. Getting between bodegas without a car or a tour is awkward.

Nearby

The Huacachina oasis, the Nazca lines to the south and Paracas on the coast.