Food & Tradition

What dishes pair well with Pisco? Most often in Peru, it's ceviche: raw fish cured in lime juice, with onion, chili, sweet potato, and corn. The acidity and bright heat call for a clear, not-too-heavy spirit, and an aromatic Pisco made from Italia or Torontel picks up the citrus notes beautifully.

Heartier dishes can handle more body. Causa, a cold-served potato dish with tuna or chicken, and grilled Anticuchos, skewers of beef heart, pair well with a Quebranta. Around Ica and Chincha, Carapulcra belongs on the table too, a spicy stew of dried potatoes, pork, and peanuts.

Desserts round things off. Tejas, a confection of caramel cream in a sugar glaze, are popular in Ica and Chincha. A small glass of Pisco puro alongside cuts through the sweetness, and many people have it at the end of a meal in place of coffee. The glass accompanies the dessert; it doesn't replace it.

The Pisco Sour, Peru's most famous cocktail, has its own entry in the encyclopedia. Here, the spirit stands alone in the glass, just as it's served with food in the bodegas.

The pisco valleys' year reaches its high point at the Vendimia, the harvest festival in Ica, where grapes, music, and dance take center stage. A National Pisco Day in July also honors the spirit's heritage across Peru. The focus is on harvest, hospitality, and conversation around the long table, not on the quantity in the glass.