Distillates in World History

We must say it with pride: Pisco is part of Chile's wine heritage. It is an important thread of the fabric the country has become.

Following the documented opinion of the Argentine historian Pablo Lacoste, in his work "Pisco was born in Chile", the first thing to keep in mind is that Pisco is what it is thanks to the grapes and wine it is made of. Therefore, before landing on the history of what happened in this long and narrow strip of land in South America, we should mention that the first cultivations of vines date back to the Bronze Age, in the Middle East. There is evidence that, as far as 3,000 B.C., wine was consumed in Egypt, and it was attributed to Osiris, considered the god of agriculture. And in Greek and Roman mythology, parties (or bacchanals) were held in honor of the god of wine (Dionysus in Greece, Bacchus in Rome). In the Judeo-Christian culture, wine also plays an essential role: in the Old Testament it is narrated how Noah, after the Great Deluge, planted grapevines. And Christ, in the New Testament, in the passage of the Last Supper, changes wine into his own blood.

Pisco in America and its landing in Chile

In 1525, the then Governor of Mexico, Hernán Cortés, ordered the planting of grapevines brought from Spain. And in Chile, when the city of La Serena was re-founded in 1549, the first vineyards began to be planted in its surroundings, which later spread to the nearby valleys of Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limarí, and Choapa. The singularity of these terroirs allowed the production of high-quality wines with intense sweetness. But wines’ sweetness complicated their shipping to other locations since it spoiled the product quickly. To ensure proper preservation, and as a way of reducing the volumes to be transported, producers began to extract the alcohol from the wine. Thus, distillation was a clever and practical solution to the problem of excess sugar in wines. Thanks to the widespread availability of copper in Chile, copper alembic stills were used to distill wines and produce spirits (“aguardientes”). The first records available of the existence of these stills in Chile date back as far as 1586.

Pisco, the treasure unwittingly forged by pirates

What few people know is that the presence of pirates also played a key role in the creation of Pisco in Chile. Although it may seem like a fairy tale, the truth is that corsairs such as Francis Drake, Bartholomew Sharp, William Knight, and Edward Davis are some of those who looted and devastated the coasts of La Serena and its surroundings in search of riches such as gold. Their attacks caused great destruction and horror among the neighbors. The fear and lack of tranquility, motivated them to look towards the inland valleys, far from the reach of the pirates and where they would find fertile lands with ideal microclimates for agricultural production. Thus, by the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, important estates (mainly dedicated to the production of wines and spirits) began to settle in the Elqui Valley, consolidating the tradition of making quality distillates from Muscatel grapes, while in the rest of the territory only the País grapes were grown. The distillates were stored and transported in elongated clay pots, which were called "piscos", from which our famous product seems to have taken its name.

Denomination of Origin (D.O.)

What is the appellation of origin of Pisco? On November 12, 1874, the Law of Trademarks for Manufacturing and Commerce was passed in Chile, the first law that sought to regulate trademarks. This law indicated, among other things, that trademarks are those that are placed on objects made or manufactured in Chile or abroad by industrialists or farmers. As a result of the enactment of this law, pisco producers understood the importance of registering their products with the Office of the National Society of Agriculture. Since the registration of the first pisco label, Pisco G (1882), and until 1930, there were 111 registered pisco labels in Chile. Producers realized that there was a threat: spirits producers from other areas of Chile sought to take advantage of the fame obtained by pisco from Norte Chico to sell inferior quality spirits (made from wine by-products such as "borras" or "orujos") under the name of "Pisco".

by-products such as "borras" or "orujos") under the name of "Pisco". In the first decades of the 20th century, discussions in Congress would end up paving the way for the issuance of the Pisco Denomination of Origin in 1931. The then President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo put an end to the controversy. On May 15, 1931, he issued Law Decree N°181, which determined that the name Pisco was exclusively reserved to the spirits that came from the distillation of grape wines from the departments of Copiapó, Huasco, La Serena, Elqui, and Ovalle, extending north of the Limarí, Grande and Rapel rivers.

The National Institute of Industrial Property of Chile (INAPI) states that Denominations of Origin are "a distinctive sign that identifies a product as originating in the country or a region or locality of the National territory, when the quality, reputation or other of its characters are attributable primarily to its geographical origin, taking into consideration, in addition, other natural and human factors that affect the characterization of the product (...)”. They are of indefinite duration while maintaining the factors that led to their recognition.

After the enlightening Decree of 1931, a series of new regulations arose, such as the ones illustrated in the Pisco Guide 2021: "On September 9, 1933, Law No. 5,231 defined the text of the Law on alcohol and alcoholic beverages. Its Article 5, states that "The name pisco is reserved exclusively for spirits obtained from the distillation of grape wines obtained in the departments of Copiapó, Huasco, La Serena, Elqui and Ovalle, in the area extending north of the Limarí, Grande and Rapel rivers. It is forbidden to give the name of pisco to any beverage that is not made exclusively by distillation of wines of grapes from the aforementioned areas". Law Nº 5,798, of February 1st, 1936, replaced the name of the town "La Unión" by "Pisco Elqui", as a way of honoring the origin of the precious distillate from the location.