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S
yond the three industrial winer-
ies, there is also a collective of
about 85 different small wineries
known collectively as the Arte-
sanales wineries. These wineries
follow many of old wine making
traditions, including crushing the
grapes by foot. During the harvest
season, there are many festivals
throughout Peru and it is not un-
common for the entire community
surrounding one of these inde-
pendent wineries to help stomp
the grapes during the celebra-
tions. While the three industrial
wineries have abandoned this
practice, there is something to be
said for making wine in the tradi-
tional fashion and wines labeled
as “Bodegas Artesanales” do
have a certain old world charm to
them.
While some Bodegas Artesanales
wines are good, do not expect
the same level of
quality that
comes from
the
in-
dustrial wineries.
The industrial
wineries have
abandoned the
traditional Peru-
vian methods in
favor of more
the widely
accept-
ed
prac-
tices
of fermentation in oak barrels and
the use of stainless steel machinery.
Conclusion
Peruvian wines aren’t likely to soar
in popularity anytime soon, mainly
because there just isn’t very many of
them being exported.
You can find Peruvian wines and
Piscos in certain parts of the United
States but supplies are usually
limited to cities
with a reason-
able number of
South Americans
living in them, like
New York and
Chicago. The UK
probably has the
healthiest supply
of Peruvian wines
outside of South
America. So,
you may want to
consider buying
some for there if
you really want
some.