The Republic of Peru (Spanish: Perú) in western South America with the capital Lima covers 1,285,216 km². It borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the south-east, Chile to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The northernmost point of the country is about 4 kilometres south of the equator. The special feature of Peru is that it extends over three landscape zones with completely different climatic conditions. These are Costa (coast, 2,400 km) with 12%, Sierra (Andes, highlands) with 28% and Selva (rainforest, cloud and cloud forest) with 60% of the country's area.
After the conquest of the Inca Empire by the Conquistadores from 1531 to 1535 under Francisco Pizarro (1478-1541), the Spanish Marquis Francesco de Caravantes and Hernando de Montenegro planted the first vines they had brought from the Canary Islands near Ica in 1547. Among them was the Spanish variety Listán Prieto (the historic Misión), which then caused a furore in many South American countries. Peru was the first country in South America where viticulture was systematically practised, with 40,000 hectares of vines already being cultivated around 1560. Wine was even exported to Spain at the time. At that time, the country was called Alto Peru (High Peru) and was the centre of the Viceroyalty of New Castile. Until 1776, it also included what is now Bolivia. From 1550 onwards, viticulture spread from here to Argentina. Phylloxera caused serious damage in Peru from 1888 onwards.
Due to major political unrest, viticulture almost came to a standstill until the early 1960s. From the 1970s onwards, reconstruction began with imported vines. The most important wineries and their vineyards are located on the Pacific coast between the cities of Chincha, Cañete and Ica south of Lima. There are also smaller areas in the north on the coast at up to 1,500 metres above sea level. Due to the Andes Mountains and the cold Humboldt Current, the climate on Peru's southern Pacific coast is favourable for viticulture. Despite low rainfall, there is high humidity with a risk of fungal diseases. The hot summers require artificial irrigation.
The traditional Peruvian national drinks are the brandy Pisco and the beer Chicha, traditionally brewed from maize and other plants by the Incas. Wine is only drunk on festive occasions. The most important winery is Viña Tacama near Ica, which is owned by the Olaechea family. The French oenologist Emile Peynaud (1912-2004) played a key role in its development. Wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc varieties as well as sparkling wines have been produced here with French support since 1961.
The vineyards cover around 25,000 hectares, from which around 700,000 hectolitres of wine are produced (see also under wine production volumes). However, a large proportion of this is used for the production of pisco and sultanas. In 2016, 3,831 hectares were designated for wine grapes (Kym Anderson statistics):
Grape variety |
Colour |
Synonyms or name in Peru |
Hectares |
Negramoll | red | Mollar, Mollar ICA, Negra Mole | 1.252 |
Italia | white | - | 1.011 |
Muscat Blanc / Muscat | white | - | 361 |
Quebranta | red | - | 330 |
Blaufränkisch | red | Borgona | 290 |
Red Globe | red | - | 240 |
Pecorino | white | Uvina | 114 |
Cardinal | red | - | 53 |
Cabernet Sauvignon | red | Burdeos, Cabernet | 48 |
Flame Seedless | red | - | 42 |
Alphonse Lavallée | red | - | 18 |
Sultana | white | Sultaniye | 15 |
Cot | red | Côt, Malbec | 10 |
Sugraone | white | Superior Seedless | 9 |
Torrontés Riojano | white | Torrontés | 8 |
Listán Prieto | red | Negra Corriente, Negra Peruana | 7 |
Albillo Mayor | white | Albilla | 7 |
Ar99 | pink | - | 5 |
Crimson Seedless | pink | - | 2 |
Crystal | white | - | 2 |
Chenin Blanc | white | - | 2 |
Syrah | red | - | 2 |
Merlot | red | - | 2 |
Perlette | white | - | 1 |
Imperial Seedless | pink | - | 1 |
Pedro Ximénez | white | - | 1 |
Pinot Noir | red | - | 1 |
Rosa Arica | red | - | 1 |
Garnacha Tinta | white | Grenache Noir | 1 |
Chardonnay | white | - | 1 |
Concord | red | - | ? |
Map: © Goruma
Pisco: by Fernando Revilla - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Tacama: by Milton Rodriguez - Shutterstock
Source 1st paragraph: WIKIPEDIA Peru
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