Pisco: Its Name, its History

“Pisco: its Name, its History”, written by Ambassador Gonzalo Gutiérrez, is a culmination of a research about the true origin of the grape spirit. The crowning achievement scrutinizes etymological, historical and cultural evidence to confirm pisco is from Peru.

By presenting age-old documents, 1700s legal proceedings, and reflections of the grape distillate in the arts, Mr. Gutiérrez’s work resolves the ongoing debate over the rights to the spirit’s Appellation of Origin.

Peru and Chile have sustained an ongoing debate over the true origin of the spirit known as pisco. Historians, lawyers, pisco producers, officials and the public have participated in the discussion. Both countries claim ownership of the name of the spirit, one of the most emblematic and renowned appellations of origin in South America. Chileans claim the name “pisco” originated in a small farm in northern Chile, where an “…..inventory from 1733 listing three Pisco clay jars was discovered”. On the other hand, Peruvians argue that their appellation was a natural result of the continuous trade of the spirit to different areas in America from the port of Pisco from the 17th century onwards. The present book will scrutinize both arguments to prove that the appellation of origin of pisco belongs to Peru.

ISBN: 978-612-48465-1-9