On the occasion of the recent 'Pisco es Peru' meeting, we decided to have a chat with Federico Solari, promoter of Pisco in Italy, to understand more about a distillate that is still little known in our territory, but is being used more and more.
Tell us a few words about yourself and how you became a promoter of the initiative that landed in Italy 'Pisco es Peru'.
My name is Federico Solari Recavarren and I am an Italian-Peruvian, resident in Italy for more than 25 years. I became a promoter of Pisco in Italy because of my passion for my country of birth and for this Peruvian product that represents the history, culture and tradition of a country that contains 70 percent of the world's biodiversity and finds within it different climatic areas that allow the natural growth of wonderful products such as the "pisquera" quality grape and consequently, of Pisco.
Do you think Pisco has never been able to emerge in the Italian scene because we already have a wide range of products in our area, or could there be other reasons?
Pisco has never been able to emerge because its production has always been artisanal, derived from small farmers or large farming families who produced it to consume in the family and give as gifts to friends.
What are the countries where it is most used? Just those of origin?
The largest importer of Pisco is the United States of America. In second position, as the largest importer of Peruvian Pisco, is Chile.
Why the decision to launch it now?
In the last 10 or 15 years Peru has seen GDP and therefore economic growth steadily, by more than 6 percent per year; this has driven the growth of the agricultural industry, the development of creative Peruvian "fusion" gastronomy, and consequently Pisco, which has seen its production grow and increase until it has conquered new international markets.
What are the characteristics of Pisco that make it competitive with other distillates?
Pisco is a distillate of fermented grapes, the result of a single direct distillation that can be continuous or discontinuous. Cutting off head and tail, it is bottled with an alcohol content that varies between 38° and 48°, with no water added. The secret is the grapes, which are grown in the desert areas of Peru's ocean coast, with strong sun exposure, thus achieving a high sugar level. The fact that Pisco, produced by a single distillation, manages to be bottled without any contamination of other products, neither oak barrels nor water to lower the alcohol content, means that we are talking about a noble distillate with special organoleptic characteristics. Very good to drink neat and just as good in blending with fruit juices, carbonated drinks, etc. Keeping its own character, taste and aroma, it lends itself to a thousand inventions by bartenders all over the world. I believe that Italian bartenders in particular, who are very creative, will find in this distillate a "new" product with which to experiment with new recipes.
How important was it to promote it through an official event such as 'Pisco es Peru' to give it visibility?
We had been talking about Pisco in Italy for a few years, but we were waiting for this official event promoted by the recently established Peruvian Commercial Office in Milan, which gave a boost to the marketing of this product in Italy, which will now have unstoppable growth.
Have you already planned other promotions on the product?
We are planning other promotional events for Pisco in different regions of Italy, following the same "format" tested at this event in Milan.
