At the forefront of wine and distillation technology, founders, Guillermo Payet and his wife Aida, have devoted every effort towards the pursuit of exquisite pisco. They have strived to innovate through their winemaking techniques and the use of “green” natural farming practices and now reap the rewards of their vision and dedication through the many awards bestowed on their pisco.
The vineyard was established in 1927, planted by one of the most recognised Pisco distillers in Perú. The property covers 23 hectares of prime land in the central valley of Ica, in Perú. Its microclimate is excellent for pleasant, sweet, aromatic grapes. The warm daytime temperature (38°C) and much cooler at night (6°C), host a morning fog coming from the coast in the Pacific Ocean.
The clay loam and alluvial soils, nurture the vines, providing excellent drainage for deep roots. Grown in 3 meter alleys and 2 meters apart, the vines produce an excellent harvest weight for quality wine and pisco. Today they only grow grafted plants to protect them from insects like Phyloxera that destroyed vineyards in almost the entire world, and Nematodes. Thus healthier and more productive vines are cultivated.
During winter, from April to mid September, the vines wither and shed their leaves due to cold temperature stress. In spring they are pruned for successful burst of buds that will bare more and better fruit. During harvest time, upon arriving at the winery, the grape bunches are put into a Destemmer for removal of the grapes from the bunch, preventing the sap from introducing a “harshness “ when drinking the pisco.
Juice is then macerated over night in a stainless steel refrigerated tank, for the skins to release the fruit pulp and the aromas. It ferments in a stainless steel refrigerated tank for 7 to 12 days. The fresh wine is then pumped into the copper Charentese still. The Master Distiller tastes the liquid and cuts the “head”. What follows is poured into a separate tank as the “heart”, the Spirit. The Norm states that when it reaches between 48% and 38% abv it may be called Pisco. The “tail” is then discarded. Pisco Payet is bottled only after a full year of resting.
