Lima: The Original Wine-Making Capital of South America

According to historian Guillermo Toro-Lira, the first vineyard in South America was planted in Lima between 1539 and 1541 by Hernando de Montenegro, a Spanish captain. The first wine was made in 1551, marking the beginning of a new era of wine-making in the New World. By the end of the 16th century, Peruvian wine had significant global demand.

Because Peruvian wine was so highly sought after, we can assume it was of superior quality. But just how good was Peruvian wine in the past? The purpose of this blog is to find the answer to that question.

Centuries-old documents indicate that Peruvian wine was really good. At the end of the XVI century and beginning of the XVII century, Reginaldo de Lizárraga, a Spanish friar, was one of the first to document the quality of Peruvian wine on his travels throughout South America. He stated the wine throughout Peru was “very good” and that wine production was “very abundant”. Felipe Huaman Poma de Ayala, a Quechua nobleman, stated that Peruvian wine was the best in the kingdom.

These are just 2 examples of many that demonstrate the quality of Peruvian wine in the past. However, this investigation brings up another important question: What happened to the abundant wine production in Peru? In a study completed by the Wine Institute of California in 2015, Peru was #33 of 63 wine-producing countries, making only .25% of the world’s wine. One would think that if Peruvian wine was so good, its sales would have increased, not decreased, over time. Come to find out, the decline was caused by restrictions imposed by the Spanish royalty.

The timeline below summarizes the efforts of the Spanish royalty to hinder wine production in Peru:

1539 -1541- First vine (Listán Prieto) planted in Lima by Hernando de Montenegro

1551- First wine made in Lima, making Peru the first winemaking region in South America

1595- Felipe II prohibited planting vines in the colonies. However, people continued planting and making wine.

1595- Felipe II- started taxing vineyard owners, which diminished the amount of vines in Peru.

1614- Peruvian wine was competing so much with Spanish wine that King Philip III prohibited the importation of Peruvian wine to Panama.

1615- The sale of Peruvian wine was banned in Guatemala.

1641- King Philip IV prohibited the importation of Peruvian wine to Spain. Since the market for wine was cut off, vintners in Peru began to use their grapes to make pisco.

So now we know, Peruvian wine was not only delicious, but it imposed a threat to winemakers in Spain. In order to control wine production, Spanish royalty used many methods, including prohibiting planting more vines and banning imports to other colonies and to Spain. For that reason, wineries in Peru, including Apu, have the mission to revive the wine-making traditions and success of the past.

Sources:

Huertas Vallejos, Lorenzo. “Historia De La Producción De Vinos y Piscos En El Perú.” Revista Universum, vol. 2, no. 19, 2004, pp. 44–61.

“Lima, Cuna Del Primer Viñedo y Del Primer Vino De Suramérica.” www.efe.com, 28 Sept. 2018, www.efe.com/efe/america/gente/lima-cuna-del-primer-vinedo-y-vino-de-suramerica/20000014-3763502.

“Wine Statistics.” Wine Institute, www.wineinstitute.org/our-industry/statistics.

Fercal Rootstock in Apu's Vineyards

Grape rootstocks provide resistance to diseases and pests, promote a more extensive root system and improve tolerance of calcareous soils (Perry and Sabbatini). Because of their indispensable influence on the future success of vines, we carefully select rootstocks that will best adapt to our vineyards.

The great majority of the vines we imported from France were grafted with the Fercal rootstock. Genetic analysis showed this variety is a cross between Berlandieri Colombard #1 B and 31 Richter, as seen below:

In addition to being one of the most adequate for limestone soils, the Fercal rootstock is also resistant to chlorosis, downy mildew and anthracnosis. It moderately protects against gallicolae phylloxera and has a very high tolerance to radicicolae phylloxera.

We don't know of any availability of the Fercal rootstock in South America; the majority of grapevines with this graft are located in France. Planted over an estimated surface area of 30,000 hectares, vines with this graft are found in Champagne, Aquitaine, Charentes, Alsace, Midi-Pyrénées, Val de Loire, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhône-Alpes (Barbe).

We believe that with the Fercal variety, our new grapevines will thrive in our limestone soils. Selecting the best rootstocks, tending to each and every vine, hand picking the best grapes- all are part of the meticulous viticultural process at our winery.

Sources:

Julien, Barbe. “Catalogue of Vines Grown in France.” Plant Grape, plantgrape.plantnet-project.org/en/porte-greffe/Fercal.

Perry, Ron, and Paolo Sabbatini. “Grape Rootstocks for Michigan.” MSU Extension, www.canr.msu.edu/grapes/viticulture/grape-rootstocks-for-michigan.

High Altitude, Low Yield

Our high mountain vineyards have an inherently low yield. Although the relationship between yield and grape quality is highly disputed, we firmly believe that our wine has exceptional quality and intensity due to a lean grape yield, less than 1 ton per acre. For us, a small harvest and smaller berries mean more concentrated flavors.

Many factors influence our grape production, such as the age of our plants, poor soils, high altitude, and occasional spring damage.

1: Age of our plants

Imported from Chile in 2015, our Sangiovese, Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon vines are currently the only plants in production in Apu. Currently, these young plants produce scarce and small berries, although their size increases with each season.

2: Poor soils

In the Apu vineyards, a thin top layer covers the rocky calcareous soils, forcing the roots of the vine to search for nutrients and moisture deep below the surface. This stress on the vine forces berries to develop, producing smaller fruit and, therefore, a lower yield.

3: High altitude

There is less oxygen at our extreme altitudes. Plants that receive less oxygen absorb nutrients more slowly and therefore grow at a slower rate. The end result is smaller berries with a high proportion of skins and seeds to juice and a higher concentration of phenols, the chemical compounds responsible for the intensity of the wines.

4: Occasional spring damage

Hail storms can be a threat to our vines. For example, in the spring of 2018, large hailstones destroyed around 30% of our grapes. This makes our production per vine even more scarce, but it gives us a more concentrated fruit.

In conclusion, these 4 factors contribute to the low yield, which means that we have smaller grapes with more intense flavors and aromas. The end result is a unique and quality Peruvian wine.

Echeverría, Gerardo, et al. Efectos del tipo de suelo sobre el rendimiento del viñedo y la composición de las bayas en la costa del Río de la Plata (Uruguay) . 3ª ed., vol. 51, Oeno One, 2017,

"Aprenda todo sobre el suelo, el terruño y el clima de Burdeos". The Wine Cellar Insider, www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/dirty-little-secret-soil-terroir-bordeaux/.