Grape Harvest Festival

Description Visit to Ica’s Grape Harvest Festival

With the tour “Visit the Ica Grape Harvest Festival”, you will enjoy the Grape Harvest Festival, the most important festival in the city of Ica, we will also visit the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas Reserve with its fauna and flora, valleys, crops, vineyards and wineries. A tour for lovers of nature and history, observation of animals that do not exist in other latitudes and lovers of good wine and distilled brand Peru: Pisco.

ICA, treasures many secrets in the desert. In the valley, good grapes abound for making pisco and wine and it is there where the first vineyards in South America were harvested, brought by the Spaniards from the other side of the Atlantic. Ica stands out for its extensive agriculture and agro-export, located in the middle of the Pacific Desert. Important are the cultivation of grapes, asparagus, date palms, pecan nuts, cotton, mangoes, avocados, among many other products, many of which make the valley one of the most successful cases of agro-export.

LA FIESTA DE LA VENDIMIA, celebrating the abundance of grapes and pisco in the city of Ica south of Lima, is an important event that attracts a large number of visitors to the region of Ica where it is held. It takes place during the first days of March and has been celebrated since 1965. The festivities last approximately one week and its main reason for celebration is the exaltation of the wine activity of the region.

The Grape Harvest consists of the process from the detachment of the grapes from their branches and then use their juices in the preparation of wine and pisco accompanied by fairs, contests, car parades, music festivals and many other activities. Pisco is a liquor made from different types of grapes, obtaining a liquid with a lot of body, flavor and above all Peruvian tradition, this liquor called pisco has been made for 4 centuries.

The Grape Harvest Festival dates back to the colonial times with the first planting of grapes. However, in 1958 it was recognized as a national celebration. Today it is considered a cultural and social heritage of all the people of Ica.

Among the many traditions of this festival is the treading of the grapes, which is the crushing of the grapes with the feet to the rhythm of drums and Creole groups that interpret songs that explain the meaning of what is being done. In the beginning this activity was carried out by men, women and children, but nowadays this has changed, now it is only women who are in charge of this work.

There is a tourist tour of the main pisco cellars of Ica, organized by the owners, there are various shows where traditional music, convites, along with horses of steps are present, in the last days of celebration the traditional Corso de la Vendimia where you will observe contests of allegorical carriages. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

WINE is a beverage obtained from grapes through the alcoholic fermentation of its must or juice and PISCO is a spirit obtained by distillation of fermented pisque grapes brought by the Spanish conquistadors to fertile lands in South America.

It was made from grapes that were not used for wine production. Peruvian pisco is made only from selected grape varieties grown in certain regions of coastal Peru. The varieties of Pisco grapes that are used to make Peruvian Pisco are non-aromatic, among them; Quebranta, Mollar and Negra común and aromatic such as; Moscatel, Albilla, Italia and Torontel.

Here we will learn about winemaking: Harvest, destemming, vatting and cold maceration, alcoholic fermentation and devatting. Harvest: It is the first step in the production of Pisco. Destemming: It is the process by which the rachis or stick is removed from the bunches of grapes. Maceration: the crushed grapes, with pulp, skin and seeds or pips are left for a few days so that the juice or must that contains them and with the fermentation already started, acquires the typical characteristics of each type of Pisco grape, especially that which is in the grape skins.

Pressing, the grapes are pressed or the solids are drained from the macerating grapes, leaving the liquid or must, free of solids so that it can finish its fermentation and fermentation: The must, now 100% liquid, continues fermentation, which is a natural process carried out by the yeasts contained in the grapes. This process lasts approximately 14 days and at the end of this period the sweet juice of the grape becomes a must or wine (alcoholized).

Distillation: It is one of the most important stages in the elaboration of Pisco, this is only done in stills or falcas. Distillation is the action of eliminating the undesirable components of the must or wine by boiling it, thus separating and purifying the components. Resting: Pisco must rest for at least 3 months or more. The resting is done in innocuous tanks to reach an optimum level and enhance its organoleptic characteristics before bottling, only in glass or ceramic containers, the Pisco is filtered to eliminate any natural residue it may have.

THE NAZCA LINES are ancient geoglyphs1 found in the pampas of Jumana, in the Nazca desert, between the towns of Nazca and Palpa, in the department of Ica. They were traced by the Nazca culture and are composed of several hundred figures ranging from designs as simple as lines to complex zoomorphic, phytomorphic and geometric figures traced on the earth’s surface.

Technically, the Nazca lines have a small deviation. Probably, the Nazcas used ropes to avoid deviations in the tracing of the nearly 1,000 straight lines, some of them several kilometers long, and drew the nearly 800 animal figures by translating scale models to large grids made with stakes and cords. Later, the exceptional climate of the region, where it practically never rains, rewarded the ingenuity of those humans by preserving their work.

Enjoy the Visit to Ica’s Grape Harvest Festival

PRINCIPALES PUNTOS DE VISITA

• Lima (30 masl)
• Paracas (7 masl)
• Ica (406 masl)
• Nazca (520 masl)

Day 1: Lima – Grape Harvest Festival – Ica

• Pisco Route Tour: 08.00 hrs After breakfast we will pick you up at the hotel in Ica, to go to the Ruta de los Lagares, a fun visit with the smell of wine and Peruvian Pisco.
• This route revalues the culture and history of the old wineries, whose strength is based on the conservation of the traditional grape treading emphasized during the mentioned festival and guarantees the visitor an experience full of historical, social and cultural values, since the wineries keep alive the traditional techniques for the elaboration of wines and pisco.
• Its facilities have a wine press, press, stills and falcas, essential components for the elaboration of grape-based beverages. Each day, a different winery will be the protagonist, where you can enjoy the grape treading, guided tours, tasting of piscos, wines, exhibition of horses and typical dances.
• The grape treading unleashes a diverse sensation and emotions that derive from feeling the texture of the grapes under your feet and squeezing the bunches without breaking the seeds, the sensation of the must between your toes and the fragrances that are released with the treading in an atmosphere of music will take you to an unforgettable ecstasy.
• 14.00 hrs Time for lunch (Not included).
• Transfer to the hotel in Ica. Free afternoon for the passenger, a tour of the historic center and craft centers of sweets, tiles and chocotejas will enrich your view of this beautiful city.

Lodging: HOTEL CURASI HUACACHINA

BREAKFAST, LUNCH and DINNER – PASSENGER

Day 2: Ballestas Islands – Paracas National Reserve – Sanboarding – Buggies

• Beginning of the Paracas National Reserve Tour: 03.45 hrs We will depart from Lima to Paracas by CRUZ DEL SUR (Av. Javier Prado).
• 07.15 hrs Arrival at Paracas Bay, we will have assistance at the terminal and transfer to the pier El Chaco.
• Ballestas Islands Tour: 08.00 hrs BALLESTAS ISLANDS: At the pier we will board the boat, we will appreciate the Candelabro, a large geoglyph that serves as a lighthouse for sailors. The Ballestas Islands are composed of rock formations where you can find an important marine fauna with guano birds, you can also see Peruvian penguins, varieties of sea lions (sea lions and sea lions) and other mammals. The entire visit will last approximately 2 hours.
• 10.30 hrs Return to El Chaco pier.
• 11.00 hrs PARACAS NATIONAL RESERVE: we will visit the Interpretation Center, where we will be given detailed and didactic information about the fauna and flora of the area, then we will go to La Catedral this impressive rock formation is 28 to 40 million years old and resembled a giant cathedral; we will also stop at the viewpoint Supay Beach to appreciate a landscape of cliffs, and move on to the beautiful beach of Yumaque, we will explore this beach of clear sands.
• 13.00 hrs We will be transported to live an adventure in the desert of Ica, where we will find a great variety of dunes. With the buggies or sand carts we will go up and down these sand hills and we will be able to observe the desert landscapes.
• Adventure Tour: We will have more adrenaline with the adventure of Sandboarding, unforgettable experience with the board in the sand, this adventure sport will be under the guidance of our instructor.
• Free time for lunch.
• Tour through the Pisco Routes: Afterwards, we will go to a wine cellar to learn about the process and the tasting of Peruvian wines and piscos. WINE is a beverage obtained from the grape through the alcoholic fermentation of its must or juice and PISCO is a spirit obtained by distillation of fermented pisco grapes brought by the Spanish conquistadors to fertile lands of South America.
• It was made from grapes that were not used for wine production. Peruvian pisco is made only from selected grape varieties grown in certain regions of coastal Peru. The first vineyards were planted in the valley of Ica, around 1550. The wine industry was prosperous until the 17th century, when the Spanish crown prohibited the importation of Peruvian wines, as they competed with those from the peninsula.
• What the national wineries did was to turn to the production of the distilled grape liquor known as pisco. Today, this area concentrates a large number of wineries, and 85 of them still use the same artisanal techniques for the production of our flagship liquor.
• The varieties of Pisco grapes that are used to make Peruvian Pisco are non-aromatic, such as Quebranta, Mollar and Negra común and aromatic such as Moscatel, Albilla, Italia and Torontel.
• 17.00 hrs we will transfer you to the hotel so you can rest.

Lodging: HOTEL CURASI HUACACHINA

BREAKFAST, LUNCH and DINNER – PASSENGER

Day 3: Nazca Lines – Lima

• 07.00 hrs Breakfast at the hotel.
• 09.00 hrs We will go to the airport, we must pay the use of the airfield, we will board the plane.
• Start of the Nazca Lines Overflight: 10.00 hrs we start the Nazca Lines overflight with a clear sky for the best visibility. The Nazca Lines can only be truly appreciated from the sky, however, they come from a time when there were no aerial flights. The Nazca Lines vary from simple lines and geometric shapes to complex figures, which is why they are so mysterious.
• 12.00 hrs Departure from the airfield and return to Lima, stopping for lunch on the way.
• 20.00 hrs Arrival to the city of Lima, we will drop you off at the hotel.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH and DINNER – PASSENGER