Piscos, wines and mistela: learn about the legacy of women producers that lasts for 5 generations

A bicentennial winery piscos, wines, mistelas and other spirits continue to reproduce their knowledge and traditional knowledge at kilometer 314 of the South Pan-American Highway, in Ica. Currently, there are five generations of women who make Finca 314 Winery & Vineyards a historic event, a story of perseverance and success surrounded by vineyards, mangoes and pacaes since 1821.

pisco genealogy

“With a lot of effort and dedication, we have become a benchmark for the presence of women in the heritage pisco and wine industry, both nationally and internationally,” says Claudia Moquillaza, great-great-granddaughter of Etelvina Mendoza, the woman who started this adventure around of the vines two centuries ago in the Barrio de los Mendoza, district of Tate, Ica.

Claudia Moquillaza tells us that until 2015 she worked as a financial auditor for a transnational, but along the way she rediscovered the memory and passion for piscos and wines that she inherited from her family. She investigated, revisited the old winery with the marks and footsteps of her father, her grandmother, great-grandmother, and all the women who built her legacy. Thus, she decided to bet on continuing the work of Etelvina Mendoza:

“I met with my mother, Carmen Robatty, and my sisters, Gabriela and Fátima, to venture into this pisco dream and fight for the visibility of women in the pisco and heritage wine industry. We had to strengthen the maceration vats, the fermentation tanks of that time, stills that are over a hundred years old, acquire our own vineyards to control the entire production chain and much more”. In this way, they were able to revalue local technologies from the cultivation of heritage vines (quebranta, negra criolla, albilla, torontel, muscatel, mollar, italia) to spirits.

Currently, Finca 314 has its own laboratory, professional support of winemaking technicians, master distillers and a large community of women who work in the vineyard, as part of its social responsibility program, focused on the empowerment of women farmers.

women and grapes

In addition to names like Etelvina Mendoza, Julia Francisca, Rosa Victoria, Julia Etelvina and those that make up the 5 generations of pisco women, many more women participate in the production of Finca 314: “As part of our brand concept we decided to include women who live in the areas close to our vineyard. They are country women who have lived among vineyards since they were very young and know about the harvest, this has also allowed us to learn about their cultivation techniques”, comments Claudia Moquillaza.

“At harvest, the delicacy of the women’s hands allows for finer cuts,” he adds. According to Moquillaza, 80% of the employability of the agricultural area of ​​Santiago -at km 321, where its vineyards are located-, is destined to male labor, for this reason, from Finca 314 they opted to include more women , they went from 5 to 80 today.

piscos and tributes

The Finca 314 catalog bears the name of the characters that flood its history and even tries to give them characteristics of their personality: “What we do is present characters from the family and tell fluid stories through these products.” In addition, Moquillaza highlights that they are characterized by their constant innovation and work with the versatility of pisco, as demonstrated by their La Abuela mango cream. To make it, they must have gone back to the childhood of his father, Reynaldo Moquillaza, when, after playing, he ate the mangoes picked and peeled by his great-grandmother Etelvina, whom he fortunately got to know. Those same mangoes that sprout from hundred-year-old trees are now part of the mango cream line.

About his piscos, he tells us: “Etelvina represents the premium line of green musts, the most exquisite line of piscos that we have in the family, it is an elixir, a perfume for its floral aromas. We also have a mistela line called Rosa Victoria as the eldest daughter of Etelvina. When Rosa Victoria learned more about pisco and its processes, she dedicated herself solely to the elaboration of the mistela. Our mistela has the characteristics that defined Rosa Victoria: a sweet, extremely tender woman, and that is how we have presented this product, zero cloying and genuine”.

They also have the Don Reynaldo line of piscos as a tribute to his father, as well as the 1959 Pisco that marks the year of Reynaldo Moquillaza’s birth. On the other hand, on the occasion of the bicentennial, last year they bottled Brandy Finca 314 with a special presentation made of copper. It is a Quebranta distillate aged for 56 months in American oak barrels. Finally, the Fa line of liqueurs is named after Fatima, the youngest of the genealogy. They are strawberry, cinnamon and mint liqueurs that began with strawberries in syrup: “It is the secret recipe of Julia Francisca, my great-grandmother, who taught my mother to prepare this strawberry liqueur that we were technically improving.”

Finca 314 products are found in the main restaurant and hotel chains in our country, as well as on its website https://finca314.com/tienda/. They are positioning themselves in the European market, Brazil and, soon, these wines and piscos could reach Taiwan.

More data:

• Finca 314 has the HACCP and PGH certifications. It has the Marca Perú degree, with a view to obtaining the Global Gap certification that will accredit its vineyards as organic cultivation fields.

• The winery’s winemaker is Jimmy Peña Bernaola
• Every Saturday in November you can taste signature cocktails prepared by Luigi Arteaga with piscos from Finca 314 at the Country Club.
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