Chile | Chilean Wine and Pisco on the Way to Become Cultural Heritage

Chile’s Pisco Vine and Chilean Wine Cultural landscape is on the UNESCO tentative list for World Heritage status and national cultural heritage, recognizing the historical, social, and cultural importance of the pisco, a potent, colourless grape brandy made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high - proof spirit and wine production in the Huasco, Elqui, and Limarí valleys.

The landscape includes the production plants, vineyards, and towns, its inclusion is based on the interaction between nature and humanity, a representation of traditional human settlement, a testament to the cultural and social history of the region, a unique environment and the passing down of artisanal production techniques for generations.

The Chamber of Deputies of Chile approved with a large majority the bill that highlights the promotion of wine and pisco as national beverages, with a view to their recognition as cultural heritage.

The proposal, which is now advancing to the Senate for its second procedure assigns the Ministry of Agriculture the task of leading actions to disseminate and enhance the value of these traditional beverages, considered part of the country’s tangible and intangible heritage.

The bill, backed by a large group of legislators, argues that Chile has identity symbols yet to be legally consolidated and that wine and pisco have a strong cultural charge comparable to traditional emblems and expressions, according to El Maipo, a media outlet for the Maipo territory and serving various municipalities in the region.

These beverages have a notable identity spirit and traditional charge, according to the speakers of the heritage project and the initiative is inspired by international experiences where emblematic products receive recognition and state protection, thus reinforcing their global projections.

The production of pisco has a relevant cultural and economic significance, deeply tied to the local community and territory, with a production chain that involves thousands of small vine growers and distilleries, representing a historical and traditional process of distilling pisco grapes, considered part of the local economy and cultural identity.

Chilean wine traditions blend historical practices, such as making rustic pipeño, a traditional style of wine fermented in native rauli oak vessels called “pipas” or modernly in concrete globes, amphoras, or old barrels with modern innovations,, including, organic and sustainable farming.

A key tradition is the famous annual “vendimia” (grape harvest festival) which features events like grape stomping, wine tastings, and combining wines with local food. The heritage also includes deep connections to land and community just like practices Pisco production passed down through generations.

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https://tvbrics.com/es/news/vino-y-pisco-chileno-camino-a-ser-patrimonio-cultural/