Sacred Drop 
Working on a Vineyard
Posted on March 27, 2012
I work in Rioja Alta for a winery called Bodegas La Emperatriz. Bodegas La Emperatriz is a beautiful winery located in the border of Rioja Alta between Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Haro. As it is outside of Logroño, it takes about 35-45 minutes to drive out there but the drive out there is beautiful and every day I pass two storks that have made their home on the top of an old smoke stack right outside of Najera.
As I work in marketing, it is my job to work in Social Media, Media Planning, Market Planning and Analysis, Product Management, Advertising, Public Relations…name it, I do it. Interestingly enough, I was brought on initially to work in Exportation. I work with customers overseas and as the orders come in, I process them and work with our production team and make sure we get the orders out on time and with the appropriate paperwork. Sometimes, the paperwork can be demanding and extremely time consuming, leaving very little time to do any marketing but that is what makes it fun. I really do enjoy the changes in rhythm. I am never doing the same thing every day.
Some days, I go out in the vineyards or to the winery and take pictures that we can later use for our customers or for marketing purposes. I also get a chance to work in the vineyard and in the laboratory with the head winemaker and vigneron. I really enjoy my work and love this region. I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful place to work.
One day, I was out in the vineyard and thought it might be nice to share with you the annual growth cycle of grapevines here at Finca La Emperatriz. In general, it begins with the pruning at the end of February which leads to the beginning of bud break and culminates with leaf fall in autumn followed by winter dormancy. I will explain the process as we go and perhaps I can share a thing or two with you.
If you have any questions, please let me know at sacreddropseeker@gmail.com. Thanks for joining me today at the Sacred Drop Channel.
Follow up Video: Pisco Winery Tour: Vista Alegre
Posted on February 15, 2012
This was my first visit to a Pisco winery, Bodegas Vista Alegre is located near Ica, Peru.
They have 180 Hectares of land dedicated to the production of grapes that are later used not only for Pisco but also still dry wines such as Malbec, Tempranillo and Pinot Blanc. This place may be better known for its production of SOL DE ICA Pisco brand.
For more information on Vista Alegre, please visit their website at www.vistaalegre.com.pe
So what is Pisco Sour?
Posted on February 11, 2012 2 Comments
Pisco Sour is a cocktail made of Pisco, concentrated lemon juice, sugar and egg whites. In this combination, it is quite easy to drink, but be careful Pisco is known to creep up on first-time drinkers because most become quite inebriated in a short time due to its high alcohol percentage.
Here is a Epicurus recipe on how to make it:
1 egg white
2 1/2 ounces Pisco (Non-aromatic, Pure or Acholado)
1/2 ounce simple syrup (sugar water, 1 cup of each mixed)
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Angostura Bitters
The classic preparation is shaken over ice, but it’s also made “frozen,” in a blender with crushed ice. When a pisco sour is poured into a glass (usually an old-fashioned cocktail glass), the egg white should make at least a half inch of foam on the top of the glass. The bitters are sprinkled on top of the foam. Sometimes sugar is placed around the rim of the glass for decoration. Enjoy!
In this article about Pisco and Ica, I have drawn from numerous other articles and have cited the sources as such. Thank you.
Here you can see how Pisco is made in Puno, one of the highest cities of Peru, near Lake Tiricaca. This is done in a restaurant so that you can see the differences in home style made with normal ingredients and another with original ingredients found only in Peru such as Peruvian lemons.
Sacred Drop 