Wine cultivation arrived in Peru when Spain colonized the America's in the 1500's. Sadly, wine production in the colonies was short lived because the Spanish crown felt Spain's domestic wine industry would come under threat from competition in the colonies. Cultivating grapes for wine was banned in the colonies, forcing the colonists to purchase wine from the mother country.

As a result, the colonists in Peru developed a new liquor, called Pisco from the grapes grown around the region of Ica, roughly 180 miles south of Lima. Even after Peru achieved independence from Spain, a variety of issues, including Pisco's now established popularity, inhibited Peru's wine industry from maturing.

This has all changed. Peruvian wine has greatly improved. The province of Ica benefits from being located in between Peru's Pacific ocean and the Andes mountains. It is almost as if the region is trapped between the ocean and mountains. The Pacific provides a cool climate for a region which is located very close to the equator.

The region of Ica, despite being in the desert, is an extremly fertile and conducive to growing grapes thanks to the rivers which run down from the Andes towards the Pacific ocean, creating lush oasis's along the way. Often compared with the geography and climate of the Central California coast, Ica is a ideal region for producing quality wines.