Nuestro viaje a Arequipa

Our trip to Arequipa

Not so long ago, after visiting our family in Cajamarca, Peru, my oldest son and I traveled by bus south to Arequipa; first from Cajamarca to Lima (~750 km), and then from Lima to Arequipa (~800 km), covering approximately 1,550 km on the road while spending many, many hours among mountains and deserts. Between Lima and Arequipa, we stopped in Nazca (440 km south of Lima) to see one of the wonders of our Peru, the mysterious Nazca Lines. Surprisingly few people know about these beautiful, gigantic rocky sand drawings made 2,000 years ago by the pre-Incan Nazca culture. You must fly over them to capture their beauty and magnificence. We flew, we saw them, and we were fascinated by the view and mystery that surrounds them — how and why these drawings were made. The questions will remain within us forever.

Our lengthy trip from Nazca to Arequipa (~360 km) was interrupted by a few coastal towns. The monotony of the arid dessert continued until midnight, when we reached Arequipa. This was my son’s first time, but for me, I wanted to go back together to rediscover the richness and the beauty of that region. One of the most beautiful colonial cities in southern Peru, Arequipa is also one of the most progressive and intellectual. Strolling the streets, you feel the energy of its people; see beautiful colonial and modern buildings: periodical stands, libraries, churches, mansions, parks and the main square with its famous arcades.

One popular legend has that Arequipa was founded on one of the Inca Mayta Capac’s journeys. He entered the valley and was so impressed by its beauty and fertility that he announced, in Quechua, “Ariquipay,” meaning “Yes, here we stop.” The city was named Arequipa, and he and his entourage inhabited its valley. Later in 1541, the King of Spain granted the city with the title of “Most noble, most loyal and faithful City of the beautiful valley of Arequipa.” Consequently, some of the most beautiful colonial architecture in the country lives in Arequipa.

Often called La Cuidad Blanca (“The White City”), Arequipa was built with sillar, a whitish volcanic rock from El Misti, the still-active volcano that overlooks the city much like Mt. Hood does Portland. El Misti smokes most of the year, periodically generating small tremors that the Arequipeños consider normal. The changing size of the cap of snow atop the volcano is said to affect the mood of the Arequipeños. When an Arequipeño becomes moody, uneasy or irritable, we say that he is with the nevada (snows). Immediately we know the cause: The snow cap size has increased. True or false, it is a popular belief.

El Monasterio de Santa Catalina, a convent of cloister nuns founded during the 16th Century, is one of the most impressive monuments. Nobody knew what this convent kept inside its walls until 1970 when it opened its doors. Now people can see and appreciate all the treasure and beauty that this convent once kept secret. As soon as my son and I entered, we felt that we were on a trip to 400 hundred years past, when Peru was still under strong Spanish influence. The interior was surrounded by arcades with their central fountain and running water. The little houses (nuns’ cells) were aligned in beautiful streets with names like calle Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba. Red geraniums decorated their exteriors. Our delight and amusement continued when we visited the little houses — nuns of those times lived well! Each house was fully-furnished, with spaces for prayer, rest, sleeping, cooking and a small room for the maid that usually accompanied each nun. I really enjoyed their tiny patios, rustic small kitchens, and utensils: ceramic pots and delicious, ready-to-bake pastries in a gracious oven shaped like a dome.

Seeing in person the absence of street noise, thick adobe walls with high ceilings, soothing sound of fountains, plus the smell of old wood and leather made us appreciate the art that represented these things even more. Belonging to the Convent church and the Library, the colonial paintings and sculptures are now a part of the National Art Treasure of Peru.

If you would like to learn more about the Convent, visit http://www.santacatalina.org.pe/

Mama Doris

back to top

Setting the record straight

Oregon's 2007 Pinot Noirs are true to form and tasty with food.

KEN COLLURA, WINE DIRECTOR

I remember the day I first fell in love with Pinot Noir. I had just moved to France and was living in Nice on the Mediterranean. Although I had grown up around wine (my Sicilian grandfather made his own), I was only about 22 years old and a favorite pairing at the time was Hostess Cupcakes — the one with the white squiggle down the middle — and milk. My girlfriend, however, was older and wiser, and she pointed out the enlightened paths during this period of my evolvement.

The wine epiphany took place at a bistro on the Moyen Corniche in the hills above Nice. I can recall everything on the table that day: grilled — not fried — calamari, butterflied on a skewer and a glass of crisp Rosé. This was followed by a filet of local fish in a beurre blanc sauce, pomme frites with aioli and a fresh green salad to finish. The wine she chose to accompany this beautiful meal was Volnay. It was a jolting introduction to Pinot Noir, and it blew me away. All the tastebuds on my palate stood up and said, “Boys, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Light, elegant and fruity, the Burgundy elevated the food like no other wine I had yet tasted. I was hooked.

What that meal — and many others that followed — served to establish was a correlation in my mind between lighter, fresher styles of food and Pinot Noir. Over the years, this relationship has never wavered. Which brings us to the subject at hand.

I’ve recently read reviews regarding the 2007 Oregon Pinot Noirs, most of which are in the marketplace now. These reviews were gleaned from a number of publications, both local and national, and are well known to the readers of the Oregon Wine Press. And here are some of the things they said: pale; thin; somewhat insipid; lacking stuffing and, most to the point, a vintage to skip. Stand back folks, as I plan to rant a bit here.

What the 2007 Oregon Pinot Noirs ARE NOT: huge, opaque, fat, lush, sappy, powerful or overripe.

What the 2007 Oregon Pinot Noirs ARE: bright, finesse-driven with good acidity, fresh, light-to-mid-weight and food-friendly.

The ham-fisted table-thumpers who seek Syrah in their Pinots will be disappointed. The ’07s will not pair well with steaks and chops. However, they will marry happily with the dishes that Pinot from vintages such as this one have always paired well: fish, chicken, veggies and salads. What’s wrong with Pinot that looks, smells and tastes like Pinot?

Having personally tasted about 75 different 2007s, I believe I have this vintage pegged now. The wines are high-toned and snappy, with colors that remind me of Oregon Pinots from the 90s — i.e., correct color and weight in the glass, but not black and over-extracted. Aromas are generally understated and clean, with some sour — or “pie” — cherry top-notes. The grand majority exhibits a beautiful dexterity at table, a trait that makes us sommeliers smile.

Wine is meant as an accompaniment for food, something to elevate the dish being served to a higher level. When a wine becomes the focal point of a meal, things have gone awry. These “wines with bolts in their neck” tend to trample the flavors of a meal with displays of their bravado.

We need years like 2007 to offset powerhouse vintages like ’03 and ’06. Sure, this was a difficult vintage to navigate, but after discussions with dozens of winemakers and other professionals in the business, the assessment seems to be unanimous. Everybody who works on a daily basis with this product feels the 07s are clean, happy wines meant for fairly early consumption.

So this summer, let's cool them down and crack them open with the bounties that Oregon summers provide. And possibly move those negative reviews to the bottom of the birdcage where they may have a more applicable use.

This commentary piece was originally run in the Oregon Wine Press, and was reprinted with permission.

back to top

Weaving to live, weaving for life

Bridging the generation gap through ancient Andean art

NINA LARY

High above Cusco, Peru, in an area called the Sacred Valley, sits a cluster of Quechua villages steeped in a rich tradition of textile weaving. For over two thousand years, textiles have been used by the Quechua, Peru’s indigenous people, not only to make a living, but also to illustrate the geography and history of their land and to record and pass on cultural and personal narratives.

Nilda Callanaupa is a master weaver and native of Chincero, one of the valley’s strongest remaining weaving villages. Growing up in the 70s, she learned to spin yarn from her grandmothers at five years old; at six years, she was weaving patterns; and by adolescence she was creating expert belts and mantas, like the one hanging on the wall to your right as you enter Mestizo, Andina’s bar.

Like her ancestors, much of Callanaupa’s identity was woven into her textiles. But she noticed her peers didn’t exactly feel the same way. Most of her generation had lost interest in weaving while those who were practicing were working with acrylic yarn and artificial dyes to quickly and cheaply make and sell pieces to tourists, instead of using the hand spun and naturally-dyed llama, alpaca and sheep wools that their ancestors had used.

Each weaving village uses unique patterns and techniques. Because the Quechua culture is primarily an oral one, very little of this ancient knowledge has been recorded. As village elders passed away without Callanaupa’s generation around to absorb the knowledge, it was at risk of being lost forever.

Callanaupa began traveling throughout the region to collect textile samples and interview village elders. In her own village, Chincero, she started an informal weekly group, which met to weave and exchange techniques. Her individual act of preservation, begun almost 30 years ago, has since blossomed into a globally supported vision: the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC), which houses a weaving workshop, product showroom and a small, detailed museum on Quechua weaving and culture.

CTTC supports Andean highland weaving traditions by bringing women and men from surrounding villages together to weave, share techniques and sell their work at the prices it deserves. Weaving traditions are passed onto the next generation through the Jakima Club, a program that pairs elder weavers with young women. Named after the thin woven bands that Quechua children learn to make when they first start weaving, The Club encourages children to get involved by hosting themed weaving competitions. Through another program in Chincero, children interview elder weavers, hearing first-hand how and why weaving is important to their futures.

By transforming a dying art into a source of income for many rural families, Callanaupa has helped to preserve an ancient cultural heritage and offered a sense of independence to the local weavers who no longer have to work with middlemen to sell their goods. But perhaps most importantly, she has helped to re-engage a generation of young weavers who no longer feel compelled to leave behind their villages and traditional ways of life.

For more information, visit http://www.incas.org.