Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Centro Cultural de la Unica
(Calle Bolívar 232; 9am-5pm)
A new temporary art gallery off a recently restored
courtyard next to the condemned cathedral; expositions inside are small but packed with
local talent.
GALLERY
Wineries
Ica is Peru's largest and most revered wine producer, though it's desert defying vineyards
are unlikely to get any Euro wine-snobs jumping on a plane anytime soon. The main
drawback is 'sweetness'. Even Peru's
semi-seco
(medium-dry) wines are sweet by most
yardsticks. Nonetheless, tours around the vineyards can be novel and worthwhile diver-
sions. Most offer free sampling. Bodegas can be visited year-round, but the best time is
during the grape harvest from late February until early April.
The countryside around Ica is also scattered with family-owned artisanal bodegas, in-
colectivo
(S1.50) ride from Ica's center.
Colectivos
leave from the corner of Municipalid-
ad and Loreto.
Bodega Tacama
(
www.tacama.com
; 9am-4:30pm)
Possibly the most professional and lauded
of Ica's wineries, Tacama is run out of a sprawling pink hacienda backed by striped fields
lined by vines. Eschewing Peru's penchant for sickly sweet wines, Tacama produces some
rather good chardonnays and malbecs that might one day give the Chileans a run for their
money. The free tour and sampling includes a mirador (lookout), a guide through the age-
ing process (in French oak barrels, no less) and a glimpse of an old chapel damaged in the
2007 earthquake. Situated 11km northwest of town, you'll have to hire a taxi to get here
(S15 each way).
WINERY
Bodega Ocucaje
(
www.hotelocucaje.com
; Av Principal s/n; tastings 9am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-
Fri, 9am-noon Sat, tours 11am-3pm Mon-Fri)
Some of Peru's finest wine is said to come
from this bodega, but, unfortunately, it's fairly isolated, more than 30km south of Ica off
Carr Panamericana Sur. Hiring a taxi to reach the winery costs around S30 each way, or
you can join a local tour leaving from Ica.
WINERY
WINERY
Bodega Vista Alegre
