Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-jl) -- The book Alas de los Querubines (Wings of the Angels in English), written by Peruvian author Guillermo Toro-Lira, won the prestigious 2006 Gourmand award in the category of "Best Hispanic-American Wine Literature."

Every year, the Gourmand Association, founded in 1995, awards books related to wine and cuisine. Judges include such notable personalities as the German prince, Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia. This year's competition included some 5000 books from 60 different countries.

Alas de los Querubines is a chronicle of the rediscovery of the lost recipe of Pisco Punch, the signature drink of San Fransisco, California in 1900.

The book was the result of 5 years of investigation and touches on different historical subjects not commonly known in Peru or the world.

The book covers the mass production of wine and pisco in Peru and it tells how pisco migrated to faraway California in 1830 to later become the emblematic drink of San Fransisco.

"I am very honored to receive this award and I am pleased that my book will help spread the word about Peruvian pisco to the gastronomic world," declared the book's author.

In winning this award, Alas de los Querubines will be among the five finalists representing Hispanic-America in the "Best Book of the World" contest (Wine Literature category) to be held in Beijing, China in April 2007.