Tenerife Wine and Meals Tour

With the Dutch affiliation of wine connoisseurs (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland), we now have been on a four-day wine tour of Tenerife, organized by Ed Carper and Arjan Bruins. Tenerife is the most important of the Canary Islands, a volcanic archipelago off the coast of Morocco within the Atlantic that’s a part of Spain.

Guachinche Ramón

The primary cease of our tour was for lunch at Guachinche Ramón. A Guachinche is a conventional, rustic institution distinctive to Tenerife the place native farmers promote their very own home-produced wine on to the general public, accompanied by a restricted collection of easy, selfmade Canarian dishes.

To be thought of an genuine Guachinche underneath native rules, the institution should meet particular standards: it might solely open for a most of 4 months a 12 months (or till the season’s wine is offered out), it should solely serve wine produced by the proprietor, and the menu is restricted to conventional dishes. A Guachinche is just like a Heuriger in Austria, or extra broadly to an Agriturismo in Italy.

At Guanchince Ramón we tasted the home purple of Listan Negro, in addition to the Ruku Ruku wines (white and purple). Ruku Ruku is a collaboration between Jessica Martín, who runs Guachinche Ramón, and her companion Tomás Mesa, an skilled enologist and marketing consultant. The mission is predicated within the Orotava Valley and focuses on natural farming and the preservation of the distinctive Cordón Trenzado (braided) vine-training system. The title Ruku Ruku is a neighborhood expression on Tenerife that refers back to the state of pondering or being caught in a loop of confused ideas. It displays a private story inside the household: Jessica Martín was “ruku ruku”—ruminating and uncertain—about methods to strategy her father and persuade him to let her transfer past the standard bulk wine of the Guachinche to create her personal high-quality bottled wine. In the end, she and her companion, enologist Tomás Mesa, succeeded on this transition.

The home purple was straightforward to drink. The Ruku Ruku Blanco is constructed from 100% Listán Blanco. It’s fermented with native yeasts and aged on its fantastic lees for six months in 500-liter French oak barrels. It’s a structured, saline white with a creamy texture from the lees getting older balanced by vibrant acidity and mineral depth. The Ruku Ruku Tinto is primarily Listán Negro, but additionally contains 5% Listán Blanco. It’s crafted with minimal intervention to protect the “Atlantic” freshness and the peppery, spicy character of the grape. The wine did certainly have excessive acidity and a volcanic aroma.

This was additionally our first introduction to Canarian meals. The superb sourdough bread was coloured by carbon and purple wine, served with Almogrote, a savory combination of grated aged goat cheese and Mojo Rojo. We sampled native goat cheese in each contemporary and aged varieties. The Croquetas de Plátano y Gofio have been a spotlight—croquettes made with banana and gofio, a toasted wheat flour with a nutty taste that could be a staple of Canarian delicacies. These have been served with Mojo de Mostaza, a sauce of mustard, honey, and cumin. No Canarian meal is full with out Papas Arrugadas. These “wrinkled” potatoes are boiled in a small quantity of water with a excessive focus of sea salt, then tossed after cooking to dry the pores and skin and depart a salt crust. Whereas there are a number of typical potato varieties on the islands, these have been the prized Papa Negra, identified for his or her darkish pores and skin and yellow flesh. They have been accompanied by the basic Mojo Rojo (made with peppers, garlic, candy and spicy pimentón, cumin, olive oil, and vinegar) and Mojo Verde (parsley, olive oil, vinegar, and garlic). The octopus was tender and flavorful, and we additionally loved Garbanzas Compuestas, a hearty stew of chickpeas with pork, almonds, and raisins. For dessert, we had Timba: contemporary goat cheese and Dulce de Guayaba (guava paste) sandwiched between biscuits.

Canary Wine

Our subsequent cease was a presentation by oeonologist Juan Enrique De Luis Bravo of Canary Wine. Viticulture was launched within the Canaries within the sixteenth century by settlers from Spain and Portugal. Due to the remoted location and the volcanic soil, the vines weren’t affected by the phylloxera plague that devastated vineyards throughout Europe within the second half of the Nineteenth century.

The place in all places else in Europe vines are actually grafted on American rootstock to be resistant in opposition to phylloxera and are due to this fact very hardly ever older than 100 years or so, right here there are numerous outdated vines of 250 years or extra. And never solely that, the grape varieties that have been launched from Spain and Portugal have had the chance to evolve for hundreds of years and adapt to the native circumstances, thus creating varieties which can be distinctive to the archipelago.

Another excuse why Canarian viticulture is particular is that at a latitude of 28 levels North it’s out of the standard geographical bounds for viticulture, which is between 30 and 50 levels latitude. The local weather right here is also known as “everlasting spring”, as a result of the utmost temperatures at sea stage are often between 20°C and 25°C (68-76°F) year-round. However with snow-capped volcanoes, cooler temperatures might be discovered at larger altitudes. That is why the harvest can begin as early as June at sea stage and proceed till as late as November on the very best vineyards, that are the very best of Europe reaching as much as 1685 meters (5,500 ft) above sea stage.

Canarian viticulture has had its ups and downs over the centuries. Between the late sixteenth century and the top of the 18th century, vines have been the dominant crop on the islands for international markets. Canary wine was well-known and shipped to ports all around the world, together with the USA, India, and Australia. It was even talked about by Shakespeare within the late sixteenth century in Henry IV, when Mistress Shortly says it “perfumes the blood.” Nonetheless, commerce wars will not be only a fashionable phenomenon. As a consequence of geopolitical conflicts and competitors from cheaper wines from the Spanish mainland, Canarian wine all however vanished till the present revival that began within the Nineties.

The commerce winds often guarantee an ample water provide in winter, however for about the final 14 years, there was an uncommon drought, inflicting wine manufacturing to drop by as a lot as 80%. Happily, albeit sadly for us as guests, this winter has seen numerous rain, which the locals seek advice from as “again to regular.” Whether or not this return to rainfall is a real restoration of the earlier cycle or if the prolonged drought stays the brand new regular brought on by local weather change is a urgent query for the area’s future. The truth is, there was a lot rain throughout our tour that we needed to cancel two of the vineyard visits as a result of we couldn’t attain them or they’d inadequate indoor house to obtain our group.

There are about 40 sometimes Canarian varieties, however these are those we tasted probably the most throughout our wine tour of Tenerife. The most typical grape varieties on Tenerife are Listán Blanco for whites and Listán Negro for reds. Listán Blanco is the Canarian title for Palomino, the first grape used for Sherry in Jerez, Andalusia. It possesses a really pale shade and a impartial nostril however shows nice construction on the palate. As a result of the grape has little inherent aroma, it offers a superb canvas for the mineral and saline character of the volcanic terroir. Listán Negro is a crossing between Listán Blanco and one other Andalusian selection, Mollar Cano, which is called Negramoll within the Canaries. Very like its white mum or dad, Listán Negro serves primarily as a medium to convey the volcanic character of the land, although it may also be fairly peppery. Albillo Criollo is a neighborhood selection that advanced on the island of La Palma as a cross between Listán Blanco and the Portuguese selection Verdelho Branco, and it has been planted on Tenerife because the Nineties. It gives extra fragrant energy than Listán Blanco, with notes of peach, tropical fruit, and flowers. Malvasía Aromática is one other extremely fragrant selection, an identical to Malvasía Dubrovacka. An necessary purple selection is Tintilla, a reputation utilized to 4 totally different varieties, together with the Portuguese Tinta Cão. In comparison with Listán Negro, it offers considerably extra shade and aroma. Lastly, Listán Prieto is similar selection identified all through the Americas as Mission, Criolla, or País.

The Canary Islands have 6,757 hectares (16,697 acres) of vineyards, producing 10 million liters of wine throughout 320 wineries. The appellation construction follows a logic just like many different wine areas worldwide. The overarching Islas Canarias DO (Denominación de Origen) covers all of the islands and is subdivided into separate DOs for every island.

Tenerife is additional divided into 5 distinct zones: Abona, Tacoronte-Acentejo, Valle de Güímar, Valle de la Orotava, and Ycoden-Daute-Isora. My impression to this point is {that a} classification by altitude would make extra sense for Tenerife, as elevation is a extra distinguishing issue than soil sort, which is volcanic throughout your entire island. There’s, nevertheless, a major distinction in rainfall between the moist northern and dry southern components of the island. The Canary Islands have tried to imitate the Burgundy mannequin by permitting municipalities and particular parcels to be listed on the wine label. Nonetheless, I consider they could be overreaching with this strategy. Whereas Burgundy has a centuries-old custom of figuring out distinct climats, making use of such a granular classification to those comparatively new appellations dangers complicating the message for customers earlier than the broader regional id is absolutely established.

These have been the wines we tasted:

• Viña Zanata Marmajuelo 2024 is a white wine constructed from 100% Marmajuelo, a range identified for its fragrant potential. This explicit wine undergoes a chilly pre-fermentative maceration for 12 hours to extract most aromatics earlier than being fermented in stainless-steel at low temperatures. It’s then aged on its lees for 3 months. The result’s a wine with a vibrant straw-yellow shade and nostril of ardour fruit, supported by the attribute volcanic salinity.
• El Sitio Malvasía Aromática 2024 is a “Vino de la Parcela” from the Bebederos winery, situated within the south of Tenerife at an altitude of simply 50 meters. It’s fermented in stainless-steel and aged on its fantastic lees for 4 months. It was extremely floral and intensely perfumed, however the salinity of its seaside origin was additionally clear.
• Viña Engracia Tinto 2025 is Listán Negro with a small quantity of Negramoll from the northern a part of the island. Peppery and wild berry notes, gentle tannins.

Viñátigo

Bodegas Viñátigo, situated within the village of La Guancha in northwest Tenerife, is broadly thought of the epicenter of the fashionable Canarian wine renaissance. Based in 1990 by Juan Jesús Méndez Siverio—a chemist, enologist, and fourth-generation winemaker—the property has grown from a conventional household cellar right into a state-of-the-art facility that serves as a dwelling laboratory for the island’s viticultural heritage.

Subsequent to the vineyard is a small winery with many alternative varieties and coaching techniques of French, Portuguese, and Spanish origin which can be all used on the island.

Juan Jesús has devoted over three a long time to figuring out and recovering greater than 80 indigenous grape varieties that have been on the point of extinction. His work includes meticulous genetic mapping and experimental micro-vinifications to know how these pre-phylloxera, ungrafted vines work together with the island’s numerous volcanic microclimates.

The vineyard itself is an architectural tribute to the terroir, constructed right into a volcanic cone utilizing native stone. It makes use of gravity-flow winemaking and pure air flow offered by the Alisios commerce winds to attenuate vitality consumption. Rainwater is caught and all waste water is captured and purified for use once more.

The annual manufacturing is about 120,000 bottles as a result of to the latest drought and heatwaves, whereas 180,000 bottles can be wanted to interrupt even.

Listed here are the wines we tasted at Viñátigo:

• Viñátigo Malvasía Aromática 2024: Harvested in August, the grapes are chilled to -5°C to keep away from oxidation, permitting for minimal sulfur use. It’s a restricted, numbered version that’s intensely floral with notes of peach, bitter orange peel and a vibrant Atlantic freshness and salinity. Extra delicate than the El Sitio.
• Viñátigo La Guancha 2023: Listán Blanco in clay amphorae, produced solely for the wine listing of two Michelin starred El Rincón de Juan Carlos led by the Padrón brothers. Very mineral, aroma harking back to uncooked lobster or crushed seashells.
• Viñátigo Camino de la Peña 2022: Listan Blanco from the highlands of Icod de los Vinos (450m), fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged statically on its lees for 10 months. Racy acidity and earthy, just like a pure wine.
• Viñátigo Rosado de Listán Negro 2025: rosé is constructed from 100% Listán Negro, excessive acidity, mineral, aroma of fig leaf.
• Viñátigo Listán Negro 2024: outdated vines, three months in outdated French oak barrels (not new, 4-7 years outdated). Reductive with sulfur minerality, gentle however current tannins, contemporary.
• Viñátigo Ensamblaje Tinto 2024: mix of 6 varieties Listán Negro, Negramoll, Tintilla, Vijariego Negro, Listan Prieto, and Baboso Negro, every vinified individually. Volcanic minerality, contemporary, complicated, balanced, agency however gentle tannins.

On the finish of every go to, as a small token of our gratitude for the hospitality and technical insights shared by the winemakers, we provided them a style of our personal heritage: Dutch stroopwafels.

Tito’s Bodeguita

We had dinner at Tito’s Bodeguita at Puerto de la Cruz. As a result of downpour we needed to sit inside quite than having fun with the courtyard of the Seventeenth-century colonial mansion. The dinner was accompanied by wines from Suertes del Marqués:

• “La Solana” 2023. 100% Listán Negro from the “La Solana” plot, that includes ungrafted vines over 100 years outdated skilled within the Cordón Trenzado system, between 350 and 450 meters above sea stage, aged 11 months in 500-liter impartial French oak barrels and bottled unfiltered to keep up its character. This wine wanted to be decanted to take away the deposit.
• “Cool” 2022, Listan Negro with 5% Listan Blanco from the Valle de la Orotava, a lighter fashion with 12% alcohol.

The wines paired properly with the principle of grilled strip steak, however not a lot with the appetizers of Croquetas de Plátano y Gofio, potatoes with Almogrote, and shrimp in a creamy Parmesan sauce.

Bodega Tierra Fundida

On the second day of our tour, the primary go to was to Bodega Tierra Fundida, a household operation in Los Baldíos run by husband-and-wife enologists Loreto Pancorbo and Gabriel Morales out of their household dwelling. This can be a small operation; our group might barely match into the cellar house. Loreto, initially from Rioja and at the moment learning to be a Grasp of Wine, moved to Tenerife in 2009.

They handle 7 hectares (roughly 17.3 acres) of vineyards within the Orotava Valley and started making wine from their very own grapes in 2017. Beginning with just one,700 bottles, they’ve now reached an annual manufacturing of about 10,000. They work solely with indigenous grapes sourced from vineyards at altitudes starting from 460 to 700 meters.

Loreto favors excessive ranges of acidity and allowed us to style a barrel pattern of the La Cuesta 2025. That is an Albillo Criollo produced with 15 days of partial pores and skin contact. Whereas the wine was not but prepared and nonetheless very acidic, it confirmed promising aromas that hinted on the structured, mineral profile they’re identified for.

Loreto has a really particular and charming approach of mixing her ardour for music along with her winemaking. She is understood for labeling the fermentation tanks and wine deposits within the cellar along with her “musical hits.” As an alternative of simply technical knowledge or batch numbers, she makes use of the songs she likes to establish and observe the evolution of every wine. This displays her perception that wine is a dwelling, evolving factor that responds to the vitality of the setting—and it provides a layer of non-public “soundtrack” to the labor-intensive strategy of guide winemaking.

We tasted these wines:

• Cercado del Pino Blanco 2023: A mix of 65% Listán Blanco and Albillo Criollo. The classic was affected by the bushfires, inflicting the grapes to be smaller and extra ripe than regular, with decrease acidity. Nonetheless, the wine confirmed vibrant acidity, in addition to salinity, volcanic minerality, and numerous construction.
• Cercado del Pino Verdello 2023: 100% Verdello aged in cement eggs and demi johns for 9 months. Excessive however balanced acidity, mineral aroma of crushed shells.
• Tierra Fundida Tinto 2024: 100% Listán Negro produced with minimal intervention, fermented with native yeasts, and comprises 12% alcohol. A lighter that emphasizes volcanic minerality over heavy extraction.
• Tierra Fundida “Vino de España” Tinto 2024: A fancy purple mix that includes Listán Negro, Negramoll, and Castellana Negra. Nonetheless younger with current tannins, volcanic minerality, and pronounced acidity.

LoHer

Fátima Hernández is one other feminine winemaker. She has taken over the household enterprise from her father Lorenzo Hernández in 2013 and named the boutique vineyard LoHer after him.

Fátima shared the sobering actuality of latest years: as a result of a extreme and extended drought, her manufacturing has plummeted from 40,000 bottles to only 10,000. This 75% loss pressured her to let go of her complete workers, leaving her to handle the operation fully alone. From the guide labor required to keep up 14 hectares of her family vineyards to the ultimate logistics of personally delivering circumstances to eating places throughout the island, she has turn out to be a one-woman present. It’s a testomony to her resilience, although it highlights the precarious future small artisanal producers face in a altering local weather.

We tasted these wines:

• LoHer Finca El Loro 2022: mix of 90% Listán Negro and 10% Negramoll, fermented and aged in French oak barrels for 1 12 months. Velvety tannin, good physique, cherry aromas, solely a faint volcanic aroma.
• LoHer 100% LN Finca El Loro 2023: 100% Listán Negro from outdated vines, aged for 1 12 months in oak. Volcanic minerality, physique, and ripe tannin.
• LoHer Crianza 2020: 55% Listan Negro, 30% Syrah, and 15% Negramoll. The Listán is from 120-year outdated vines. The wine has aged for 12 months in oak. This was one of many favourite wines of the group of the entire journey. Regardless of being from 2020 the oak nonetheless wanted a while to combine. A fancy and full-bodied purple with solely faint volcanic minerality.
• Cosechera by LoHer 2019: This 100% Listán Negro options tannins softened by time, but it retains a remarkably racy acidity. Whereas Listán Negro isn’t credited with getting older potential, this wine emphatically proves in any other case. Our group was in complete settlement that this bottle nonetheless has extra growth forward of it. The title “consechera” means “feminine harvester” and is a special wine every year. Every classic, Fátima makes use of this title for her finest creation.
• Lorenzo Hdez 2024: This restricted version bottling, named in honor of the household patriarch, is a younger purple wine from the 2024 harvest that we tasted as a particular preview. It’s destined for one more eight months of bottle getting older earlier than its official launch. The wine is a fancy mix of Listán Negro, Negramoll, Castellana Negra, and Vijariego Negro, every vinified individually and aged for one 12 months in oak. At this stage, the tannins, oak affect, and acidity stay fairly distinguished, signaling a construction constructed for longevity.

Bodegas Monje

Bodegas Monje is run by a household with winemaking custom relationship again to 1750. Since 1956, the property has operated underneath the Monje title and is at the moment managed by the fifth technology of the household. Notably, it holds the excellence of being the primary vineyard to export Tenerife wines to the Spanish mainland. The vineyard is known for its avant-garde strategy to wine tourism, most notably its “Wine & Intercourse” occasions. These quarterly reveals are held within the barrel cellar and use music, eroticism, and theater to discover the sensory relationship between wine and intimacy.

Moderately than tasting the wines of the bodega we went straight to lunch with conventional Canarian dishes:

• Garbanzas Compuestas: A chickpea stew ready with pork.
• Potaje de Berros: Watercress soup served with accompaniments of gofio (flour of toasted wheat) and purple onion.
• Cochino Negro Canario: Pulled pork from the native black pig breed, paired with pickled chayote (a neighborhood fruit).
• Papas Arrugadas: Conventional wrinkled potatoes served with each purple and inexperienced mojo sauces.
• Quesillo: A frothy cream of condensed milk and eggs, topped with crumbled biscuits and full of dulce de guayaba (guave paste).
• Vinegar Bonbons: A specialty chocolate that includes a filling constructed from the property’s personal native vinegar.

After all there was wine with lunch as properly, the property’s Listán Blanco and Listán Negro. We ended with a candy Moscatel.

Sentiterra

Sentiterra is a mission of three wineries (Raza, La Esquina del Viento, and Las Galanas) working collectively in regenerative winemaking with winemaker Raúl García. They produce “vinos de autor”, small releases of solely 400-600 bottles geared toward cooks at Michelin starred eating places. Wines that push the boundaries of standard winemaking. Additionally they intention to protect outdated vineyards.

The wines from Las Galanas are marketed underneath the title “Medianero” as a tribute to those that traditionally labored the land. A medianero within the Canary Islands is a conventional sharecropper, somebody who works land owned by one other particular person in trade for a portion of the harvest, traditionally half (therefore the title, from “a medias”).

We tasted these wines:

• LB 2021 from La Esquina del Viento. Listán Blanco from 1,300 meters above sealevel. Notes of bruised apple, racy acidity, and really structured. Aged for 1 12 months, half in oak and half in stainless-steel. For the oak barrel they use a particular approach referred to as “asuellado”, which signifies that the toasted inside layer of the barrel has been shaved or sanded away to stop any oak flavors and permit the volcanic minerality of the wines to shine.
• El Medianero (tan label/gold cap) 2022. Listán Blanco from sea stage, aged for 1 12 months in “asuellado” barrique. Golden shade, fragrant, balanced, complicated, structured.
• El Medianero (gray label/silver cap) 2022. Albillo Criollo, made with 1 week of pores and skin contact, then fermented in stainless-steel and aged for 1 12 months in barrique. Golden shade, complicated, structured.
• LN 2021 from Raza. Listán Negro made with a ‘double harvest’ approach. Half of the grapes are harvested early for acidity, and the opposite half late for maturity. They’re vinified individually and aged for five months in used French oak barriques earlier than being blended. No added sulphites. Excessive acidity and volcanic minerality.
• El Medianero (purple label/black cap) 2022. Listán Negro, with out added sulphites, aged for 1 12 months in French oak barrique. Additionally with volcanic minerality, however extra physique.

There was additionally a collection of native cheeses:

• Media Flor de Guía (DOP) from Gran Canaria (Northeast area), made partly with vegetable rennet from the flower of the cardoon.
• Cabra Ahumado from La Gomera. Constructed from uncooked goat’s milk and smoked.
• Vaca-Cabra Untado en Gofio from Tenerife. A mixture of cow and goat milk and the rind is rubbed with Gofio (toasted grain flour).

In addition to some good Iberico charcuterie from the mainland. Lastly, there was Gofio Amasado, additionally referred to as Pella de Gofio, which is gofio (toasted flour) kneaded with honey, almonds, and raisins.

Bistro Lucas Maes

We had an Italian-Canarian fusion dinner at Bistro Lucas Maes.

La Suertita

Our first go to on the third day was La Suertita, a small household vineyard and guachinche. The title means “a little bit of luck,” a becoming moniker for a mission Suso and Monica began twenty years in the past. They supply a big portion of their grapes from household and pals, however manufacturing has been hit arduous not too long ago. As a result of ongoing drought, their annual output has dropped to only 7,000 bottles, down considerably from their regular 22,000.

We tasted these three wines:

• La Suertita Blanco Seco 2024. Listán Blanco from Valle de la Orotava, aged 2 months on the lees. Construction, stability, small bitter observe.
• La Suertita Blanco Bagazo 2023. 85% Listán Blanco blended with Moscatel, Albillo Criollo, and Verdello. Aged for 4 months in new oak and a couple of months sur lie. Aromas of oak and grapefruit, construction, stability.
• La Suertita Albillo Criollo 5 meses barrica. Aged for five months in 2-year-old French oak barriques, 3 months sur lie. Lots of construction, wants extra time within the bottle.

La Viña

We had lunch at restaurant La Viña, the place our information Arjan Bruins is the chef. Earlier than lunch we tasted two wines he had chosen for us from Bodega Juan Dios within the Valle de la Orotava:

• Bencheque Albillo Criollo 2024, aged 6 months in French oak, extraordinarily restricted manufacturing with lower than 100 bottles produced. Structured with racy acidity.
• Bencheque Tintilla 2024, constructed from a single plot owned by the bodega, aged 6 months in oak barrels, restricted manufacturing with solely 333 bottles produced. Intense violet-garnet shade, current however velvety tannins, solely faint volcanic minerality.

The lunch ready by Arjan featured a number of basic Canarian dishes:

• Queso Asado: Slices of native goat cheese, seared till gentle and golden, served with purple and inexperienced mojos.
• Papas Arrugadas: Small, skin-on potatoes boiled in extremely salted water till “wrinkled,” served purple and inexperienced mojos.
• Gofio Amasado, toasted flour kneaded with honey, almonds, and raisins.
• Garbanzas Compuestas: A hearty chickpea stew with pork.
• Ensaladilla Rusa: A Spanish staple consisting of boiled potatoes, carrots, and peas, sure along with a beneficiant quantity of mayonnaise.
• Condumio de Conejo: A conventional rabbit stew. On this preparation, the potatoes are parboiled and briefly deep-fried earlier than being added to the stew, permitting them to soak up the savory cooking liquid like a sponge.
• Mousse de Gofio: A lightweight, ethereal dessert constructed from toasted grain flour (gofio) with miel de palma (palm syrupy sap from La Gomera).

On the second day, we have been supposed to go to Bodegas Guayonge, however as a result of our bus broke down, we needed to skip that go to. Winemaker Pedro Sánchez Rodríguez was sort sufficient to come back to La Viña and current his wines throughout our lunch. The vineyard is situated inside the DO Tacoronte-Acentejo and is understood for producing small-batch, high-quality wines, a number of of which have gained recognition in worldwide wine competitions. Its fashion emphasizes genuine Canarian varieties, sustainable viticulture, and conventional winemaking approaches.

In the course of the lunch, we tasted the Érase una vez: 40 Días y 40 Noches line. The Blanco Seco 2024 is a mix of Listán Blanco, Gual, Vijariego Blanco, and Marmajuelo, aged for 40 days (therefore the title) on its lees. The wine has numerous physique and construction, however as but a restrained nostril. The Tinto 2024, constructed from 100% Listán Negro, can be macerated for 40 days and nights in concrete tanks. It was very elegant and balanced. The spotlight of this tasting was the Hambre de Tierras, a mix of Tintilla and Listán Negro. What’s particular about this wine is that the LN comes from three totally different altitudes: sea stage, 400 metres, and 800 metres. The wine is fermented in concrete for 25 days after which aged for 1 12 months in oak. It had a ravishing aroma of ripe cherries, anb was balanced and sophisticated.

Bodegas Arautava

At Bodegas Arautava, we have been obtained by Quique García, who represents the third technology of this household vineyard situated within the Orotava Valley.

The property is understood for its dedication to conventional Canarian viticulture, notably using the distinctive Cordón Trenzado (braided wire) system for his or her centuries-old vines. Historically this technique of coaching the vines was used to create house to develop different crops similar to potatoes in the identical discipline. The soil right here could be very deep, up too 5 or 6 meters, so it holds water very properly. The deep soil and really outdated vines with a longtime root system have been an awesome asset through the latest years of drought.

The bodega manages 5 hectares (12 acres) of vineyards that includes heritage vines of Listán Blanco and Listán Negro which can be over 100 years outdated. These vines are cultivated utilizing the standard cordon trenzado (braided wire) system, whereas the Albillo Criollo, planted roughly 25 years in the past, is skilled utilizing the cordon royat technique. To complement their very own property fruit, the bodega buys 30-40% of its grapes from native growers who work underneath their direct assist and supervision.

The wines are crafted for getting older and are held on the bodega for at least two years earlier than launch. The vineyards are located at excessive altitudes, starting from 550 to 800 meters above sea stage, to supply the excessive acidity required for longevity. Oak is used solely to supply the construction obligatory for longevity, quite than to impart noticeable oaky flavors. Whereas the vineyard produces a core vary underneath the Arautava label, our tasting targeted on the premium alternatives launched underneath the Finca la Habanera label.

• Finca la Habanera Listán Blanco 2022. 100% LB made in stainless-steel, 8 to 10 months on its lees. Contemporary and mineral.
• The Finca la Habanera Albillo Criollo 2023 is aged for 3 months on its lees, with 50% of the wine spending six to eight months in oak barriques whereas the rest stays in stainless-steel. The winemaking course of includes a selected approach to make sure a pure begin to the cellar work: two weeks earlier than the principle harvest, a small portion of unripe grapes is picked to create a preferment. As soon as the first harvest is full, this energetic starter is used to provoke fermentation with indigenous yeasts.
• Finca la Habanera Listán Negro 2023 was fermented on the skins for 5 days earlier than being pressed to proceed fermentation. It was then aged for 12 to 13 months in 500-liter oak barrels. As a result of warmth of the 2023 rising season, this classic possesses extra physique than earlier years. The ensuing wine is juicy, that includes velvety tannins and a refined trace of volcanic minerality.
• La Quinta Roja 2023 can be a Listán Negro, however the small dimension of the grapes this season resulted in a wine with extra physique, firmer tannins, and a better alcohol content material of 14.5%. These structural parts are balanced by pronounced aromas of darkish fruit, notably missing even a touch of volcanic minerality.

Bodega Tajinaste

Bodegas Tajinaste is a historic household vineyard situated within the Valle de La Orotava. Whereas the household has cultivated its personal vineyards since 1939, they started bottling their very own wine in 1979. The property manages 12 hectares (30 acres) of vineyards and is devoted to preserving the area’s volcanic terroir by way of the standard cordón trenzado vine coaching system. To focus on the varied soils and microclimates of the Orotava Valley, they vinify particular person parcels individually.

We have been obtained by Agustín García Farrais within the tasting room of the bodega. He represents the third technology of the household to run the vineyard and serves as the top winemaker (enólogo) and driving power behind fashionable Tajinaste. Agustín was additionally of nice assist in organizing our wine tour of Tenerife. Whereas the main focus stays on high quality and volcanic expression, the manufacturing is important for a boutique Canary Island producer, reaching round 180,000 litres in 2015.

• We began our tasting with the Paisaje de las Islas Espumoso 2024, a conventional technique glowing wine constructed from 100% Listán Blanco with zero dosage. It introduced mineral aromas, a refined contact of brioche, and a gentle mousse.
• The Paisaje de las Islas Blanco 2024 is a mix of fifty% Malvasia Aromatica and 50% Marmajuelo, which is aged on its lees with common stirring. This wine is very fragrant, that includes notes of ardour fruit inside a full-bodied, well-structured, and balanced profile.
• The CAN 2022 consists of fifty% Vijariego Negro and 50% Listán Negro, aged for 9 months in French oak barrels which can be two to 5 years outdated. It gives aromas of ripe darkish fruits, similar to plums and berries, and is full-bodied but characterised by freshness and gentle tannins.
• The Paisaje de las Islas Naturalmente Dulce is produced from Malvasia Aromatica and aged for 4 months on its lees adopted by six months in 500-liter oak barrels. It possesses a fancy aroma, with its 80 grams per liter of residual sugar being properly balanced by its acidity.

Con Pasión

For dinner we went to Con Pasión, a gastro-winebar and wineshop in Puerto de la Cruz run by a bunch of Dutchmen. They concentrate on Canarian wine and have an enormous choice. The tapas have been wonderful.

Bodegas Altos de Trevejos

Our go to to Piedra Fluida, the very best winery in Europe at 1,687 meters above sea stage, was sadly cancelled as a result of excessive rainfall and snow. As an alternative, we headed on to the ultimate cease of the journey: Bodegas Altos de Trevejos. Based in 2012 by the Alfonso household, this vineyard is situated on the south aspect of the island inside the D.O. Abona. The vineyards right here sit at a major elevation of roughly 1,300 meters above sea stage. The property is housed in a conventional Canarian constructing relationship again to 1890. The household manages 40 hectares (100 acres) of vineyards, which include each fashionable trellised plots and really outdated bush vines.

We had a tour of the vineyard, which is used to provide glowing wines. As a result of small manufacturing, all of the steps of the standard technique—involving a second fermentation within the bottle—are carried out by hand, together with the riddling to maneuver the yeast deposit to the neck and the disgorgement to take away it. We tried each the standard technique and the ancestral technique, the place partly fermented wine is bottled so the preliminary fermentation concludes within the bottle to create the bubbles. Each variations used Listán Blanco and have been aged between 8 and 12 months on the lees.

Other than a tour of the splendidly restored and furnished Nineteenth-century home, we additionally had an indication of the preparation of Mojo Rojo. The sauce was made utilizing a mortar and pestle to mix peppers, garlic, salt, cumin seeds, candy paprika powder, spicy paprika powder, olive oil, salt, and vinegar. This conventional sauce was served alongside Canarian potatoes and a potato tortilla.

The lunch additionally included smoked goat cheese, almonds, gofio amasado, potaje de berros, and Atún en Adobo. The latter is a basic Canarian dish of tuna marinated in adobo, consisting of garlic, chilli pepper, paprika, cumin, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. We completed with native biscuits, together with one with aniseed.

With lunch we tasted a few of the bodega’s wines:

• Listan Blanco 2023. Previous vines of 70-100 years outdated. Structured and contemporary, displaying already some tertiary notes.
• Listan Prieto 2023. Previous vines of 100 years outdated. Vegetal notes, contemporary, mild tannins.
• The Boboso Negro 2023 is produced from a range with small grapes initially from El Hierro that’s notably inclined to raisining in scorching climate. The ensuing wine gives aromas of properly ripe darkish fruits together with notes of pepper and licorice. On the palate, it’s characterised by velvety tannins and a definite freshness.
• Aromas de Trevejos 2022. 100% Malvasia Aromática. Fragrant with notes of orange peel.

This go to concluded our wine tour of Tenerife. These wines will not be simply discovered outdoors the island, so they continue to be comparatively unknown to the broader world. It’s fascinating to notice that though the Canary Islands obtain greater than sufficient guests to devour your entire native manufacturing, many native eating places don’t even supply Canarian wine on their menus. This can be a missed alternative, because the wines are remarkably excessive in high quality and supply an interesting profile formed by distinctive grape varieties and volcanic terroirs. Native wine must be a straightforward promote to any curious traveler.

Viticulture within the Canaries is commonly described as “heroic” as a result of the steep terrain, small plot sizes, and conventional planting strategies imply that the majority winery work have to be carried out by hand. Some parcels are so distant they can not even be reached by automotive. In the present day, the challenges of shifting local weather patterns and the pressures of the worldwide market have made the dedication of Canarian winemakers appear much more heroic.