Lanzarote Wine Growing Region

Probably the biggest surprise of my visit to Lanzarote was finding large-scale wine cultivation. Like most, I'm guessing, my idea of wine growing was rows and rows of vines suspended on wires. It's what you see all over California and what I saw when I was in Bordeaux, France a few years ago. Well, growing wine grapes is done completely different in the Canary Islands.

Wine has been made in the area since the 1500's and really kicked into gear when America was discovered and ships were crossing the Atlantic. Everything was great until a large eruption happened in the 1700's that covered most of the best farming lands on the island. Since necessity is the mother of invention, the farmers quickly figured out that the newly deposited volcanic rock (called picon) made an excellent "mulch". The picon absorbs water at night and deposits it directly on the roots of the plant and, as a bonus, requires less water to cultivate.

What is most striking, as I sort of mentioned above, is how the vines are grown differently here. Each single vine is planted at the base of a roughly three-foot-deep hole that has a small wall built partially around it. Many parts of the island look like they've been hit with thousands of meteors since there are holes everywhere. Here's a shot showing the effect from a distance:


The hole and wall serve to protect the vine from strong, dry winds that are frequent visitors in the area. This photo shows a close-up of one of the vines in its hole with a wall partly surrounding it.


Here's a close-up of a vine with some grapes on it. In this one, you get an idea of the size of the picon that covers the entire area:


I like this view from one of the wineries across a valley. "Craters" cover the entire valley floor and run part way up both sides.


A couple of parts of the winery are completely familiar. The tasting room was typical as were the store rooms.


There are three (I believe) major types of wine produced in the Canary Islands. Malvasia is a dry white wine that I found to be super good, even after a few bottles... :-) It makes up roughly 75% of the wine grown there. Another white, which is sweeter, is called Moscatel. I'm not as big of a fan of sweet wines so I didn't have anything outside the tasting room. Finally, they produce a red, which was good but I was much more into the Malvaisa.

One winery even goes so far to say that the wine from the islands celebrates the intersection of earth, wind, and fire. I'm not sure that a reference to 70's disco music does the wine justice but I'll overlook it and keep drinking a new-found favorite.

Lanzarote, Canary Islands

If you're anything like me, you probably have heard of the Canary Islands at some point but have no idea where they are or that they are a part of Spain. Well, this past week I got to not only learn where they are but I actually got to spend some time there.

The Canary Islands are a series of seven (major) islands that are located about 60 miles off the coast of northwestern Africa. It takes about three hours to fly the 1200 miles from Barcelona to Arrecife, the capital of the island of Lanzarote. On the way there, you fly just south of Gibraltar. I think this is a cool out-the-window-of-the-airplane picture of the south end of Europe (Gibralter is on the far right) and the north end of Africa (on the left):


So you don't have to look it up, here's a Google map image of the Canary Islands' location (Lanzarote is under the big 'A' and Barcelona is in the top right-hand corner):


The islands are volcanic in nature. Everything is pretty much black lava. What's really a neat contrast to the stark, basically plant-free environment is that all the houses on the island are painted bright white with only the window trim in one of three colors (green, blue, or brown). This is a photo of one of the many beach-side villages on the island. I love the contrast between the black lava and the white buildings. Oh yeah, the blue ocean is nice too...


Lanzarote reminds me a lot of the Big Island of Hawaii, especially the area around Volcanoes National Park as well as the Kohala coast. There are volcanoes, lava, an annual Iron Man Triathlon, some nice beaches, and lots of tourists.

There are wineries too. I didn't really expect to find a winery in the middle of a desert but there they are (an upcoming post). I had the chance to drink some of the local white wine and it was really good.

One thing that was funny to me was that Lanzarote seems like it's probably Europe's Hawaii (a great place to go where you're guaranteed sunshine every day). Because of this, there were people from all over Europe there, especially lots of Germans, British, and Irish. I think more people were speaking English and German than Spanish. Another surprise.

Upon arriving on the island, Diana, Gemma, and I were "treated" to a three-hour hike across a large lava field and up the side of a volcano called Caldera Blanca. Our host and island resident, Bernar, led the charge up the mountain to a location with an amazing view. This photo of Bernar and Gemma gives you an idea of how steep the trek was as well as what the lava field we crossed looks like:


This photo of me with the caldera and ocean beyond is basically a re-use of my facebook post from the top (yes that's sweat on my shirt and yes it was hot...very hot...and dry - note to self: bring more water next time you hike across the desert):


As I mentioned, there's a ton of stuff to do on the island. I'd recommend a visit if you ever get a chance especially now that you know where it is. :-) Here I am with Diana and Bernar in front of one of the nicer but super touristy beaches:


And, like my last post, this is a photo I'm posting just because I like it. I call it wanna-be supermodel against sand-cliff background:

Sitges

Located about 45 minutes south of Barcelona (via train), the town of Sitges has been called the "San Tropez of Spain". I got the chance to go there last weekend with some friends and had a great time.

Sitges started out a long time ago as a quiet fishing village but today it's apparently the gay-holiday capital of Europe. Yep, it's definitely got that feel to it and, pretty much like every gay-friendly area, it's posh and beautiful. It really reminds me of a gay La Jolla (San Diego, California) in a lot of ways. There are tons of great restaurants, shopping-a-plenty, miles of sandy beaches, lots of bars/clubs, and a heck-of-a-lot of people watching to do.

Oh yeah, there are nude beaches too. Well, actually all the beaches are tops-optional and a couple of them are all-out nude. It makes for interesting sight seeing when you're accustomed to more-or-less "prudish" American beaches. We walked by one volleyball game that you can probably picture on your own.

The town itself is very scenic and has maintained its village feel even with its popularity. I think you'd have a hard time taking a photo of an ugly place. This is 5th Avenue (like NYC) and it's like one of those Kodak-photo spots they have at Disneyland. There's even a small sign just above my head on the right that has a picture of the Statue of Liberty. All the tourists go to 5th Ave to get this shot:


We walked around for a couple of hours then had a super-simple-but-great lunch at a rotisserie chicken place. Here's a photo of one of the beach areas along with my three mamacita tour guides (Bea, Gema, and Diana):


This photo's here just because I think it's a good one and it's my blog and I can do what I like :-)


Thank you Diana, Gema, and Bea for the fun beach day. Let's do it again soon!