lanzarote empeñado en obtener las mejores uvas: “El cultivo en sí no ha cambiado mucho. Lo que sí lo ha hecho es el negocio de las bodegas. El vino se ha puesto de moda y eso nos ha beneficia-do porque la uva se valora más. Con todo, es muy duro traba-jar las fincas, a muchos jóvenes les cuesta seguir”. El resultado de esta viticultura heroica se traduce en cal-dos muy diferentes –muchos elaborados con variedades de uvas prefiloxéricas como malvasía volcánica, listán negro y blanco o vijariego– que expresan el paisaje y también el sabio hacer de las personas que hay detrás de su elaboración. “Se trata de poner en valor la herencia vitivinícola de Lanzarote”, asegura Elisa Ludeña, enóloga de El Grifo. “Los vinos canarios son muy diferentes a los del resto de la península; ahora bien, cuando pruebas uno de esta isla, no hay ninguna duda de su procedencia: el frescor y la mineralidad están muy presentes en su ADN”, asegura. Solo en 2023 salieron al mercado más de 1,8 millones de botellas desde la isla, tantas como brindis pro-vocaron. ENG Strolling through the vineyards of Lanzarote, you real-ise that miracles do indeed exist, especially in nature. Because walking here is a lesson in winegrowing with a commitment to resilience, know-how and respect for its surroundings (not for nothing was the island declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993). The volcanic catastrophe of the 18th century transformed the island’s soil; however, the farmers turned misfortune into a virtue and opted to grow vines by digging deep into the volcanic ash until they found fertile soil. The lack of water and Atlantic breeze also contribute to cre-ating these unique ‘vineyards of the impossible’, as Fermín Otamendi, co-owner of Bodegas El Grifo, founded in 1775, points out. ‘Every vine is queen of its own terrain, because the shortage of water means we have to plant them far apart: for each plant to produce one kilo of grapes it needs 300 or 400 mm of water, and here it only rains 80 mm’. The constant Atlantic winds don’t help either. ‘We have to protect the vines with small stone walls to stop them from drying out, although it’s also true that the moisture from the sea breeze makes up for the rain we don’t get.’ Lanzarote’s landscape is dotted with pits, terraces, vine-yards and chabocos (cracks in the solidified lava), depending on the area where the vines grow: Ye-Lajares in the north and La Geria, Masdache and Tinajo in the centre. These cracks in the rock have another natural ally, picón, ‘the vol-canic sand that covers the fields, maintains the right temper-ature and retains the moisture from the dew and scant rain-fall’, explains Francisco García, one of the nearly 1,900 wine-growers on the island, according to the Regulatory Council. Ramón Perera also belongs to this workforce which is dedicated to obtaining the best grapes: ‘The winegrowing itself hasn’t changed much. What has changed is the win-ery business. Wine has become fashionable and that’s been good for us because grapes are more highly valued. However, working the vineyards is tough, and many young people find it hard to keep going’. The result of this heroic viticulture translates into very dif-ferent wines - many made with pre-phylloxera grape vari-eties such as malvasía volcánica, listán negro and blanco or vijariego- that reflect both the landscape and the know-how of the team behind their production. ‘The aim is to highlight Lanzarote’s winemaking heritage,’ says Elisa Ludeña, oenolo-gist at El Grifo. ‘Canary Island wines are very different to those from the rest of the peninsula; however, when you try one from this island, there’s no doubt about where it comes from: freshness and minerality are very much in its DNA, ‘she says. In 2023 alone, more than 1.8 million bottles came on to the market from the island, as many as the number of toasts they inspired. lanzarote Barricas con vino elaborado con uva malvasía. // Barrels with wine made from Malvasia grapes. © D.R. El Grifo/Daniel Mamely El viticultor Francisco García junto a la enóloga de El Grifo, Elisa Ludeña. // Francisco García with El Grifo’s oenologist, Elisa Ludeña. © D.R. El Grifo/Daniel Mamely lanzarote Vuelos // Flights: Hasta la isla canaria, Air Europa te lleva con dos vuelos a la semana desde Madrid, y otros desde el aeropuerto de Bilbao. // Air Europa whisks you off to the Canary Island with two flights a week from Madrid, and others from Bilbao airport. www.aireuropa.com