Tenerife, earth-scented wine and quality wines

A centuries-old winemaking tradition and numerous national and international awards attest to the prestige of the wines from Tenerife.
The hard work of wine growers of the island, the use of indigenous strains and particular environmental conditions of Tenerife have resulted in the development of high quality wines, whose reputation is growing day by day, as evidenced by the numerous awards they harvest competitions in local, national and international.

The high quality of wines from Tenerife
The grape varieties listán black and negramoll are the most commonly used to produce the red wine . Experts stress the traditional wines made from this grape its intense fruity, dry mouth, and with good structure. To describe it as maceration red wine with body and with a long lingering aftertaste.


For the preparation of the white variety is used mainly for white listán, a grape that is capable of producing, under certain conditions of alcoholic and phenolic ripeness, fruity wines of high quality.

Despite its excellence, it is very difficult to find Tenerife came from outside the archipelago because most production is consumed in the island itself. Its aroma, flavor and color is almost always present in the table of the islanders.

Fernando de Castro brought the first vine to Tenerife
The winemaking tradition of the island dates back to the fifteenth century when the Portuguese brought Fernando de Castro, back in 1497, the plant of the vine . However, not until the sixteenth century, when the wines gain international recognition Tenerife. In Madeira, Sherry and England, places where it was exported, could see its properties. Historians attest that Shakespeare himself fell in love with the wines of Tenerife.

Later, there would be a long period of decline due to difficulties in trade relations with the English and the emergence of diseases in the vineyards. In the twentieth century, the wine produced in Tenerife is intended primarily for local consumption. In 1985 there is a need to regulate their production and increase their quality and creating the first denomination of origin, Tacoronte-Acentejo. The success was such that in a few years new names appear and wine of the island recover the prestige it once had.

More than 100 wineries in Tenerife
In Tenerife there are currently five appellations of origin in which integrate more than 100 wineries producing red wines, white and rose, in different categories and, more importantly, of a remarkable quality.

Tacoronte-Acentejo was the first denomination of origin was. It was in 1992. However, the history of the wines of the region need to move it 500 years ago, at the time the first European settlers came to the Island The region produces mainly red wines.

In the beginning, were produced only by the traditional method, young wines for early consumption. At present, the form of winemaking is very broad, so encompassing virtually all types of development prevalent in the world market: young wines (red, white and pink), breeding, sweet and syrupy.

The Orotava Valley, home of the famous Malvasia wines in the past, now produces both white wines and red wines and rosé young. The production area of ​​the wines covered by this designation of origin consists of some 1,000 hectares of cultivated land are located in the municipalities of La Orotava, Los Realejos and Puerto de la Cruz. The varieties listán black and white, ruddy and negramoll are only some of which are grown in the area.

The trade winds and the volcanic soil form the character of the wine Tenerife
Ycoden-Daute-Isora has an area of ​​1,600 hectares under vine cultivation, of which only 306 hectares are controlled by the regulatory board. The plots, usually small, are located between 50 and 1,400 meters above sea level. In this region, 80% of the acreage is devoted to varieties listán black and white. His young white wines are best known, though the pink and red have experienced in recent years an upward trend in terms of quality.

The volcanic soil and the predominance of trade winds define the character of the wine of the appellation of origin of the valley, where the variety is grown mainly white listán. In addition to the different types of targets, in the Valley of Guimaras are made pink, red, sweet Malvasia and even sparkling wines. The latter are the most recent designation of origin and are made from the grape variety white listán.

In the south of Tenerife, in a fairly sunny, is the youngest of the appellations of origin , the de Abona. In this area there are mostly white-bodied wines. A peculiarity of this area is that there are the highest vineyards in Spain, are grown in the municipality of Adeje, over 1,500 meters high.

The harvest of 2010 in the island of Tenerife
2010 was not a good year of harvest . Weather conditions caused a decrease in quantity and quality of the crop. The grapes controlled by the regulatory councils designations of origin reached 3,106,155 kilos, representing 15% less than in 2009. Despite these data, the care and skill of winemakers and farmers in the selection of the grapes have made not suffer the virtues of the wines from Tenerife.