In the vineyards, the first half of the month saw the last of the Moscatel collected for sweet wines and also the Diego grapes for the dry white! This is nearly 2 months later than the Malvasia Volcanica grapes are harvested (for the dry wines), but thankfully Diego, or Vijariego as it is sometimes known, is a hardy and resistant variety which ripens late. It is not produced in great quantity but is gaining increasing popularity and for good reason. It is higher in acidity and less aromatics than Malvasia and works great with food. In the first week of the month, Ollie spent the day harvesting Diego for a new artisan producer on the Island. It is really encouraging to see some of the small projects happening behind the scenes and it all bodes very well for the future of wine on Lanzarote!
The 2021 Island wide harvest came in at a little over 2million Kg, which pleasingly was ahead of initial predictions and well above the 1.4 million Kg in 2020, though still someway off 2018’s record harvest of 4 million Kg. The winemakers are very happy with their analysis and already the first 2021 wines are available! In fact, Vega de Yuco’s Yaiza, became the first 2021 wine to be bottled and sold in the Northern Hemisphere! As you will learn on our tours many of Lanzarote’s wines are best drunk young and these wines can be turned around relatively quickly. Fermentation only takes around 10 days, and after a period of conditioning the wines are ready. These young white wines are those crisp, fresh and aromatic wines which many of you will be familiar with. That’s not to say there aren’t other styles around, and one of these fine wines we have selected as our wine of the month below.
Vega de Yuco Yaiza. The First Wine to be Bottled in the Northern Hemisphere
Elsewhere in La Geria, one of the artisan producers we visit, Vega Vegan had an exciting development! We have seen plenty of changes there over the nearly 5 years we have been running tours and we don’t expect this to slow down anytime soon, as owner and winemaker Alfredo retired this month from his legal work in Arrecife! For more than 10 years he has combined this full-time job with making wine and expanding his project, but now he can devote 100% of his time to his real passion! We wish him all the best and we will be following with great interest!
Alfredo already making the most of his time. Cleaning after the 2021 vintage!
During the next couple of months there will not be a huge amount of work carried out in the vineyards, with pruning set to commence in November time. For now, the focus is in the winery producing wine, cleaning away the processing equipment for another year and gaining a little rest from the physical exertions of harvesting these past weeks!
Wine of The Month
Bodega Vulcano’s Barrel Fermented and lees aged Malvasia
This month we have opted for Bodega Vulcano’s Barrel Fermented and lees aged Malvasia. Many will be familiar with those young wines we talked about above but there’s a little more to it here. Rather than being fermented and stored in steel, which preserves the freshness and doesn’t impart tertiary flavours or characteristics to the wine, this Malvasia Volcanica Roble is fermented in French Oak Barrels and then aged on its lees (the dead yeast cells). This process gives the wine a richness, body and complexity with riper fruits and a buttery, creaminess along with some nutty flavours and aromas thanks to the lees aging. It really is exceptional and is a great wine for white meats or a creamy pasta dish. Bodega Vulcano’s wines are all Vegan certified and produced by owner and winemaker Victor Diaz, who looks to blend both traditional and modern techniques to make very distinctive yet authentic wines.
If you can’t wait for Lanzarote, it is one we have selected for our list on Wine Shop Lanzarote which delivers from our base in the UK.
