Lanzarote (wine region)

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The Lanzarote wine region in the province of Las Palmas , in the Canary Islands , Spain

Lanzarote is a Spanish wine-growing region (→ Viticulture in Spain ) on the Canary Islands in the province of Las Palmas .

The Denominación de Origen (DO) is spread over the entire island of Lanzarote . The area received DO ( Denomination of Origin ) status in 1993. It includes vineyards in the municipalities of Haría , San Bartolomé , Teguise , Tinajo and Yaiza .

The Lanzarote wine region was divided into four subzones:

  • La Geria , the largest of the sub-zones, is located in the southern part of the island
  • San Bartolomé / Tías , centrally located
  • Tinajo, to the west
  • Haría - Ye, in the north of the island

The most important grape varieties are the red Listán Negro and Negramoll . White wines are made from Listán Blanco , Malvasía de Sitges , Yellow Muscat (Moscatel) and Diego .

The planted vineyard area is 2,310 hectares.

geology

Timanfaya National Park

Lanzarote is an island of volcanic origin. Around 36 million years ago, repeated undersea volcanic eruptions began to form the island's base. These eruptions were caused by continental drift and hotspot volcanism. 15.5 million years ago Lanzarote grew above the sea surface.

Severe volcanic eruptions occurred on Lanzarote in 1730. On September 1st, 32 new volcanoes formed over a distance of 18 kilometers. The eruptions lasted a total of 2,053 days and ended in 1736. In the end, the lava had buried around a quarter of the island's area, including the most fertile soils on the island and several villages and farms. Instead, new volcanoes arose at this point, which were named Montañas del Fuego (Fire Mountains) and which today form the Timanfaya National Park .

Traditional cultivation method in the La Geria wine region

The La Geria wine-growing region is a nature reserve and is known for its traditional lapilli cultivation method (Spanish: enarenado natural ). The vines grow individually in small individual craters protected by walls. The winemakers dig holes up to 3 meters deep and plant the vines in them. The meter-thick dark lapillic layer (volcanic ash, also called picón) can be used, as it heats up during the day and absorbs moisture from the air at night. Because it rarely rains here, the water is stored in this way. The roots of the cultivated plants and the grapevines can penetrate into the ground below, which is also protected from erosion. The walls protect the hollows against the north-east trade wind and drying out. In the La Geria subzone, in Masdache (near San Bartolomé) there is the El Grifo bodega, founded in 1775, with its own wine museum ( location → ). It is the oldest bodega in the Canary Islands and one of the ten oldest in Spain.

The grapes are harvested by hand, as the arrangement of the vines makes it impossible to work with machines.

climate

Lanzarote is located in the Passat Zone , which means that fresh winds blow from north to northeast on the island all year round. Lanzarote has a mild and arid climate with little precipitation all year round , as the trade winds usually do not rain down on the relatively flat island. The air temperature is the annual average at 20.5  ° C . The monthly average is 24.7 ° C in August and 16.9 ° C in January. The water temperature of the Atlantic Ocean fluctuates between 22 ° C in summer and 17 ° C in winter due to the swelling of cold deep water off the northwest African coast and the Canary Islands . In connection with the trade wind, this makes the sometimes high summer temperatures bearable.

Rainfall

Cloud condensation on the Famara massif

With only 112 millimeters of precipitation per year, Lanzarote is the driest of the Canary Islands, but around 85 percent of this falls from January to March. The average relative humidity is 70 percent. In the mountainous north, rainfall of up to 300 millimeters per year can fall significantly more than in the south. There, the northeast trade winds coming from the Atlantic can hit the Famara massif with the highest point of 671  m , which is in the lowest part of the condensation zone . The trade winds accumulate only when there is strong circulation and are forced to rise. The humid Atlantic air cools down by 1 K (1 ° C) per hundred meters during the ascent  . Clouds or fog arise . The moisture from the clouds is enough to allow dry-field farming in this area.

Grape varieties

The recommended grape varieties include

Beyond that are permitted

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Regulations of the Lanzarote Wine Region (in Spanish)

Web links

literature

  • John Radford: The New Spain. A complete guide to contemporary Spanish Wine . Mitchell Beazley, Mitchell Beazley 1998, ISBN 1-85732-254-1 .
  • Jan Read: Spain's Wines 2005/06 . 7th, revised, updated edition. Hallwag im Gräfe und Unzer Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-7742-6962-9 .
  • Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . 3rd, completely revised edition. Hallwag im Gräfe und Unzer Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8338-0691-9 .
  • Jeremy Watson: The new & classical Wines of Spain . Montagud Editores, Barcelona 2002, ISBN 84-7212-087-2 .