No. 25 - Its Gran Canaria Magazine

26
GET TO KNOW GRAN CANARIA I CONOCE GRAN CANARIA EDICIÓN 25
The treasure island of wines
There are 36 Wine Routes in Spain, but only one of
them is located on an island: Gran Canaria, which
is home to treasures buried in every vineyard.
Wine growing is a unique and ancient jewel here,
with a lineage spanning more than 500 years. It is
a survivor of the phylloxera plague that devastated
Europe's grape plantations in the mid-19th century.
Therefore, oenological treasure hunters know
that here they will find gems in each fruit or berry
of the bunch, with genetics passed down from
their ancestors of listán negro, negramoll, tintilla,
malvasía rosada and volcanic, gual, marmajuelo,
vijariego, albillo, and moscatel de Alejandría.
Our vines sprout up from parched, volcanic soil,
be it millions of years old or more recent, as in
the region of El Monte, where the crater of Bandama
came about some 2,000 years ago. Vines
grow over volcanic picón gravel, and at the nearby
crossroads wine presses were erected with their
tanqueta and quarry vats, with Canary Island pine
wood beams, barbusano wood spindle, unique
geology and vegetation, all of which differentiate
us from any other wine-producing region. Not
forgetting the variety of landscapes and ecosystems
that exist on the island, which is known as
a 'miniature continent', although this belies the island's
ravines that divide the different regions and
slopes, plunging scarily from 2,000 metres high on
the peaks down to the sea in just a few kilometres,
plus the humid trade winds in the north, or the desert
landscapes of the south, bathed by the sun all
year round.
This small territory is surprisingly spectacular and
diverse. Half of its surface area is protected, and it
is also recognised as a Biosphere Reserve, World
Heritage Site and Starlight Reserve, which reveals
an island that has many surprises in store and
possesses plenty of other treasures. This is why its
Wine Route is a collection of realities that need to
be savoured at leisure. This route, although it was
recently recognised by the Association of Wine Cities
of Spain (Acevin) in 2021, a century earlier, the
island offered its visitors a route through its historic
wine-growing area of El Monte. The route was
called 'A trip around the world', in which early 20th
century tourists visited the volcanic landscape, entered
the troglodyte village of La Atalaya, where its
inhabitants lived in caves and sold domestic pottery
made from baked clay, as the ancient inhabitants
of the island once did. The route ended with
a visit to a wine cellar accompanied by a parranda
musical combo playing guitars and timples and
dancing to polkas, isas and folías, to the surprise of
the foreigners being treated to an amazing day out.
Nowadays, our route is a modern and highly diverse
tourist product, providing plenty of surprises
for visitors, with 16 participating wineries spread
across different parts of the island, mainly in the
historic Monte. In addition, there are the traditional
bochinches or bars, olive oil mills, coffee plantations,
cheese dairies, restaurants, rural houses,
tourism companies that invite visitors to live experiences,
professional guides... and an offer that
includes temporary activities such as the gastronomic
tour around Montaña Sagrada organised
by Bodega Bentayga in the surroundings of the
Cultural Landscape and World Heritage Site; Circus
and Wine by Bodega San Juan, where circus arts
are combined with wine tasting in an early 20th
century vineyard setting; The Bottling Theatre offered
by Bodega los Lirios during the summer period,
with performing arts, craft exhibitions and local
bands at weekends.
Other significant events include the Santa Brígida
con Vino festival, featuring an extensive programme
of activities that take place during the
month of November, with an end-of-festival celebration
that brings together the island's wineries.
Other great attractions are the Regional Wine,
Cheese and Honey Fair, at the beginning of November;
Gran Canaria Me gusta, the fair which
showcases the primary and gastronomic sectors
of Gran Canaria; Cinema + Food, between August
and September in the city of Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria; and finally the European Cheese Fair, held
between February and April, an itinerant event that
boasts the largest representation of cheeses from
Gran Canaria, various other regions from mainland
Spain and other European countries.