Tenerife vineyard scene: image provided by Jesús González de Chávez
The Canaries lie from around 100 kilometres west of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean. Wine is made on seven of the eight islands, encompassing ten denominaciones de origen protegidas (DOPs). There are five individual island DOPs - DOP Gran Canaria, DOP La Gomera, DOP El Hierro, DOP La Palma and DOP Lanzarote - while Tenerife has five separate regional DOPs - Tacoronte-Acentejo, Ycoden-Daute-Isora, Valle de la Orotava, Valle de Güímar and Abona.
The unique vine training system of cordón trenzado: image provided by Jesús González de Chávez
These wines have contemporary appeal, as Angus Macnab, Tenerife-born sommelier and wine consultant, explains. "Canarian wines have true grit, power & personality which offer the consumer a tasting and drinking experience that's unique and not comparable to wines, grapes or styles found elsewhere. These are wines with a sense of place like no other!"
Bodega Vulcano in Lanzarote: image provided by Víctor Díaz
