Having sampled
a few of the island's very good wines, we thought
it would be a good to visit some of the vineyards
responsible for their production. Lanzarote Wine
Tours was recommended by the staff at the villas
so we book this tour via their website. |
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We were very impressed. Cheryl, an expat
from the UK, collected us from the villa and immediately
made a good impression: she was friendly, a confident
driver, and incredibly knowledgeable. Altogether, it made
for a lovely outing.
The drive itself took no more than 15
minutes, climbing quite steeply uphill to reach the area
where the three vineyards we were due to visit were all
located close to one another.
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Vineyard number one
- Bodega la Geria. A family owned winery built at the end
of the nineteenth century where the oldest traditions of
viticulture have been combined with the most advanced production
technology. Cheryl explained how vines are planted in holes
and dug into the sand then surrounded by a blanket of volcanic
ash. |
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After the tour, we were
treated to a selection of wines to taste. |
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A few minutes drive
later, we arrived at vineyard number two - Bodega Stratvs.
(Yes, that is a "v", not a "u"). A fairly
new vineyard (established 2008), it felt a bit like it was
set up primarily as a commercial venture, as opposed to
a traditional, family run vineyard. Having said that, it
was very well done and the shop had some interesting looking
delicacies for sale. |
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The wine tastings here
weren't bad and included snacks, but we preferred the wines
at the first vineyard. |
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Adjacent to the vineyard
was this large Belénes, or nativity scene. It was
the first one we had seen, but we were told that here in
Lanzarote, you’ll find them in almost every town and
village, usually in the town square or near the church.
They range from small and simple to grand and complex. |
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After another short
drive we arrived at vineyard number three - Bodegas Rubicón.
Cheryl had kept the best till last, in our opinion. We got
a real sense of a long history here, going back several
hundreds of years... and their wines were really excellent. |
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We got five wines to
taste here, all of them good, but the clear winner was the
"Sweet Gold"! |
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One of the wines we
had really enjoyed drinking in restaurants since we arrived
came from this estate - El Grifo. Sadly, it doesn't open
on Saturdays, so we couldn't visit it. |
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Later, we had dinner
at the Arenas Lounge restaurant in our complex. |
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The glass as big as the
bottle! |
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Suckling pig with crackling. |
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"You don't want
all that, do you?"
Geoff's best friend here liked his pork. But their friendship
lasted as long as the pork. |
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