El Grifo has started this Wednesday its novel "winter harvest or early spring" harvest by Jorge Rodríguez, El Grifo's oenologist, together with the farm's winegrower, Francisco Raimundo García Reyes, and other oenologists from the winery, who have explained step by step the elaboration of this new harvest trend to various media and professionals from the sector.
"Although the production process is basically the same as in a traditional harvest, the biggest change has been the months of cultivation. By pruning the vineyard in early October, we have managed to get the plant to sprout exactly as it does in the spring cycle. The samples collected have given us a great surprise, as we see that the wine we are going to obtain will be fresher than the one collected during the summer season", they explain from the winery.
Climate change is affecting the cultivation of this plant, displacing the geographical cultivation line of the vineyard towards the north of the hemisphere, thus allowing the cultivation of grapes in areas where wine had no place due to its cold climate.
The harvest has been carried out on a two-hectare farm with 2140 vines in Playa Quemada, a warm area that has allowed to generate a more sustainable Volcanic Malvasia cultivation cycle, since they need less water consumption as it coincides with the rainy season in Lanzarote, which translates into a higher quality grape.
Attendees at this presentation were able to see "in situ" the differences in fruit ripening compared to what it should normally have at this time of year, making it possible to harvest it on these dates.
Now El Grifo has its eyes set on the Canarian wines of the future, but without leaving behind the wine-growing tradition of Lanzarote, giving it its own name and putting them at the center of attention of wine experts worldwide.
After the harvest, the chef of the Liken restaurant, Dailos Perdomo, delighted the attendees with a typical appetizer inspired by the sardine sandwich that the harvesters eat during the day. Specifically, this particular version contains pickled sardines from La Tiñosa, made with Volcanic Malvasia, grilled onion puree with vine stock and wrapped with a light bread roll.
In addition, once the grape harvest is complete, the winery plans to present the winter harvest on April 22, where a large turnout is expected.
