Elisa Ludeña studied Tourism in Tahíche and specialized in oenology thanks to the Higher Cycle of Viticulture of CIFP Zonzamas, whose permanence she defends as a key piece in the professionalization of the sector in Lanzarote.
The main winemaker of the oldest winery in the Canary Islands explains her career and El Grifo's commitment to innovation.
- What was your career path until you started working for El Grifo?
I was born in Ecuador and arrived in Spain in 2003. I studied Tourism in Tahíche and fell in love with the wine tourism of Lanzarote and its landscape. I wanted to continue studying on the island and just then the Higher Technician Cycle in Viticulture came out in CIFP Zonzamas. Mine was one of the first promotions.
- Precisely the cycle you studied could be closed, madness on an island that is supposed to defend its viticulture, its landscape and its professionalization...
In the winery we work five wine technicians from Zonzamas. The second winemaker is from my promotion and the laboratory technician as well.
In addition, we have two guys in the winery part, one of them has not yet finished the cycle and is already working with us. The sector has to be professionalized and we need generational change. We cannot devalue such an essential sector.
- When do you arrive at El Grifo?
My first harvest was in La Geria in 2018 as a field technician and I loved the experience. I did my internship at Vega de Yuco, then I did a Master's degree in Rioja and then I joined El Grifo in 2022 first as an assistant and since 2023 I have been directing the department.
“What I fell in love with about the profession is that it is a continuous learning”
- Being the winemaker of El Grifo implies a lot of responsibility...
It is a great winery and although it is the oldest in the Canary Islands, it is very innovative. It is always up to date, for example, in the optimization of times.
Few wineries can say that they work with native yeasts. We also have an Oresteo (residual CO2 management system by fermentation that allows to improve the elaboration processes). We have sustainability processes not only in the environmental part, but also social and economic.
- What size are El Grifo's crops?
We work 65 hectares. We also have a part of regenerative viticulture. 40 hectares are already certified as organic and the rest is either starting its activity or is in conversion since last year.
“The wine sector is always on the move”
- How much creative freedom do you have at El Grifo to propose new things?
Above all, they let us play. We have an initiative called harvest experiences with which the winery allows us to develop microvinifications, from which a new reference can come out or stay in the winery so that sommeliers or interested people can taste those wines.
One of the wines that I have brought comes from a harvest experience. It is an ancestral, a sparkling wine that instead of the previous double fermentation like champagne, finishes the fermentation in the bottle itself like craft beer.
- The winemaker never gets bored, does he?
Yes, you always have to be updating yourself, going to fairs, trying to read a lot because the wine sector is always on the move. That is what I fell in love with about the profession, that it is a continuous learning.
