The president of the Lanzarote Wine Regulatory Council, Jorge Rodríguez, announced this week that the latest harvest has been described as “very good” by the seven members of the tasting panel. A harvest with some surplus still that will be able to compensate for the reduced harvest that is expected to be collected this year.
In an interview with Ekonomus, Rodríguez is satisfied with the price that the grape is reaching, shares his desire to place the island's wines among the most select in the world and anticipates that prices will continue to rise.
"The prices that the kilo of grapes is reaching is what we have pursued all our lives, that the effort of the winegrowers is valued and compensated”, explains Rodríguez.
"In any wine region in the world there are bottles that reach hundreds of euros"
He recognizes that when the price of the raw material rises, the price of the bottle rises, but he considers that in any wine region in the world there are bottles that reach hundreds of euros. “And people pay for them, I think that's what we have to fight for”.
“Lanzarote wines are now very well positioned”, says the president, who intends to make them even more so and become part of the universe of the most select wines.
“I also believe that the prices of Lanzarote wine will continue to rise, and in the rest of the wine regions as well, due to climate change", predicts Rodriguez. “Climate change means that we cannot have continuous production over time, the harvests are more irregular and that will cause wine prices worldwide to rise a lot”.
The next harvest will be much smaller"
For the next harvest, the president of the Regulatory Council anticipates that “much less grapes will come because we have had a winter with very little rain and no cold, which translates into a much smaller harvest. In some areas less than 50 liters per square meter have fallen”.
In terms of rain, for a harvest to be good, at least 150 liters must fall. Experts estimate that a maximum of two million kilos will be collected. The president explains that this circumstance is within normality. “In Lanzarote it is very normal to have two good harvests, one regular and then another good one”.
Regarding the growing number of awards in international competitions that many of the wineries are bringing to the island, Rodríguez highlights first of all the fact that more and more wineries are encouraged to participate in international tournaments.
The president of the Regulatory Council also underlines the factor that currently “there is a great harmony between the wineries and the countryside. Today the wineries have very good advice, which is transferred to many of the winegrowers. All this creates unique wines”.