Miguel Morales is the owner of Bodegas Tisalaya and produces a gourmet white wine, but different, because it is made with diego, and because it is stored for a year before being put on sale.
In an interview with the radio program Más de Uno Gourmet, from Radio Lanzarote, Morales advocates for differentiated subsidies for traditional cultivation, asks for more support for the sector and that the higher module in viticulture remains on the island.
- How did the idea of creating Bodegas Tisalaya come about?
My family is from winegrowers, we are from Tinajo, and like father, like son, to continue with the traditions. My father bought a plot in La Geria and we made wine for our own consumption until in 2017 I decided to give the wine a plus of quality and that's how the Tisalaya project came about.
- How many bottles do you produce? What is the wine like?
The first vintage was 1,200 bottles, some years we have reached 2,500. Our wine is white, but different, the grape is not Malvasia, but Diego. And we also sell it after a year, it is aged, so to speak, a wine to keep, which matures in the bottle.
- How have you trained?
On the one hand, a brother of my father has dedicated his whole life to the vineyard and making wine, and on the other hand, I have been very self-taught, I have learned from the elders and from the professionals. I have also finished the higher cycle in viticulture at IES Zonzamas.
For this project I also have the oenological advice of Carlos Lozano, oenologist from La Palma.
- How many hectares of vineyard does the winery have?
We started with one and a half hectares and now we have three hectares. We have acquired some vineyards and others have been given to us so that we can recover them.
- What type of cultivation and what yield does it give?
I have it in holes, traditional. It is in the municipality of Tinajo, but within the natural landscape of La Geria. One hectare in holes gives between 1,200 and 1,500 kilos, these are very low yields.
All the work is manual, nothing is automated. Everything is entering and leaving the hole. We are the gardeners of the landscape. That's why it's a gourmet product.
- Let's see if the specific aid for traditional cultivation is specified…
I think that in the subsidies, what is cultivation in holes should be differentiated. If we don't want to lose La Geria, we have to start thinking about that. The work in the holes is very hard.
In addition, the problem of viticulture will be, in a few years, that of generational replacement. If cultivation in holes is not supported, La Geria is in danger.
- How can this generational replacement be achieved?
We have to train more people and make viticulture attractive, so that young people see that it is profitable. I get news that they want to remove the viticulture cycle from IES Zonzamas, if so, we are going backwards like crabs.
- Where is Tisalaya wine sold?
We sell it in the winery and to restaurants. Last year we also had it in the gourmet store Territorio Sibarita in Arrecife, but this year the production has been very small.