Andrés and Aída, two animals aged 15 and 12 years old belonging to farmer Chalo Viñoly, became the main focus of attention at the traditional camel harvest held this Saturday, August 15, the day of the Virgen de La Caridad, in the unique Lanzarote landscape of La Geria, a lively grape harvesting day attended by hundreds of residents and tourists who enjoyed the surroundings and the La Geria winery building, where children and adults trod more than 300 kilos of the Listán Blanco variety, cut from the deepest hollows of La Geria, in its old wine press.
Groups of visitors descended up to three times to one of the farms adjacent to the host winery to accompany farmers and camels and see up close how the harvest was done and the difficulties involved in collecting the fruit and its process until it was transformed into wine before industrialization.
“An unmissable event in La Geria to stage the traditional harvest with the important figure of the camel, an animal key to the construction and conservation of the landscape, of course, along with the undeniable work of the women and men farmers of our land who, with effort and ingenuity, knew how to shape this beautiful and productive marvel that continues to captivate locals and strangers alike,” pointed out the mayor Óscar Noda, present at the morning event alongside councilwomen and councilmen from Yaiza.
For his part, the head of the Festivals Area, Daniel Medina, reviewed the festive program honoring the patron saint of farmers and winemakers: “We experienced two intense days of community gathering, integrating residents and tourists, interested in learning about our landscape, history, and traditions. On Friday, we had a popular 'enyesque' with 'parrandas' at Rubicón winery, and on Saturday, the harvest at La Geria winery and, in the afternoon, the solemn mass in the hermitage and the offering by the Rubicón Folk Group. All events were very participatory.”
Good harvest
This year there were more reasons to celebrate due to the excellent forecasts for the Lanzarote grape harvest after three years of low numbers. Ramón Melián, director of the La Geria winery, explains that “we have had a good and rainy winter and the vine in Lanzarote, which is something magical, has responded after a couple of years of drought. It is producing a lot of grapes, healthy and of good quality, so we expect the island to be around 3.5 million kilos and our winery to collect around 400,000 kilos”. This is the assessment Melián makes after the first three weeks of the harvest.
The Yaiza City Council thanks the La Geria and Rubicón wineries for their collaboration, the support of the winegrowers and the camel sector, the participation of residents and tourists, the involvement of the parish of Yaiza, the performance of AF Rubicón and the work of the municipal staff. La Geria fully enjoyed its La Caridad festivals and Yaiza is already preparing to experience the patron saint celebrations of the Virgen de Los Remedios starting next week.
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