The traditional harvest returned this Monday to La Geria, to commemorate the day of the Virgen de La Caridad. Hundreds of residents and tourists were able to enjoy this event, after two years of hiatus due to the pandemic.
The camels Edu and Andrés were in charge of parading alongside the La Geria Winery and its surroundings, with the interpretation of the wine production process before the arrival of industrialization: from the collection of the grapes in the holes and their loading on camels, to the treading of the fruit in the old winery press to transform it into must, before fermenting and becoming wine.
Regarding this year's harvest, the oenologist of Bodega La Geria states that it is "just right, but of good quality". The drought is a handicap that has marked the harvest of the last two years in Lanzarote.
Older and younger people dedicated to the wine sector took advantage of the festive reunion in La Geria to remember the efforts of their predecessors without renouncing their current commitment, stating that it is "a passion". And just as they fraternized in the Sunday stall at Bodegas Rubicón and joined forces in the traditional morning harvest on Monday, they returned in the afternoon to the hermitage of La Geria to make their most personal offering of gratitude to the Virgen de La Caridad.
The Rubicón Folkloric Group performed one more year on the facade of the church after the celebration of the Eucharist, an offering in the form of touch and dance highly applauded by the faithful and companions. The traditional harvest morning was also enlivened by the Canarian airs of the Parranda Pal' Porrón, while the first musical glass of wine of the festivities was raised on Friday by the Parranda Janubio and the Sondemar group.
The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, and the Councilor for Festivities, Javier Camacho, have thanked on behalf of the City Council "the high participation of the people of Lanzarote in the Fiestas de La Caridad and the collaboration of the neighboring wineries La Geria and Rubicón, which gave their facilities so that residents and tourists could enjoy the wine festival at pleasure".
