The interpretation of the grape harvest with camels in the style of old generations of farmers, when the technification of the wine sector of Lanzarote was not even remotely foreseen, always attracts hundreds and hundreds of visitors to the unique landscape of La Geria, but this year the constant movement of neighbors, residents and tourists of the Island who came to Bodega La Geria and the surrounding farms to follow closely and participate this August 15 in the traditional harvest, a day marked by the festivity of Nuestra Señora de La Caridad in La Geria and the Catholic commemoration of the Assumption of the Virgin, was especially visible and noticeable.
After ten o'clock in the morning, farmers from the area, together with the camels Blanca and María, went down to a farm adjacent to Bodega La Geria to cut and deposit the grapes in the harvest boxes amidst the expectation of the public who did not tire of taking photos and videos, also marveling at the image of a unique landscape full of holes surrounded by stone walls that protect the cultivation of the vine.
This routine was repeated up to three times and the weighing of the harvest was interpreted up to three times on the old counterweight scale that the winery preserves and its ancient wine press where young and old helped to tread the grapes. For Óscar Noda, mayor of Yaiza, "maintaining the tradition means reminding the younger population of the hardship involved in the reconstruction of the landscape of La Geria, by women and men with the help of the camel after the volcanic eruptions, and the eternal fertility of an extension of land that amazes the world."
Daniel Medina, Councilor for Festivities of Yaiza, highlights "the participation of the public and the interest of young people in knowing how the evolution of the wine sector of Lanzarote has been, which has such outstanding figures as Don Germán López Figueras, promoter of the modern era of Bodegas Rubicón from the year 79. The City Council of Yaiza joins the tribute of the Regulatory Council of Wines of Lanzarote and praises the tireless work and vision of this veteran entrepreneur of La Geria".
Minimum harvest
And it is hard the work of the winegrowers and almost unpredictable the result of the grape harvest in Lanzarote. This year the grape production is clearly scarce: "we have a short harvest due to the water stress that the plant has been suffering for some years. The water came a little late, almost in spring, and together with the fact that the spring was a little cold, the plant did not sprout well, there was little flowering and there are few grapes this 2025", explains Ramón Melián, director of Bodega La Geria.
This is the harvest in Lanzarote, by cycles, we remember productions of almost 4 million kilos and other pyrrhic of 600 or 700 thousand kilos. The forecast indicates that the kilo of grapes will be paid at more than 4 euros, "prices never seen in Lanzarote".
The festivity in La Geria began on Thursday with a stall in Bodegas Rubicón enlivened by the southern parrandas Sondemar and Janubio and continued on the big day, Friday, August 15, with the celebration of the mass in the historic chapel and traditional harvest, where there was also music, this time from the parranda Pal' Porrón. In the afternoon, there was also mass and offering of toque and dance by the Agrupación Folklórica Rubicón de Yaiza.
