Envínate's ancient vines & volcanic wines
Walking through the steep vineyards of Táganan with Roberto Santana and Alfonso Torrente of Envínate
One of the most beautiful wine regions I've seen to date, resides on a Spanish Isle off the coast of North Africa. The volcanic archipelago known as the Canary Islands, are home to the world's oldest, own-rooted provignage vineyards. The ancient vines of Tenerife flourish in some of the most unique conditions and yield some of the most compelling, terrior driven wines of Spain.
If you've been lucky enough to quench your thirst with any of the highly coveted bottlings of Envínate, cheers to you! Envínate (aka "wine yourself") has bloomed from collaborative energies of four Spanish vigneron. Together, they have produced expressive and unaltered wines from vineyard parcels around the island, many of which often abandoned or neglected by the owners. As wine is often the source of great inspiration, I was captivated by the first sip of wine.
2013 Táganan Parcela Margalagua
After a series of serendipitous circumstances, we arrived at the airport terminal on Tenerife. There we were greeted by the smiling faces of Roberto Santana and Alfonso Torrente, two of the four producers of Envínate wines. Once in the car, we were regaled by Roberto's colorful history of his native Tenerife.
In the 16th century, the Canaries were a mandatory stopping place for Spanish ships heading to the New World. In passage to the America's, Missionaries took vine cuttings from the Canary Islands to support the Catholic Church's need for wine. Today, the wines produced from Tenerife are still commonly referred to as "mission wines".
Roberto sketching a regional map on concrete tanks in the winery
Wine regions of Tenerife
Tenerife remains untouched by phylloxera, so the agerage vine age can range from 100-400 years depending on the region. Envínate works with vineyards in 3 of the 5 wine regions on the island. Each region is completely unique from the next, but all maintain extreem growing conditions.
Táganan (50-350 meters)
Santiago del Teide (1,000-2,000 meters)
Valle de la Orotava (350-700 meters)
Táganan
The first region we visited was Táganan. The regional name translates from native dialect to mean “surrounded by mountains”, but Alfonso and Roberto prefer to call it "Jurassic Park". Envínate works with two parcels in Táganan, Amogoje and Margalagua. Both are planted on crazy steep hillsides, with vines and gnarled roots peaking out from between bolders at random. To say the task of farming here is difficult, is a complete understatement. The parcels are co-planted with an assortment of indigenous red and white varietals all harvested on the same day. Once the grapes are in the winery, red and white wines are vinified separately. Vineyards of Táganan are exposed to northerly Alisos (Trade Winds) and thus the wines are characterized by a distinctive salinity.
Alfonso Torrente explaining the difficulties of farming Parcela Margalagua
To allow necessary airflow, vines are held up by sticks
Santiago del Teide
"Welcome to Mars" Alfonso mused, as we stepped out onto the crunchy, burnt red volcanic soils of Santiago del Teide . At 1,000-2,000 meters, this high-elevation region sits above the fog line, so shade is critical for sustainability. The ferrel, untrained vine canopies provide shade from the long hot days followed by cold nights. The region, Santiago del Teide shares its name with a sleeping volcano it rests upon. Ashen scars from the 1904 eruption are still visible above the vineyards. Over 100 years later, and soils are still zapped of all nutrient. Nothing can grow here... except vines. The barren expanse proves that vines can grown in almost anything, even volcanic ash. Wines from this region tend to show more ripeness of fruit.
The bush-like vines shade the grapes from the scorching sun.
The Mar's-like landscape of Santiago del Teide
Along the ridge-line, scars from the 1904 eruption are still visible.
Valle de la Orotava
Valle de la Orotava is home to the oldest wine region on Tenerife. Resting at the base of Pico del Teide, the third largest volcano in the world. In the vineyards, Portugese influence is visible from the braided vine training method that has been employed for hundreds of years. This training method is referred to as “cordón trenzado” and was originally used for the production of Malvasia. Listán Blanco and Listán Negro are the key grapes of this region. The wines of this region express a distictive spicy and peppery characteristics which Robert attributes to the influence of Pico del Teide.
Cordón Trenzado vine training method in La Orotava Valley. Vines strech 7-10 meters on average.
It was truly amazing to experience and learn first hand about the vineyards Envínate works with on Tenerife. I am so grateful for Roberto and Alfonso's time and incredible hospitality. Until the next adventure!
For more information on these wines, visit Jose Pastor Selections