To round off our tour of the island, we decided to visit the volcanic wine region of the island, La Geria. Wine has been produced here for about 500 years and in centuries past, Canarian Malvasia wine was a prestigious drink that graced the top tables of Europe. William Shakespeare himself was a fan and received an annual allowance of 268 gallons a year from the Crown which explains why it is mentioned in 30 of his works as ‘malmsey’ or ‘sack’.

We stopped in at El Grifo winery and visited their museum, which is housed in the old wine cellar. Founded in 1775, the family-owned winery is the oldest one in the Canary Islands and produce award-winning wines on their 40-hectare estate. Wine production in Lanzarote is not an easy task following the eruptions of 1730 – 1736. First of all, holes have to be made in the lava using dynamite to reach the soil underneath. As the vines grow, the branches are supported just above ground level by pieces of wood. Back in the days when wood was scarce here, they used the wood from shipwrecks! Black lava stone walls were built in a semi-circle around the vines to protect them from the harsh winds and to store the warmth of the sun to help develop the grapes. Today, the vines are planted in rows to make harvesting quicker, but the same system of planting and growing is used. A walk around the vineyard made us quite thirsty so we sampled a couple of wines and then took some home with us.