5 Lanzarote Wines You Must Try Before Leaving the Island

Most people arrive in Lanzarote expecting beaches, black sand and volcanoes. Fewer expect to be handed a glass of crisp, mineral white wine grown in a pit dug into volcanic ash. That surprise is the main reason we enjoy pouring Lanzarote wine for visitors at Brunchi.shop in Marina Rubicon.

This isn't a list of five brand names to tick off. Wine here is easier to understand by style, so we've picked the five types you'll come across on the island and explained what each one tastes like and what to eat with it. Several of them you can taste side by side on our terrace.

Why Lanzarote wine tastes different

Lanzarote gets very little rain and a lot of wind. The vines grow mainly in the La Geria area, where each plant sits in its own hollow dug down through a layer of black volcanic gravel called picón. A low, curved stone wall around each hollow shields the vine from the trade winds.

The gravel catches moisture overnight and helps stop the soil underneath drying out. The farmland was buried by the eruptions of the 1730s, and the way the islanders adapted to it is what created the thousands of little craters you see in rows across the hillside. It looks like nothing else in Europe, and it's worth a drive even if you never touch a glass.

The wines often have a mineral, slightly salty edge that works very well chilled. Production is small, so a lot of it is drunk on the island. That's a good reason to try it while you're here rather than hunting for it at home.

1. Dry white (seco)

If you only try one Lanzarote wine, make it a dry white. The island is known for the malvasía volcánica grape, and dry whites made from it are the signature style, with citrus and orchard fruit and that mineral finish. El Grifo and Bermejo are two of the best-known names in Lanzarote wine, and both are worth looking out for if you drive up to the wine region.

On our Yaiza Board, the dry one is the Yaiza Seco, and it's the one we pour most often for first-timers. The Yaiza blue bottles are €21.50 if you want to take one home.

Drink it with: grilled fish, prawns, goat's cheese, or the almonds and olives you'd get on any terrace. Serve it properly cold. Florin would say colder than you think.

2. Semi-sweet white (semi-dulce and afrutado)

This is the one that surprises people. A semi-dulce sits in the middle: a little sweetness, still plenty of freshness, and a softer, rounder feel in the mouth. Customers who tell us they don't like dry wine often leave with a bottle of this.

The Yaiza Board has the Semi-Dulce alongside the Afrutado, which is the fruitier, easy-drinking one. Taste them next to each other and the difference shows within two sips. It's one of the best ways to work out what you actually like.

Drink it with: anything with a bit of heat, soft cheeses, or on its own at six in the evening when it's still warm out. It's very good with papas arrugadas and red mojo.

3. Rosado

Rosé is easy to dismiss, but it deserves a glass on a hot island afternoon. It's the sensible choice if you're stuck between red and white, or if one of you wants each.

We serve the Yaiza Rosado on the Yaiza Board, so you can try it next to the whites and see where it lands. It tends to be the first thing people reach for when the terrace is in full sun.

Drink it with: salads, tapas, grilled chicken, cured ham. It's the all-rounder of the group.

4. A red from the island

Lanzarote is better known for whites, but there are reds too and they're worth a go. Don't assume a red has to be a heavy winter wine. In the heat, a red that's very slightly cooled is far more pleasant than one at room temperature, and we'd say the same to anyone sitting outside in July.

The Yaiza Tinto is €25 a bottle. It's one of four wines on our Red Board, alongside the Volcano, a Ribera and a Rioja. We put them together on purpose, so you can taste the island reds next to two mainland classics and decide for yourself. Some people go straight for the Rioja. Plenty don't.

Drink it with: grilled meat, hard cheeses, or a plate of cold cuts.

5. Sweet malvasía (dessert wine)

The fifth style is the sweet one. Lanzarote is well known for its sweet malvasía, a golden, honeyed wine traditionally served in small glasses at the end of a meal. It's quite different from the dry whites even though the grape is related, which is part of the fun of trying both.

We don't always have every producer's dessert wine on the shelf, so ask us what's in at the moment. If you see one on a restaurant menu or in a bodega shop, order a small glass.

Drink it with: almond cake, blue cheese or vanilla ice cream. It also makes a gift people actually enjoy opening.

How to taste them in Playa Blanca

The easiest way to compare these styles is to do it in one sitting. We offer two tasting boards on the terrace. The Yaiza Board covers the Rosado, Seco, Semi-Dulce and Afrutado. The Red Board covers the Yaiza Tinto, Volcano, Ribera and Rioja. A wine tasting of four glasses is €14.

If you'd rather have a full glass of something, our wines by the glass are Yaiza, Volcano, Vinosol, Cava, Prosecco, Ribera and Rioja. Cava and Prosecco aren't Lanzarote wines, but they're popular as a first drink while people look at the board and decide what to try.

A tip from behind the counter: start with the lightest wine and work up. Rosado or afrutado first, then the seco, then the semi-dulce, then reds. Your palate will thank you.

Visiting the wine region

If you have a hire car, give La Geria half a day. The road runs through the vineyards, and several bodegas have tasting rooms where you can try wines straight from the producer. El Grifo also has a wine museum if you want some background on how winemaking developed on the island.

Plan around opening hours, and don't try to fit it in with a long beach lunch. Many people drive after tasting, so share the driving or taste a little. We'd happily tell you which bottles to look for before you go, and what to ask for once you arrive.

Taking bottles home

Most visitors want to bring something back, and Lanzarote wine travels well if it's wrapped properly in your suitcase. Pick up bottles on your last day, wrap them in clothes inside a hard case, and check your airline's liquid allowances for hand luggage before you pack anything.

Just message us with what you're after.

Finding us

You'll find Brunchi.shop at Calle El Burrugo 44B, Marina Rubicon, Playa Blanca. We're open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm, and closed all day on Sunday, so don't plan your wine tasting for then.