The Best Wine Shop in Playa Blanca — A Local's Guide

Where to Buy Wine in Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca has plenty of places to pick up a bottle. The supermarkets have a basic selection, the hotel shops charge tourist prices, and there are a few wine shops dotted around town. If you want proper Lanzarote volcanic wines alongside good Spanish and international bottles, and someone who can tell you what's in them, our counter is where we'd send you. We're biased, obviously, but here's the reasoning.

Brunchi.shop at Marina Rubicon

Brunchi.shop is run by Florin and me, and we're a wine shop and a terrace bar in one. We stock the complete range from every major Lanzarote bodega, over 90 volcanic wines in total. Because we also have a terrace, you can taste before you buy. Most wine shops can't offer that.

We know what's on the shelf because we've drunk it. Florin will tell you his favourite changes depending on the day, and the weather, and whether the Tinto is open.

Lanzarote Wines We Stock

• Bodegas Yaiza — The famous blue bottles. Blanco Afrutado (fruity white), Blanco Seco (dry white), Semi-Dulce (semi-sweet) and Rosado (rosé) in the blue glass, plus the Tinto (red). Blue bottles are from €21.50 and the Tinto is €25. We also stock Gara, the premium sibling from the same bodega, made with higher-grade grapes and sold in a smoked black and blue bottle.
• El Grifo — The oldest bodega in the Canary Islands, established in 1775. Their Malvasía wines are outstanding, particularly the Malvasía Seco and the aged reserves. If you like dry whites with character, start here.
• Bermejo — Small-batch, organic wines from a family producer in La Geria. Their Malvasía Naturalmente Dulce (naturally sweet) is liquid gold: thick, honeyed, and brilliant as a dessert wine or a gift. The Seco Ecologico is a clean organic dry white that we drink at home ourselves.
• La Geria — Classic volcanic Malvasía from the heart of the wine region. Good quality at fair prices, and easy everyday drinking.
• Vulcano, Rubicón, Vinosol — More excellent Lanzarote bodegas. We serve Volcano and Vinosol by the glass on the terrace.

What Lanzarote Wine Actually Tastes Like

This is the question we get most. Lanzarote vines grow in pits dug into black volcanic ash, each one sheltered by a little semicircular stone wall called a zoco. It looks strange and it works. The wines tend to be mineral and fresh, with a saline edge that suits the island's food.

People often assume they'll all be sweet because Malvasía has that reputation. Most aren't. The Yaiza Seco and the El Grifo Malvasía Seco are properly dry, the Afrutado is fruity without being sugary, and only the Semi-Dulce and Bermejo's Naturalmente Dulce go sweet on purpose.

Wine Tasting Before You Buy

This is what we're most proud of. You don't have to guess which wine you'll like. Sit on the terrace and try them. Our wine tasting is 4 glasses of Lanzarote volcanic wines for €14. No booking needed, just walk in during opening hours. Florin pours and explains each one: the grape varieties, the volcanic soil, how the zocos work, and which wines suit which foods.

If you'd rather graze while you taste, we do two tasting boards:

• The Yaiza Board — Rosado, Seco, Semi-Dulce and Afrutado, so you taste the whole blue-bottle range side by side.
• The Red Board — Yaiza Tinto, Volcano, Ribera and Rioja, which is a good way to compare a Lanzarote red with two mainland classics.

We also serve wine by the glass: Yaiza, Volcano, Vinosol, Ribera, Rioja, Cava and Prosecco. That suits you if you only want one glass, or if one of you wants red and the other white. Not a wine person?

Serving and Pairing Tips

A few things we say across the counter every week.

• Dry whites (Yaiza Seco, El Grifo Malvasía Seco) should be properly cold. They go with grilled fish, prawns, calamari and salty local cheese.
• The Afrutado is easy on its own as an aperitif. It also stands up well to a mildly spiced curry or a salad with fruit in it.
• Semi-Dulce works with spicy food and with blue cheese. People tend to be surprised by how well it does.
• Rosado is the one to open by the pool. Chill it well and it disappears quickly.
• Naturalmente Dulce is for the end of the meal. Pour a small glass with a hard cheese or a plain dessert, and don't serve it ice cold.
• Reds from the island are lighter than a big Rioja, so a short time in the fridge on a hot day does them no harm.

Mainland Spanish and International Wines

Beyond Lanzarote, we stock well-chosen wines from the rest of Spain: Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Albariño from Rías Baixas. We also have Italian Prosecco, French Champagne and Cava. If you're hosting a villa dinner or celebrating something, tell us what you're cooking and your budget and we'll suggest bottles. Mixed cases are a popular choice with groups, with a few Lanzarote bottles for the novelty and a few familiar names for everyone else.

Supermarket Wine or a Wine Shop?

You can buy at the supermarket, and they do have some Lanzarote wines. But the selection is limited, usually 5-10 options against our 90 or more. The bottles are stored on warm shelves rather than properly, and there's nobody to advise you. You also won't find the specialist bodegas or the aged reserves.

We've had plenty of customers come to us after a disappointing supermarket bottle. We ask what they normally drink, pour them a couple of things, and they leave with something they actually like.

Email us at consultas@brunchi.shop and we'll bring it to your hotel, villa or apartment. It's handy for stocking a villa fridge before a big group arrives.

Practical Tips Before You Visit

• We're closed all day on Sundays, so if you want wine for a Sunday lunch, buy it on Saturday.
• Late morning and early evening are the quieter times for a relaxed tasting, with the tourists and dinner crowds around them.
• Taking bottles home? Most people pack them in checked luggage wrapped in clothes. Check your airline's rules first.
• If a bottle is faulty when you buy it, we'll replace it or give store credit, as Canary Islands law requires. We can't give cash refunds.

Visit Us

Brunchi.shop, Calle El Burrugo 44B, Marina Rubicon, Playa Blanca. We're open Monday to Saturday 10am-3pm and 6pm-10pm, and closed Sundays. We're at the bottom end of the marina, near La Taberna restaurant, and you'll spot the blue Yaiza bottles in the window. Email consultas@brunchi.shop if you want to check we have a specific wine in stock before you visit.