Cultivation

The vine grows well in many different conditions. However, its cultivation requires much hard work in order to obtain high-quality fruit. In the Canary Islands, the best moment to sow vine seeds or to plant cuttings is in winter.

Once the seeds have germinated or the cuttings taken root, it is necessary to wait two years to obtain fruit suitable for fermentation.

Traditionally in the Canary Islands, a technique known as “poda en vaso� has been used: a thick stem of the grapevine is forced to grow along the ground, imitating the shape of a wineglass.

It was also usual to train the vine over an arbour built at the main entrance or on the porch of country houses.

The vine goes through different phases in its growth. Between March and October the plant develops and becomes covered with leaves. Then, at the end of the summer, the grape clusters appear. After this period, a winter rest state begins, lasting from November to February, in which the plant loses all its leaves

In the Canary Islands the grape harvest takes place between September and October, depending on the area of the island. Pruning is usually carried out in February and March; from it, the shoots that will be used for planting new vines are obtained

Nowadays, new cultivation techniques have been adopted in order to obtain greater productivity. The mountainous terrain of the Canary Islands does not allow for the mechanization of the greater part of agricultural tasks. However, it does favour the introduction of new ways of shaping the grapevine. When the plant is big enough, it is trained to continue its growth on a framework laid out in rows which is generally known as “espalier cultivation�.