History of The Ycoden-Daute-Isora Wine Region

Wine searcher say, "Ycoden-Daute-Isora is the most ancient
but most recently Denominated of Spain's regions. The best
dry white wines in Tenerife, from the Listan Blanco grape,
are made here." (I think the reds are even better.)

The region of Ycoden-Daute-Isora, which was constituted in
1994, started with 800 hectares and now has more than 2,000
hectares of vines, most of them with the varieties of listan
blanca and listan negro. It includes the areas of San Juan
de la Rambla, Guia de Isora, La Guancha, Icod de los Vinos,
Garachico, Los Silos, Buenavista del Norte, El Tanque and
Santiago del Teide.

This recently created Denomination of Origin, which takes
its name from early Guanche kingdoms and dominions, from the
far western side of the island of Tenerife is a recognition
of the ancient wine growing pedigree of the region with its
recognized centres like Icod de los Vinos and La Guancha.

Wine growing began here in the 16th and 17th Centuries and
is inseparable from the history of the islands themselves.

Being almost the only economy, both locally and of Tenerife
at that time, had a determining influence on the customs,
the landscape, the history, the art and the culture of the
area. The Canary Islands being then an obligatory stop
between Europe and America, exported the famous "Canary"
wine from the port of Garachico. It was to the wines of this
region that William Shakespeare was referring, in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, saying, "Canary, a marvellous and
penetrating wine that perfumes the blood."

Today it is an area of small but vigorous wineries with new
ideas.

The vineyards grow in small terraces built into the slopes
of the mountains, generally, between altitudes of 200 and
800 meters and, the rich volcanic soil and mild climate give
the wine its own unique aroma.

The whites obtained from the Listan Blanco and Malvasia
species predominate but the red, made mainly out of Listan
Negro and Negramoll are velvety to the palate and have an
unique character.

A long, phylloxera-free past in Tenerife has allowed twenty-
seven wine-making grape varieties to survive. Authorized
varieties in the Ycoden-Daute-Isora region include; Bastardo
blanco, Bermejuela, Forastera blanca, Gual, Listán blanco
and Listán negro, Malvasía, Moscatel, Pedro Ximénez, Sabro,
Torrontés, Verdello, Vijariego (blancas), Bastardo negro,
Negramoll, Tintilla, Malvasía rosada, Moscatell negra and
Vijariego negro (tintas).

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