Canary Islands' volcanic wines first caught my attention during a 2025 visit. Our February 2026 return was the perfect opportunity to continue wine adventures in the Canary Islands. After an earlier introduction to Tenerife wines, I was excited to, not only return to Tenerife but also, visit Lanzarote. Lanzarote in particular has gained attention for the uniqueness of its volcanic wines. The wines are unique both in taste, and how the grapes are grown. When we docked in Arrecife, the capital city of Lanzarote, the first thing that catches your attention is the desert landscape.
Lanzarote Wineries
We made two winery stops. Bodega La Geria, a wine shop and tasting room, was our first stop.
The five main grape varieties grown on the island (whites: Malvasía Volcanica, Listan Blanco, Diego, and Moscatel de Alejandria, and red: Listan Negro). Since phylloxera never arrived on Lanzarote, the vines are all ungrafted.
Bodega La Geria © Spaswinefood
Our first winery stop was a busy place. We were quickly given two wines to try. Basically the only description I heard was dry and sweet.
My first impression of local wines was not great. This was definitely influenced by the atmosphere where samples were quickly dispensed to visitors arriving on large buses. I did observe that Bodega La Geria has full range of wines for purchase. I am sure that some tours provide a better wine tasting experience than one we took. I would highly recommend booking a small private tour.
Bodegas Rubicón, the second winery stop, was just across the street. Here we received a brief introduction to the wines.
We were introduced to five different Bodegas Rubicón wines.
Bodegas Rubicón has an impressive history. In 1979 Don Germán López Figueras bought the Cortijo de La Geria, from the Fajardo family. He dedicated himself to his passion: winemaking. For decades, the winery has been dedicated to the artisanal production of wine.
Touring the winery we discovered first hand some of its history. We were free to tour the winery on our own.
After the tasting we bought some additional wines to taste. We enjoyed these wines outside while taking in the views.
Intro to Lanzarote's Food and Wine Scene
After our Bodegas Rubicón visit we stopped at a restaurant in San Bartolomé where we sampled some local cuisine with wine. Casa-Museo al Campesino Restaurant is located in the geographic centre of the island in the San Bartolomé municipality. The restaurant offers wines and dishes for visitors to explore and enjoy. It was a delightful stop.
After exploring this stunning restaurant we settled on a table outside in the shade.
One of our fellow travelers ordered a variety of small plates to try. Amongst the dishes was Papas Arrugadas. Papas Arrugadas (Wrinkled Potatoes) is prepared with small new potatoes boiled in salt water that evaporates, leaving the potatoes with a thin layer of salt and wrinkled potato skins. This dish hails from the Canary Islands, where the potatoes are served with a sauce called mojo, such as mojo verde, and mojo rojo.
This stop built upon to our earlier introduction to the Canary Island gastronomy. For it was during our first visit to Santa Cruz de Tenerife we were introduced to Papas Arrugadas. Given potatoes are important to Tenerife, and it was suggested we try various potato dishes. That influenced our decision to order two local potato dishes to pair with the wines.
1. Papas Arrugadas
Papas Arrugadas, Guannabí Restaurante, Tenerife © Spaswinefood
Papas Arrugadas (Wrinkled Potatoes) is prepared with small new potatoes boiled in salt water that evaporates, leaving the potatoes with a thin layer of salt and wrinkled potato skins. The dish hails from the Canary Islands, where the potatoes are served with a sauce called mojo, such as mojo verde, and mojo rojo.
2. Papas Panaderas
Our plate of Papas Panaderas was served with poached eggs, cheese and sauce.
We enjoyed our wine and food pairing lunch. This was an excellent kick-off for tasting Tenerife wines. When we tasted the wines alone we were not excited however, when paired with local foods we liked them. 
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All too soon our visit to the Canary Islands was over and we would continue on our cruise towards Morocco, and then into the Mediterranean. Join me in the sharing of wine adventures from Canary Islands and elsewhere at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon and at Spaswinefood on Bluesky and Facebook.
