Listan Negro (Canary Islands)

If you are a typical person or even one who would consider herself particularly worldly, it's likely that you've neither been to the Canary Islands nor experienced the joys of wine made from Listan Negro. Today, we put an end to both those droughts, albeit vicariously.

The Canaries are a Spanish archipelago, a fancy name for a group of islands, eight in this case, that is situated just off the west coast of the ssouthern part of Morocco. The best known of those islands and the one we are visiting today is usually known as Tenerife although its official name is much longer. That's where we are headed today.

We expected our trip to be difficult. Getting from Budapest to Tenerife had to include several layovers. But, we got very lucky finding a Budapest-headquartered airline called (no, I am not making this up) Wizz Air. It has a direct flight and we got it.

Tenerife is a beautiful island. Home to one of the tallest (from base in the ocean to summit) volcanoes in the world, it's a beach lover's paradise. It's warm and sunny year round with very little rain, but it's rarely brutally hot. The beaches, while varied, are mostly composed of sand composed of volcanic remains. The sun reflects quite naturally off the sand on those beaches. Bring your sunscreen.

To the northeast of the town of Tenerife, we find cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Here, neither terraced nor trellised, we find Listan Negro grapes growing wild. Machinery can't get there and for the most part, people working alone have difficulty. But, Tenerife has a decently large supply of Barbary sheep and goats, animals which have no trouble at all in navigating the cliffs and they are used as an aid in getting the wine workers to and from the grapes and in hauling the grapes back to the production area.

If you like Grenache, particularly as found in Chateauneuf du Pape, you'll probably like Listan Negro. While it's typically lower in alcohol content, you can still expect the distinct notes of white pepper, lavender, and leather.

But, Listan Negro is made a bit differently. Apparently, the herbal notes common in Grenache and also in Listan Negro age poorly in today's grape. So, winemakers typically use a process known as carbonic maceration. This is the same process made famous in eaujolais.The grapes are exposed to large quantities of carbon dioxide before crush. This has the effect of softening tannins and exposing more fruit flavor. It also often brings out banana notes.

In the finest Listan Negro, we get lots of peppery spice, smoky minerality, and deep, dark fruit. Enjoy your Listan Negro with wild game or meats slow-cooked on the smoker. But, most of all, don't forget to add some of the Canary Islands' own Mojo Picon.