Lanzarote Rosé Wines

An Introduction to Listán Negro

Listán Negro is the only native red grape produced on the island. In Wine Shop Lanzarote we are great fans of it and see the clients on our wine tours being very pleasantly surprised when they taste it for the first time!

It has a light red colour, thin skin, it is small, and it has a fruity but at the same time smoky character. Interesting, don’t you think?

Due to its special notes and characteristics, it has taken a few years to perfect, but the red and rosé wines that have being produced over the past years are unique, giving a real sense of identity.

How Rosé wines were made

Viticulture has always been a family thing in Lanzarote. A hundred years ago, nearly every house used to have a little plot where they grew vines, and a little winery, where they produced the wine for the year.

Farmers just mixed all the red and white grapes that they had grown all together and made a pink wine. I have to say that the result was not very professional or spectacular back then, but the older generation of Islanders still like to drink rosé wines.

How Rose wines are now made

Thankfully, times have changed.  Now, most of the rosé wines in the Island are usually made only with red grapes and Listán Negro is still the star!

Did you know that most of the white and red grapes are white inside?  The colour of the wine in fact comes from the skin!  Maceration is therefore not usually applied to white wines, but for the rosé and reds, it is a must (pardon the pun!).

There are different elaboration methods you may find on the Island, all of them giving as a result different types of rosés.

The most traditional one is skin contact maceration: the must is macerated with the skins between 6 and 48h. The longer you leave the skin in contact with the must, the deeper pink or red colour it will have.

The second type is the Saignée, a French word which means literally “bleeding”. From the must of a red wine, winemakers separate (bleed off) a certain quantity of wine, normally around 10%; this contributes to intensify the colour, and that 10% bleeded off is fermented and ends up being a deep pink rosé.

The third method is the direct press. Basically, the red grapes are processed as white grapes: they are pressed directly for a short time, providing little colour to the must. The result is an extremely pale pink wine.  This style is becoming more and more popular.

In Lanzarote, most wine makers still love to see the sunlight reflected in a glass of deep pink wine, but there is a growing variation of hues.

Which one is best? It is up to YOU to decide!

From the lightest to the darkest ones, you can find a selection here, even one with fizz!

A wine for each occasion

Here's our suggestions:

Midday stop before lunch:

Rosado Vulcano: light, refreshing and easy to drink. Intense cherry colour, crisp and fresh.  Vulcano is a boutique artisan winery who goes to great efforts to produce exceptional wine.  Their rosés are not always made directly after the harvest, but instead they preserve the juice at very low temperatures until they need to produce.  This “must bank” method was a process introduced to Lanzarote by Vulcano and is now a popular process on the Island.  It means that wines are always fresh!  Did I tell you they are vegan too?

More info here.

Lunch in the golf club:

Rosado Bermejo: One of Bermejo’s main characteristics is that they are innovative, so they prefer the trendy salmon tone. Their rosés are made under the direct press method.

It is surprising and evolving on the palate, with persistent fresh and citric flavours I would say, with unmistakable minerally undertones.

Incredibly popular in the United States, due to the little crops in the past years it is even difficult to find in Lanzarote!  Luckily we have a few bottles left in our cellar!

More info here.

Special occasion:

Bermejo Rosado Brut Nature: If you really want to surprise your other half, your friends or family on a special occasion, this is your wine!

Pale strawberry colour, complex aromas, with a crisp fresh start due to the light bubbles.  A long finish thanks to the 12 month-aging on lees.

More info here.

We hope you enjoy exploring Lanzarote’s rosés!  Should you need any help or like to share your tasting notes with us then please drop us a line!

Cheers from Lanzarote!