The Timanfaya eruptions transformed Lanzarote forever. What once seemed to be barren land gave rise to a new way of farming, based on adapting to the landscape and making the most of volcanic ash.

The enarenados, first developed in La Geria and later adopted across the island, made it possible to retain soil moisture and cultivate crops in a place where rainfall is scarce. Thanks to this technique, crops such as potatoes, onions, tomatoes and, above all, grapevines were able to thrive.

Today, the vineyards of La Geria are the finest example of how human ingenuity learned to work with the volcano, turning adversity into one of the world's most distinctive agricultural landscapes.

Picón and the Enarenados

The volcanic ash that covered the fields after the eruptions, known as picón, proved to be an extraordinary material. Spread over the soil, it acts like a sponge, absorbing moisture from the air at night and slowly releasing it during the day, while protecting plant roots from the sun and the wind.

This ability to retain moisture made picón the foundation of the enarenados, an agricultural technique that enabled previously unproductive land to be cultivated.

La Geria and Viticulture

Today, grapevines are Lanzarote's most iconic crop. In La Geria, the vines are planted in pits dug into the layer of volcanic ash and protected by small semicircular stone walls, known as socos, which reduce the impact of the wind. This cultivation system continues to be carried out almost entirely by hand.

Several grape varieties are grown on the island, most notably Malvasía Volcánica and Listán Negro, the grapes behind some of Lanzarote's most renowned wines. The municipality of Tinajo accounts for between 35% and 40% of the island's wine production.