2019 D.O. Abona "Flor de Chasna - Blanco Afrutado", Canary islands, Spain
DO area on the Spanish island of Tenerife; see under Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (Spanish: Canarias), a group of islands belonging to Spain with about 7,500 km², are located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. This is 1,100 km from mainland Spain, but the easternmost island of Lanzarote is only 100 kilometres from Africa(Morocco). When the Romans landed on the island of Fuerteventura in ancient times, they found numerous packs of wild dogs, so they named the island "Insula Canaria" (Dog Island). In 1402 a Spanish ship landed on Gran Canaria and found there the original population of the Guanches, this people still lived like in the stone age. The Spaniards and Portuguese...
Wine-growing in Spain has an ancient tradition, as vines were already cultivated 3000 years before Christ. The Phoenicians founded the city of Gadir (Cádiz) around 1100 B.C. and carried on lively trade in wine in the Mediterranean. The first flourishing was in 200 B.C., because the Romans loved the wine from Baetica (Andalusia). The development was stopped by the invasion of the Moors in 711. For religious reasons the Muslims cleared large parts of the vineyards or only allowed the production of raisins. They brought with them the art of distillation, but this was not used for alcoholic drinks, but essential oils, as...
