La Geria: Lanzarote's Volcanic Wine Region
La Geria is the black volcanic valley between Uga and Masdache where most of Lanzarote’s wine is grown. It is a 20 minute drive from Costa Teguise, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1993, and one of the few places in Europe where vines are farmed in pits of volcanic ash rather than on normal soil. This is the practical guide we give to guests who want to spend an afternoon there from Casa Los Alisios.
What makes La Geria different?
Between 1730 and 1736 a chain of eruptions from Timanfaya buried roughly a quarter of Lanzarote under lava and lapilli. When the ash settled, farmers discovered that it acted as a natural mulch: it kept moisture in the soil, caught the trade wind dew at night, and insulated the roots from the heat. They dug funnel-shaped pits two to three metres across and as deep again, down to the fertile soil, planted a single vine at the bottom, and built a semicircular stone wall (a zoco) to shelter it from the northeast wind. The result is a vineyard that looks nothing like one.
The signature grape is Malvasía Volcánica, a natural cross between Malvasía Aromática and Marmajuelo that exists only in the Canary Islands. It survives with less than 150 mm of rain a year and produces dry whites with a saline, mineral edge that tastes unmistakably of the place. The appellation is D.O. Lanzarote and covers around 5,000 hectares spread across Yaiza, Tías, Tinajo, San Bartolomé and Teguise.
How do I get to La Geria from Costa Teguise?
The quickest route is south from Costa Teguise via Tahíche and San Bartolomé, then west onto the LZ-30 wine road at Masdache. About 25 km and 20 minutes door to door. Once you pass Masdache the landscape turns black and the vineyards start on both sides of the road.
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Parking is easy at every bodega. Each has its own car park directly off the LZ-30, so you can hop between three or four sites in an afternoon without ever looking for a space. If you are driving yourself, nominate a designated driver, tastings are generous and the road has plenty of blind bends.
Which bodegas should you visit?
There are roughly a dozen D.O. Lanzarote bodegas open to visitors, but four cover most of what guests actually ask about.
Bodegas El Grifo
El Grifo was founded in 1775 and is the oldest working winery in the Canary Islands, and one of the oldest still operating in Spain. It sits just off the LZ-30 in San Bartolomé, on the northeastern edge of the protected landscape. The estate is family-run and still produces Malvasía, Moscatel, Listán Negro and a well-known sweet Canari dessert wine.
The Museo del Vino El Grifo is inside the old 19th century cellar on the same site, with original presses, pumps and stills, plus the vineyard with some of the oldest vines on the island. The easiest visit is the 45 minute audio-guided El Grifo Your Way at 15 EUR (under 17s free), which covers the museum, a vineyard walk and a two-wine tasting. A 35 minute guided tasting of five selected wines is 30 EUR, and the full two-hour Wine Lovers tour with a six-wine tasting is 50 EUR (95 EUR if you add the 90 minute lunch at the on-site restaurant). Open Monday to Friday 10:00 to 17:15 last entry, wine shop until 18:30. Saturday tastings are at the El Grifo Mozaga restaurant from 13:00 only.
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Bodega La Geria
The tourist standard, and the one most coach tours stop at. Bodega La Geria sits at km 19 of the LZ-30 in Yaiza, with a big terrace looking straight out over the vineyards and a shop stocked with their own Malvasía Seco, Semidulce and Moscatel. Walk-in tastings by the glass in the barrel warehouse, a café for tapas and local cheese, and plenty of parking. Expect coaches from 11:00 onwards on weekdays.
Open daily 10:00 to 19:00. Guided tours and vineyard walks can be booked in advance on their site. If you only have time for one stop, this is the easiest one to make work with a rental car.
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Bodega Stratvs
Stratvs opened in 2008 as a modern destination bodega in Uga, a few minutes down the wine road from Bodega La Geria. It has a full restaurant (El Aljibe del Obispo) serving Canarian dishes built around local products, a wine shop, and a wide terrace over the valley. Guided tours run daily; check their site for current tour times and hours before you go.
This is the one to pick if you want the visit to double as lunch. Book a table if you are going on a weekend, the restaurant fills up quickly between 13:00 and 15:00. The shop stocks their full range and their Saturday afternoon “sound pairing” tasting (13:00 to 15:30) is worth booking if you are in the valley on a weekend.
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Bodegas Los Bermejos
Los Bermejos is a small producer in San Bartolomé, a few kilometres north of the main wine road, that many Lanzarote locals will quietly nominate as their favourite. Fourteen wines, all from their own vineyards in La Geria and the surrounding zocos, with a strong focus on Malvasía Volcánica. Our personal pick for a bottle to bring home is their Bermejo Malvasía Seco Fermentado en Barrica, a limited run of around 4,000 bottles a year of Malvasía fermented and aged in oak. Mineral, textured and worth seeking out.
The bodega opens Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 15:00. Walk-in terrace tastings by the glass are 3.50 EUR and do not need a booking. The 40 minute guided tour of the cellar and barrel room with a two-wine tasting and a local cheese plate is 21 EUR, booked through their site. Closed Saturday and Sunday, so plan ahead if you want to visit the site itself. Most bodegas and good wine shops across the island also stock the bottles if a visit does not fit.
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What wine should you taste?
Malvasía Volcánica is the one to focus on. Ask for the seco (dry) version first and you will get a fresh, saline white with stone fruit and a slight volcanic grip on the finish. The semidulce (off-dry) and dulce (sweet) versions are worth trying in a flight if the bodega offers one, and Moscatel is the classic dessert match.
On the red side, Listán Negro is the main grape, producing lighter, slightly smoky reds similar in weight to a Beaujolais. A few bodegas also bottle Syrah and Tempranillo grown elsewhere on the island, but the interesting bottles are the ones made from grapes that only grow here.
When is the best time to visit?
Weekdays before 11:00 are the calmest. From 11:00 onwards, coach tours roll in at Bodega La Geria and Stratvs in particular. Afternoons around 16:00 are quieter again. Saturdays are busy at the walk-in bodegas but quiet at Los Bermejos (closed), so plan your route around whichever sites you most want to see.
Mid-August through late September is harvest (la vendimia). The vineyards are full of workers hand-picking the grapes that each vine produces, and some bodegas offer harvest experiences you can book through them directly. The Wine Run Lanzarote in June turns the wine road into a race course for two mornings, another reason to either come for it or avoid that weekend.
Can you bring wine back to the villa?
Yes, easily. Casa Los Alisios has a full kitchen, a cool pantry for storing bottles between tastings and dinners, and a terrace where a chilled Malvasía at sunset works as well as you would expect. Most bodegas will pack multiple bottles in a padded carrier for the drive back. If you are flying home, airline checked baggage allowances typically cover a case of 12 if you have a hard wine box, and there are wine shops at Lanzarote Airport for last-minute picks.
If you are planning a full day, La Geria pairs naturally with the top things to see in Lanzarote and Timanfaya National Park to the west. Cyclists use the same road for one of the classic rides on the island, covered in our road cycling guide from Costa Teguise. And if your trip lands on a Sunday, the Teguise Sunday market is only 15 minutes back toward the villa and sells Malvasía from most of the bodegas above.
Casa Los Alisios is 20 minutes by car from the bodegas, with parking at the door for the drive back, a full kitchen for a Canarian dinner with the bottles you bring home, and the communal pool for the afternoon once you are back from the valley.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How far is La Geria from Costa Teguise?
- La Geria is about 20 minutes by car from Costa Teguise, roughly 25 km south via Tahíche and San Bartolomé onto the LZ-30 wine road. The LZ-30 runs straight through the valley, with bodegas signposted every few hundred metres between Uga and Masdache.
- Which bodega in Lanzarote should I visit?
- It depends on what you want. Bodegas El Grifo (founded 1775) is the oldest in the Canary Islands and has a small wine museum on site. Bodega La Geria is the classic tourist stop with big car parks and walk-in tastings. Bodega Stratvs is the modern option with a full restaurant. Bodegas Los Bermejos produces some of the most respected wines on the island and offers guided tours on weekdays.
- What wine should I try in La Geria?
- Malvasía Volcánica. It is the signature white grape of Lanzarote, grown nowhere else in the world, and it produces dry, mineral whites with a distinct volcanic character. Ask for a dry (seco) Malvasía at any bodega. Listán Negro is the main red grape if you prefer something darker.
- Do I need to book a bodega tour in advance?
- For a walk-in glass at the tasting counter, no. Most bodegas open their doors from 10:00 to 18:00 and will pour by the glass or do a small paid flight without a reservation. For a proper guided tour of the vineyards and cellar, yes, especially at Los Bermejos (weekdays only) and El Grifo. Book a day or two ahead in high season.
- Is La Geria worth visiting if you do not drink wine?
- Yes. La Geria is a UNESCO-protected landscape and one of the strangest agricultural scenes in Europe. Thousands of single vines planted in black volcanic ash pits, each protected by a curved stone wall. The drive along the LZ-30 between Uga and Masdache is worth the trip on its own, and most bodegas serve coffee, food and local cheese alongside the wine.
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