The City Council of this northern town publishes a free publication that offers aspects related to each winemaker, such as the grape varieties that they use, the farm they grow and other information of interest.
The ancient chroniclers already referred to the region of Acentejo or Centejo as a land of wines. In this sense, the historian Juan Núñez de la Peña reported in 1676: “This place in Centejo (…) has many vineyards.” Also the José de Viera y Clavijo polygraph, in the first volume of Noticias de la Historia General de las Islas Canarias (1772-1773), pointed out: «It is a land of vineyards and fruit trees. It is half a league from La Matanza and 3 from La Laguna ». For its part, the Gazetteer-Statistical-Historical Dictionary of Spain and its Overseas Possessions (1845-1850), by Pascual Madoz, refers to La Victoria as a place located “on the north coast of the island, in the municipality of Acentejo and in a beautiful plain, surrounded by vineyards and orchards; it has a mild and temperate climate ». And he says about the land: “although dry, in general it is of good quality, with some vineyard plantations and fruit trees.” Among his productions he enumerates “agriculture, the main wealth, and the second the export of the surplus fruits, and especially wine, to the city of La Laguna.”
This centuries-old winemaking tradition “goes back to the beginning of the 16th century”, at which time the conquerors planted the first vines, Juan Antonio García, mayor of the northern town, expresses with great pride. And that residence of the vineyard in this territory over the centuries explains the enormous roots and importance that the wine culture represents for the municipality, “making Victorian wine one of our hallmarks”, the councilor underlines. From that firm conviction, the City Council has just published a free guide, called La Victoria de Acentejo. Land of wines, to promote local wineries. This guide provides general information on vine growing, agricultural landscapes and local wine production, as well as Victorian winemaking history and tradition. Most of the publication is distributed in different sections that offer, in detail, aspects related to each producer, their winery, the grape varieties used, the farm where they are grown and other information of interest about their wines, in addition to indicating if they have a guachinche or a still life where to taste them.
“With the publication of this guide we intend to promote and value the work carried out by the wine growers of the municipality, from the smallest to those with the largest holdings,” the mayor highlights. In this first edition, for which the Victorian city council has received a grant of 15,000 euros from the Government of the Canary Islands, there has been the participation of a small sample of local wine producers, a total of eleven, although the intention is to go incorporating more wineries and even catering establishments for future editions of the guide, “in order to promote our food and wine offer in a somewhat more extensive way.”
This publication is disseminated both in physical and digital format and has an initial circulation of a thousand copies that will be distributed free of charge in hotels and tourist offices, as well as at fairs and other events – as happened recently on the occasion of the celebration of Gastronomika, in San Sebastián–, or in the premises of the City Council itself. In addition, it can also be consulted online, through an application, and on the municipal website. «Our objective is to disseminate it, at least in the regional sphere, so that the potential of La Victoria wines is known so that, in this way, the consumer can recognize them on the shelves of large stores and, of course, in the wineries themselves, ”says the mayor.
Wine production is considered a strategic line for the local economy, so this guide represents “a new tool that will allow us to publicize the tradition, dedication and enormous professionalism behind our wineries,” says Juan Antonio García about a municipality in which practically 98% of the wines come from red grapes, from the listán negro, negramoll and, to a lesser extent, tintilla varieties.
Axes: viticulture and restoration
The Victorian mayor emphasizes that “together with the offer of our extraordinary wines, the Villa offers visitors a complete gastronomic variety in its many restaurants, wineries and guachinches.” The wine-making and restaurant sectors represent “two of our most important economic drivers, which also fit into a sustainable development model that contributes to the preservation of the agricultural landscape and a wine-growing tradition with centuries of history,” he points out.
Precisely, the guachinche, despite being a temporary resource, “generates an important activity and more in these times of crisis, meaning as a sustenance for family economies”, emphasizes the mayor.
The trellised vineyard system has replaced the traditional creeping model, which facilitates the tasks of winegrowers, “people who work tirelessly”, recognizes Juan Antonio García. “They are the real gardeners of the territory”, highlights the mayor, the conformers of an agricultural landscape that represents a unique attraction for tourists and visitors, who marvel at the spectacular sights of the upholstered midlands of vineyards.
“We are considering the project of building a viewpoint,” says the mayor, although it is certainly enough to let yourself be carried away by the network of agricultural tracks, roads and trails to fall asleep at the sight of so much natural beauty.
“With affection and from the love of tradition”
Given that the wine of La Victoria de Acentejo is characterized, the mayor of this town does not hesitate to define it with the adjective of «ancestral», the kind that is transmitted «from generation to generation» and, above all, differentiating it by its condition of being «A product that is made from the affection and love of tradition». Juan Antonio García admits that the production processes have been improving a lot over the last few years “and this is accredited by our Office of the Farmer, precisely one of the ones that carries out the largest number of samples,” he explains. And it also maintains that the guidelines set by this body “are strictly applied by the winegrower”, one of the reasons that has made it possible to enhance its differentiating character. By the way, he recalls the bulk wine competition held annually by the city council, of which twelve editions have already been completed, “an appointment on which the tasters do not hesitate to value the enormous quality of the samples that are presented”, he points out. As he explains, “it is a wine recognized at the island and regional level, and as an administration our task is aimed at providing winegrowers with all possible tools to maintain this level.” The City Council has been making numerous efforts to maintain and improve the primary sector.
