The braided cordon or traditional cordon is a unique vineyard cultivation technique in the world. It can be found in the northern region of Tenerife and has allowed the dual use of the land for centuries. In this ancient vineyard training system, old wooden arms intertwined with the previous years’ shoots form a long trunk in the shape of a braided cord. This is how the grapevines are arranged in rows called males and grow towards the south, following the upward slope of the land. These vine cords can be double in a V-shape with one arm to the north and the other to the south branching from the same trunk. The vines are lifted off the ground with forks that allow the alignment of the entire cord. The result of this entire process offers a unique landscape that in winter, with the absence of leaves, gives us the embrace of old wood with the new.
The farmer has always made a virtue of necessity. Hence, this cultivation method has served for a dual use of the soil, as after the grape harvest, the cords were dismantled, turned ninety degrees, leaving that space free for other crops.
A unique cord in the world / Marta Casanova
Agustín García Farrais is the shoot that, intertwined with his parents and grandparents, extends the cord towards a future that glimpses hopefully for the production of quality wines like the ones he produces at the Tajinaste winery, following a family tradition dating back to 1940. Agustín is a specialist in viticulture and oenology from the Requena School in Valencia, although he has furthered his studies in Bordeaux, Ribera del Duero, or at Montagne St Emilion (France). He opens the doors of his plantation to learn a little more about a cultivation system that he himself applies to 90 percent of his land and that will soon be declared as a Cultural Interest Asset (BIC) in the category of Traditional Craft Technique, as the file has been initiated by the Cabildo de Tenerife.
A unique cord in the world / Marta Casanova
But, why does this technique only emerge in the north of Tenerife and mainly in the Valle de La Orotava? One of the theories has to do with the worldwide popularity of malvasia wines and their commercialization from Puerto de la Cruz. This proximity to the main export dock, coupled with favourable climatic conditions, altitude, and very fertile soils, have been determining factors for the production of an aromatic variety, long-pruned and of great vigour that required the incorporation of this unusual system. Nowadays, the varieties cultivated with the braided cord system are mainly listán blanco in the Los Realejos area, and listán negro in La Perdoma and La Florida, in the municipality of La Orotava. At higher altitudes, around 500 meters, grapes with less sugar concentration are produced but are more fresh, while at lower altitudes, the grapes have less acidity and are sweeter.
Another of the peculiarities that makes our wines unique is the production system of “a pie franco”, without rootstocks. “A model that has allowed us to follow a mass selection process to obtain a new plant from a shoot of the same pruning, previously buried. This cannot be done in any other region in the world because the phylloxera insect, which has never reached our territory, bites the plant’s root and prevents it from feeding until it dies. In this case, there is no alternative but to choose a rootstock that suits the soil and also has good affinity with the desired variety to be produced. In Canarias, fortunately, we can continue planting directly preserving that mass selection diversity that provides such valuable complexity to our wines. However, for greater guarantees in obtaining healthy material, we also collaborate with Cultesa on a plant sanitation project from that old plant to achieve new nurseries free of any viruses”.
A unique cord in the world / Marta Casanova
The white and black listán vines in braided cords that can be seen in the García Farrais family vineyards are over 100 years old, and their trunks continue to intertwine with the new shoots. “My grandmother, Candelaria Farrais, was a courageous woman who was widowed young and raised six daughters with a grocery store where she mostly sold the wine she produced.” That passion was passed on to her daughter Cecilia, known as Chila, who is already a reference in the world of viticulture. As she herself claims, being born among vineyards has allowed her to be linked to the field since she was a child, “a tough job that requires effort but, above all, enthusiasm.” The same enthusiasm that led her in 1980 to bottle the table wine El Ratiño and that she shares with her husband, with whom years later, in 1992, she founded the Tajinaste brand, with the Designation of Origin Valle de La Orotava.
In the week when we celebrate International Women’s Day, Chila is a prime example of a successful businesswoman in a sector where women have played a fundamental yet silent role. She began working at a very young age on the El Ratiño estate in La Orotava, alongside her sisters, forming a whole saga
Cecilia Garcia, a field woman who followed in her mother’s footsteps, is more widely recognised for her work in the wine sector. Not only did Chila excel as a winemaker, but she also became an ambassador for this craft in various parts of Europe.
Her and her husband, Agustin, established this winery by upholding the family’s winemaking tradition. The oldest vines, planted by their ancestors, date back to 1914. Over the years, new varieties have been added, and today their wines are not only available in the Canarian and mainland markets, but also in prestigious restaurants worldwide.
Agustin’s studies and experience in other wine-producing regions have contributed to modernising winemaking techniques, while still maintaining the tradition and care with which his family nurtures the grapes into wine. After analysing the wines produced in other parts of the world, he appreciates above all our great diversity resulting from a rugged terrain and a microclimate influenced by the trade winds, which favour a unique viticulture.
“We have the oldest vineyards in Europe without being affected by the phylloxera plague, which has allowed us to preserve the listán Prieto variety, very similar to the Mission grape, Criolla, or Pais, considered the first vine planted in America. This international recognition leads many experts from places such as California, Argentina, or Chile to seek the origin of their varieties here, present in the vineyards of the Islands. Continuing to produce with extinct varietals from other places highlights the relevance and extraordinary character of Canarian wine on an international level. The prestige of our wines precedes sherry, port, and even Madeira. Canary Wine has always upheld this extraordinary character, accompanied by a historical landscape where unique vineyard techniques and methods have developed, such as the braided cord, equally unique in the global wine context,” Agustin tells us.
Currently, Canary Wine has regained much of its ancestral prestige in important national and international competitions such as the Brussels World Competition, the Bacchus International Competition, or the Decanter World Wine Awards, where various Canarian wineries have received distinguished awards and recognition.
Now, a question arises as to whether this sector is truly profitable enough to ensure generational succession, ushered in by individuals like Agustin, in the face of a somewhat uncertain future. The answer, according to him, lies in making the activity more attractive to young people. “If we do nothing, it will be challenging, but far from being pessimistic, I believe it is necessary to take advantage of the advantages we have over other regions. The declaration of the braided cord as a Cultural Heritage in the category of Traditional Craft Technique is great news for the value it represents in preserving that cultivation method and as a tourist attraction. In this sense, wine tourism is a way to diversify the traditional tourist offer, and in the north of Tenerife, we have all the conditions for its development.”
“In our winery, we have been following this path for quite some time as a complement to wine production, and more and more tourists and locals are visiting us to learn about that other culture linked to the countryside,” adds Agustin. There are increasingly more wineries joining these types of initiatives with guided tours, visits, workshops, or tastings that also provide added value in terms of professionalizing the sector with qualified specialists such as oenologists and sommeliers, among others.
This is simply a way to reclaim the reputation that great figures like William Shakespeare gave to our wines, the main ambassador of the so-called Canary, a term he used to refer to Canarian wine on four occasions. The most famous quote can be found in Henry IV, where it is described as “a delightfully penetrating wine that perfumes the blood.”
On the left, above, an example of the braided cord technique in vine cultivation; below, Chila, known popularly as Cecilia Garcia, hard at work in her vineyards; above these lines, an example of the guided tours offered by the Tajinaste winery.
