The harvest arrives in Tenerife with its annual cycle. A little later than last year, as it began in the last week of July, and with lower production due to the persistent drought despite the spring rains in March and April. It is expected to collect two million kilos of grapes, compared to three in 2024; that is, a 35% decrease (30% in La Palma) according to the worst predictions, although other sources reduce the annual deficit to between 10% and 20%. Furthermore, Tenerife viticulture is on high alert these days due to the detected presence of a focus of the devastating insect Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, the feared phylloxera, on a farm in Valle de Guerra (La Laguna).
These two factors, the water crisis and the threat of the plague, make this year’s harvest particularly special. “Without any impact on the quality of the wine,” warn those in the sector. On one side, the extreme heat in mid-August, with maximum alert also included in this case, threatens to burst the fruit. On the other hand, phylloxera poses a serious threat to the 3,200 hectares of vineyard cultivation, equivalent to as many football fields on the Island, and if not halted in time, it will have an “unstoppable” expansion with unpredictable consequences.
Juan Jesús Méndez Siverio is a chemist, winemaker, and director of Bodegas Viñátigo, located in the municipality of La Guancha, as well as president of the Association of Vinegrowers and Winemakers of Canarias (Avibo), which aggregates 970 vine growers and 53 of the 110 wineries in Tenerife. He describes the overall situation as “extremely complicated.”
Méndez insists that the outlook ahead is quite difficult. He reminds us that “in a decade we have lost 300 hectares of crops annually due to lack of profitability.” He assesses, in this sense: “We have a vineyard with plant material that has not had either proper sanitation or certification.” Additionally, he notes, “our grapes and clusters present a very high viral load, and in these past seven years, we have suffered from quite persistent drought.”
Activity was high in mid-last week at the Bodega Viñátigo, where they work with indigenous varieties and prioritise a commitment to sustainability and the protection of viticultural heritage. Employees are busily transferring grapes to the central facilities to start the ancient harvesting processes, supported by modern technology such as selection, crushing, and weighing of the fruit.
The harvest begins in the Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) Canary Islands–Canary Wine, to which Bodegas Viñatigo belongs. Established in 2011, it is the only one of the six on the Island without a geographical limit and continues to grow both in vineyards and hectares. Once again, the grape collection is among the earliest in the entire northern hemisphere.
Regarding the emergence of phylloxera for the first time in the history of the Canary Islands, Juan Jesús Méndez is not particularly optimistic: “I don’t think we’ll control it. What we must aim for is to slow down the spread as much as possible and ensure the economic losses are manageable.” He concludes: “There is no other solution but to reconvert the vineyards; that is, take the varieties and graft them onto American rootstocks resistant to this plague.” But that is yet to come.
Returning to the current harvest, Méndez emphasises that the strong heat of these days “has a negative impact because if the clusters are too exposed, they can suffer burns that spoil them and render them useless.” He adds, “it will also accelerate the ripening process of the fruit, bringing forward the initially projected dates for the harvest in other areas of the islands.”
How does this year’s harvest look? The expert responds: “A bit later than last year because there has been more rain and, in general, it has been cooler.” The president of Avibo specifies: “We are about three weeks behind 2024, and we are trending towards recovering what was once normal when we always started in mid-August.”
In recent years, Méndez points out, “we have started as early as the beginning of July, which was a true anomaly.” In 2025, the harvest in the Canary Islands started on July 21 in Fuerteventura, continued at the end of the month in Lanzarote, and in the first week of August in Tenerife.
Regarding the expected production, Juan Jesús Méndez details: “This is a very heterogeneous Island in terms of harvest.” He provides a quick geographical overview: “The Acentejo area is very bad; there is little production because the vines are quite weak due to the recent years of drought.” He sketches that “next year may improve because they have recovered vigour,” but the production of this year was conditioned by the previous situation. The exception would be the Valle de La Orotava, which has better prospects.
In other areas such as the south, he adds, “it will also be a poor harvest due to the lack of vigour in the plants.” He states: “Last year we were around three million kilos of grapes, and we are estimating two million for this year. There will be an inevitable decrease.” And a significant one: around one million kilos.
The unavoidable question is whether this reality will affect the quality of the wines. The response comes quickly and emphatically: “No, because quality begins at the moment with what is available, and the parameters will be preserved for that. There won’t be less quality, but less quantity, and thus, less economic availability for the sector.” Therefore, he emphasises, “it will be a more impoverished sector to face this serious challenge we currently have.”
Méndez paints the moment for the wine sector on the Island: “Perhaps this is commercially the best moment in history.” He explains: “Our wines are gaining international recognition that they did not have even during the golden days of the 18th century.” However, he clarifies, “internally in the sector, we are very poorly off because the drought has been severe in recent years, and the vineyards are very weak.”
The downward spiral continues with “low production and poor economic profitability of the operations.” Consequences: “A gradual abandonment of the vineyards and the often-discussed lack of generational change.” Juan Jesús Méndez stresses that “if we add to this the huge threat of having to confront a reconversion due to the attack of the phylloxera plague, the outlook is worrying.” He concludes: “We will see how we are capable of facing them in the best way possible.”
Another authoritative voice is that of the Cabildo of Tenerife, which addresses the problems of vine growers through “an extraordinary technical service.” This is how the island councillor for the Primary Sector, Valentín Gonzaléz, assesses their forecasts regarding a wine season marked by the context of the water emergency. In this sense, a significant reduction in the amount of grapes harvested is expected—around that 35%, according to Avibo, and between 10% and 20% from other sources. This is due to irregular budding and adverse climatic conditions linked to extreme temperatures and lack of rainfall. The rain this spring caused, paradoxically, a lot of damage due to the presence of downy mildew and later powdery mildew. In both cases, these are diseases caused by fungi that affect the vine.
González takes stock: “This is not a good year and is very short in agricultural terms.” He details: “The adverse meteorological conditions were in 2024 and have conditioned the production of clusters because their shoots this year are smaller.” The grape clusters grow on new shoots (of the same year) that originate from dormant buds formed in the previous year that remain in the wood of the vine. In spring, those buds generate new green shoots that develop inflorescences (flowers), which then transform into grape clusters.
Shoots
Therefore, although the cluster forms in the current year, it derives from a bud originating in the previous year. Adverse climatic conditions affect both the shoots and the resulting harvest. The rains in March and April were very beneficial for the vine, in theory, but the production suffers due to the prolonged drought of previous years, the irregularity in budding, and unfavourable weather conditions that have directly impacted the vineyard. The lack of rainfall and extreme temperatures have been the main factors negatively affecting the development of the vegetative cycle.
Early harvest
The early harvest in the Canary Islands is possible due to the climatic conditions typical of the Archipelago, where mild temperatures and the influence of the trade winds favour an early ripening of the grapes. This fact allows Canary producers to be among the first to start the annual campaign, giving them a differentiated position within the wine sector.
The wineries involved in this first phase of harvesting work with native varieties adapted to the particularities of the island terrain. The effort to maintain these varieties and apply environmentally respectful techniques is one of the pillars upon which daily work in the Canary vineyard is based.
The start of the harvest marks an important moment for the local wine sector, which faces each campaign with the aim of maintaining the quality and uniqueness of its wines despite the challenges arising from the climate and the limited availability of water resources. For a few days now, there is another threat of extreme gravity: the phylloxera plague.
The historical legacy of wine in Tenerife dates back over 500 years, a tradition that led to its appreciation in Europe and mentions in works by authors such as Shakespeare and Walter Scott. Although the industry suffered a decline between the 17th and 18th centuries, the sector’s renaissance came in 1985 with the first Protected Designation of Origin in the archipelago, that of Tacoronte-Acentejo.
Currently, six Protected Designations of Origin (DOP) coexist on the Island with their respective Regulatory Councils: Abona, Valle de La Orotava, Valle de Güímar, Tacoronte-Acentejo, Ycoden-Daute-Isora, and Islas Canarias. They represent over 70% of the total production of the Canary Islands and comprise around a hundred wineries. They reflect both the legacy and the economic importance of the Tenerife wine sector.
