Balcón de La Laguna Guachinche & Winery

Bodega Balcón de la Laguna, which would translate as La Laguna´s Balcony Winery, is run by Manuel Capote, a passionate winemaker and co-owner.

The winery is located in the outskirts of La Laguna on the way to the Mountain of Las Mercedes in Anaga, and specifically at 270 on Camino de las Mercedes.

Terroir, a word borrowed from the French, refers to the set of special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place, interacting with plant genetics, express in agricultural products such as wine.

The terroirs that feed this winery are located in the municipality of El Sauzal, in the areas of Las Riquelas and El Calvario. Both the winery and vineyards are under the Tacoronte-Acentejo wine protected area.

During the 2014 vintage, the winery produced 40.000 litres of wine and harvested 57.000kg of grapes, it being part of the philosophy of the house to produce and work only with local Canarian varieties, such as: Black Listán , Negramol , and Castellana for red grape and local white varieties such as: White Listán , Muscat of Alexandria and aromatic Malmsey.

Balcón de la Laguna Winery, markets its wines under three different brands that are: Ainhoa for ​​white wines, Capote for red ones and HC for premium wines.

Within the wines that I had the opportunity to taste in my visit, I found particularly noteworthy the traditional red CAPOTE wine based in Red Listán and Negramol from  the 2014 harvest , but, very specifically, a barrel of fermented white wine based in red Negramol grapes, and marketed under the HC brand.

The cellar, dug into the rock, has a Guachinche attached.

Guachinches, are usually family run provisional restaurants, open only as long as home grown wine is to be sold. The guachinches are identified by the distinctive "V" awarded by the Cabildo of Tenerife.

As Mr. Manuel Capote explains, “guachinche” is a Canarian word that derives from the English sentence: “I am watching you", referring to British tourists and travelers visiting the Island some decades ago, watching how local islanders produced their wine.

In our winery tour last April 19th 2015, along with magnificent views of the plain of La Laguna and the foothills of mount Teide, we enjoyed a good selection of traditional dishes in a genuine and unpretentious family environment, that completed a great Sunday.