The Canary Islands achieved a remarkable total of 36 awards at the 31st edition of the World Extreme Wine Awards, a prestigious competition dedicated to heroic viticulture organized by Cervim (Center for Research, Studies, Protection, Coordination, and Valorization of Mountain Viticulture). The awards ceremony took place on Friday at the Palazzo Rospigliosi in Rome.
Luis Arráez Guadalupe, the director of the Canary Islands Institute of Agri-food Quality (ICCA), and José Luis González, the head of the Oenological Unit of the center, proudly accepted the World Extreme Wines Award, acknowledging the Canary Islands as the region with the highest number of wine submissions in the competition.
The impressive tally of awards consists of nine Grand Gold Medals, 23 Gold Medals, and four special distinctions. Among the attendees were representatives from Sociedad Cooperativa Cumbres de Abona, Bodega Valle de Güímar, Bodega El Lomo, and Bodegas Reverón.
The ICCA director emphasized the significant participation of the Canary Islands in this competition, underscoring their position in the realm of extreme viticulture. This distinction is characterized by wine production in challenging environments, such as mountainous regions, terraces with slopes exceeding 30%, altitudes surpassing 500 meters, or on small islands. Arráez Guadalupe emphasized that their presence highlights the multitude of microclimates within the archipelago, their remarkable varietal diversity, and the cultivation in unique volcanic areas.
