El Hierro

El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands (278 km²). It is the westernmost of all the islands. Despite its small size, the landscape is very variable and different. The north side is completely unlike the south side. On the north side, bordered by an impressive rocky massif that faces the sea like a wall, we find moist, green and very fertile cultures with an impressive "Jurassic" forest of laurisilvas or wild laurel trees on top of the mountain. The south side, at the back of this gigantic rock massif, is very dry and almost desert-like, with large pine trees and lava plains that flow into the sea. The entire island was therefore protected by UNESCO in 2000 as a "biosphere reserve" due to its unique biotope. Until 1884, the prime meridian ran through El Hierro, since for a long time, until the discovery of America, this was the westernmost part of Europe.

Vines have been on El Hierro since 1526, although in the past they were mainly used for making spirits, with Venezuela and Cuba as the main destination. In total there are still about 500 hectares of vineyards, both in the north and in the south. The vineyards are often located on slopes or terraces, from 200 to 700 meters altitude. The whole island is completely volcanic. El Hierro is the youngest island of the Canary Islands, so traces of volcanic activity are still very evident, especially in the south. The name of the island (literally El Hierro means "the iron") is inspired by the red-colored volcanic soil that is visible in many places and colors the island red-black. The D.O. was founded in 1995 and since then 7 domains have been active. However, the big impulse was given by the people behind Viñàtigo in Tenerife, who founded Tanajara in 2003 together with a number of locals.