11/06/2014 – Written by LuAnn Lisell

Although Tenerife is close to Madeira, the islands seem very different. 

I did an island tour, which included 2 wine tastings. We started with a walking tour in the inland city of La Laguna. This is not a tourist area. We had the opportunity to spend time in the market with the locals. While the produce was fantastic, the fish and meat areas were very different than what I find in Plano. 

The churches we saw had very ornate altars. We were told that much of the silver came from Mexico. There are hundreds of plants and trees that are unique to this area. The Dragon tree, which looks similar to a Palm tree, is actually a shrub. And lives for hundreds of years. 

The first restored winery we visited, Casa Del Vino, La Baranda, had a beautiful wood ceiling in one of the rooms. We had our tasting in the courtyard after our visit in the wine museum. 

Our second winery was Bodegas Albaro. This tasting room was in the cellar. There were large slabs of prosciutto hanging next to the walls of bottles and barrels. In addition to the various cold cuts and cheeses and breads, we were given small salted roasted potatoes. Very tasty! 

You can hardly go wrong with an island steeped in history, hills and wine.