Spain: Demand erupts for La Palma wine sharing name with Cumbre Vieja volcano

After volcano began spewing lava three months ago, wine sales soared; soon brand had sold out

Winemaker says periodic volcanic activity has other positive effect – it helps to build up fertile subsoil

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Carlos Lozano, winemaker, shows a bottle of Cumbre Vieja wine, in Fuencaliente, La Palma, Spain. His cellar has exhausted the production of wine that bears the same name as the Cumbre Vieja volcano. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:06am, 21 Dec 2021

Sales of a red wine that shares its name with the Cumbre Vieja volcano on Spain’s island of La Palma have soared since the eruption began three months ago, providing an unexpected windfall for the Bodegas Teneguia vineyard.

“Since the volcano hit, the name Cumbre Vieja has been all over the news ... and that’s given a serious boom to sales,” said head winemaker Carlos Lozano. “In fact, we’re totally sold out.”

Carlos Lozano, winemaker, enjoying wine with the same name as the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, Spain. Photo: Reuters

A blend of seven different grapes, Cumbre Vieja – named for the spiny volcanic ridge that extends from the centre of the island to its southernmost point – was created in 2019 and bottled in February for sale to restaurants.

It sold slowly at first, with around half the 10,000 bottles going to customers in the Canary Islands until demand from the mainland exploded with the volcanic eruption in September. The remaining supply sold out in six weeks.

Aerial view of solidified lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano, spilling over houses on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, on December 18. Drone photo: Reuters

For 86 days red lava spilled out of the crater, carving a destructive path to the ocean that buried thousands of houses and forced the evacuation of many more until the volcano suddenly went quiet a week ago.