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climate. Several local producers have their shops here, undoubtedly offering better prices than the souvenir stores, and we spent a couple of hours pestering the shop assistants, who were more than happy to explain the plant’ s many benefits. Aloe and its derivatives make up a significant portion of the local economy, but there’ s another product for which the island can truly claim excellence.
Driving along the perfect asphalt of the LZ-30, which runs from north to south, you suddenly find yourself in the heart of La Gería, the area that produces the excellent Malvasia wine, highly prized for its quality. The region, located in the centre of the island and sheltered from the cold ocean winds, owes its name to the ingenious system developed by the islanders over centuries to cultivate vines in this soil covered by volcanic ash.
Gerías are conical holes, dug deep enough to reach the earth and plant a single vine; the soil is then covered with picón, small stones of volcanic rock that, due to their porosity, absorb moisture during the day and release it at night. The whole setup is surrounded by semi-
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