On the path to the Teide National Park, if you are coming from the South, passing through Vilaflor, the highest town in Spain, you will find the Llanos de Trevejos, where a huge and very well maintained estate of 25 hectares catches the eye: Altos de Trevejos. Antonio Miguel Alfonso Alfonso’s former property, where grains and an assortment of vines used to grow some centuries ago, was divided, through inheritance, into four parts and ceased being used as crop-land at the end of the 20th century until one of the heirs, Luis Bethencourt Alfonso, had the idea of reuniting the estate, and the other owners agreed. Their project included tourism for wine lovers, and was based on a market study of the four million tourists who pass through Vilaflor on their way to the National Park.

In 2005, they turned the estate into one of the biggest vineyards on the Canary Islands, all espalier, as a first step toward building an extensive winery and beginning production. It was an ambitious and sustainable project that would take time to be implemented. The next step was to sell the grapes to other wineries during the time that theirs was not yet finished.

Enrique Alfonso, vintner:
“The Catalan oenologist Josep María Pujol-Busquets had been coming to Tenerife for 25 years and found the project very interesting – for him it is a delight and a challenge at the same time”

Kick-started the construction of the winery
Enrique Alfonso García, another family member, kick-started the construction of the winery and placed it provisionally in the family home of the grandfather, Antonio Miguel Alfonso Alfonso, in San Miguel de Abona, since there were no buildings on the estate. At that point they formed the Altos de Trevejos corporation, along with two other associates: one of them being the Catalan oenologist Josep María Pujol-Busquets. “He had been coming to Tenerife for 25 years and was in love with the island, so he found the project very interesting and asked to be part of it – for him it was a delight and a challenge at the same time,” said Alonso Garcia about the founder of the Alta Alella winery near Barcelona (whose Privat Cava can be found in world-class restaurants).

The first harvest of the winery took place in 2012, originally designed to experiment with different grapes. From seven microvinifications they chose the wines they would produce in the first phase: one white from Albillo and Verdello grapes, one red from Baboso Negro with a smattering of Syrah, one sweet wine from Malvasia and Moscatel grapes, and a sparkling wine, in which Alonso was particularly interested, as well.

The first Brut Nature from Listán Blanco and some Verdello was only the beginning

And that was only the beginning: after the first Brut Nature from Listán Blanco and some Verdello grapes, which has already been commercialized, another one followed: their interesting and original sparkling rosé from Listán Prieto grapes.

■ Altos de Tr3vejos SL Calle La Iglesia 1, 38620 San Miguel de Abona (Tenerife), Islas Canarias (España) Phone Cell: (34) 607 112 040 Email: trevejos@altosdetrevejos.com Homepage: www.altosdetrevejos.com ● Capacity: 20,000 liters. ● Average production: 12,000 botellas/año. ● Exportation: small shipments to Canada and Germany