A spectacular strategy to cultivate in one of the harshest deserts on Earth.

In the easternmost part of the autonomous Spanish archipelago, a short distance from the northern coast of Africa and the Sahara desert.
Originally formed after a group of volcanoes erupted 15 million years ago, the entire island is made up of solidified lava flows, volcanic rocks, and lots of black sand. It hardly rains - at best 16 days of the year.
In the vast black plains, temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius (120F).So how does anyone even manage to plant a pansy here, let alone harvest wine that can produce anywhere between 400,000 to 600,000 bottles of wine per year?
The Lanzarote winemakers are probably the hardest working winemakers on the planet– and their forefathers, the ones who discovered the technique to make wine in their barren landscape back in the 18th century– well, hats off to them…
The last volcanic eruption on Lanzarote happened in 1730, until which time farmers had been happily producing wine, grain and cereal and generally making the most out of the arable farming land of the island. Then came an almighty eruption which lasted 2,053 days– that’s six whole years of endless hot lava, volcanic ash and gas pounding the island.
While many residents made the decision to pack up and start new lives in Cuba and the Americas, amazingly, others were not ready to throw in the (hot) towel. With only a harsh and alien landscape to work with, the farmers had to completely re-invent their techniques of cultivation, but it didn’t take long for the resourceful and resilient residents to figure out that against all odds, the newly deposited volcanic rock could actually be of use to them.
Known in Spanish as picón, the volcanic soil was found to be highly efficient at absorbing moisture and rainfall (if any) and retaining it in the black earth. Lanzarote is the only place in the world where this unique method of dry (volcanic) cultivation is used.