Spring rains boost this year's Axarquía grape harvest

While the Axarquía at this time of year might be synonymous with the height of the mango harvest season and avocado trees beginning to bulge with fruit almost ripe for picking, the sight of raisins drying in the sun at the end of the grape harvest or 'vendimia' shouldn't be overlooked.

The 'vendimia' traditionally started in early to mid-August but has been getting under way earlier in recent years due to increasing temperatures and more frequent heat waves, due to climate change and this year it started at the end of July.

Although climate change and soaring temperatures is a challenge for the sector, the heavy rainfall in March this year has meant around a 30 per cent increase in this year's harvest compared to last year.

While visiting one of the main Muscat of Alexandria (or Malaga grape) growing villages in the Axarquía, El Borge, in September, the Junta de Andalucía's agriculture spokesman Fernando Fernández explained that the rain had "been fundamental for the productive potential of the vines". He added, "This season we can be happy because production in the Axarquía has increased by 30 per cent compared to last year."

A number of villages in the Axarquía have recently celebrated the grape harvest, as they do every year, with probably the most well-known festivity being 'La Noche del Vino' (wine night) in Cómpeta which took place on 15 August.

Between mid-August and mid-September other villages including El Borge, La Viñuela, Iznate and Moclinejo all have a day dedicated to the grape (uva Moscatel), raisin (pasa) or the people who go out into the vineyards to pick the grapes (viñeros).

Now the 'route of the vineyards of Al-Andalus', part of the Innova Experiencia Andalusí project launched by the Spanish tourism ministry with Next Generation EU funds and in the Axarquía the Mancomunidad association of town halls, has been offering a number of tours to different sectors involved in tourism. On Friday 13 September a group of English-speaking residents and visitors got the opportunity to part in the project.

In partnership with Elena Sanchis Sanz from Plan A Málaga tour company, the group visited a vineyard near Moclinejo, which is the home to the family-run Antonio Muñoz Cabrera bodega. They also went to Almáchar which has a museum dedicated to the Malaga grape and the raisin and sweet wine-making process.

Just outside Almáchar the group visited a vineyard where the Palma family continues to dry grapes and produce raisins and sweet wines as part of the Ucopaxa cooperative, using the traditional methods which in 2018 was recognised by the United Nations as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).

Traditional, manual technologies are still used today in the cultivation, harvesting and drying process. This 'low-tech agriculture' and way of life has been handed down through generations, with the entire process done by hand using centuries-old methods.

Families will soon tell you that it is more a labour of love, steeped in tradition, that keeps them doing it. Many have also turned to the subtropical 'cash cows' of the Axarquía to support the traditional grape and raisin sector.

Now authorities in the Axarquía are looking at ways to promote this important heritage as a way of encouraging tourists to visit the inland villages of the Axarquía and tackle the issue of depopulation.

The president of the Mancomunidad, Jorge Martín Pérez, explained that professionals from the tourism sector and the general public have been able to "enjoy the experience of participating in the process and traditional techniques related to the raisin and its production". The idea is that the tours will culminate in information available online and with the possibility of running other tours in the future.

There are a number of bodegas that can be visited along the wine route to learn more about the process and the different kinds of wines that are produced, not only with the Muscat of Alexandria grape, but with other varieties.

Bodegas Bentomiz in Sayalonga is one of them and is owned by Dutch couple Clara Verheij and André Both. They have previously told SUR in English that they would like to see the authorities promote the area's traditional crops, which would also help to tackle the drought crisis. They have called for "more support for viticulture and for people who are focusing on native species".

As well as the Muñoz Cabrera bodega, there's also Sedella Vinos in the village of the same name and a new bodega has recently opened in Torrox, Viñedos de la Axarquía.

As autumn commences and Malaga province looks to the skies for the much-needed rain, it is the ideal time to sample some local homegrown raisins and sweet wine and find out more about the Axarquía's important, traditional agricultural heritage.