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Oct 13 2026
Historic Win for Canarian Wine Pico Cho Marcial Afrutado at Mondial des Vins Extrêmes 2026
A winemaker from the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Bodega Comarcal Valle de Güímar, has won two top prizes at the Mondial des Vins Extrêmes 2026, held at the Congress Centre in Châtillon, Aosta Valley, Italy. This prestigious competition is the only one in the world dedicated exclusively to wines produced through heroic viticulture.
The winemaker’s Pico Cho Marcial Afrutado (2025) wine won Gran Premio CERVIM 2026, achieving the highest score in the entire competition and securing the top prize amongst all the entries. In addition, the winemaker took home the CERVIM Special Award 2026 for Best Winery in Spain.
Made with 50% Listán Blanco and 50% Malvasía Aromática grapes sourced from the finest vineyards in Tenerife, the award-winning wine’s clear, steely yellow color is a result of cold maceration, temperature-controlled fermentation, and gentle filtration. Citrus notes bring a vibrant freshness on the nose, evoking the scent of spring, while the mineral-rich, basaltic soils in which the old vines grow impart a distinct smoky, salty, and electric acidity to the finish. Pico Cho Marcial Afrutado is ideal enjoyed as an all-year-round aperitif, paired with fish dishes or salads, and as a refreshing accompaniment to light desserts.
Spain won more medals than any other country at the World of Extreme Wines 2026, with the Canary Islands winning 105 total awards alone – accounting for 26% of all prizes.
Heroic Viticulture
Heroic viticulture is classed as the cultivation of grapes in extreme environments. This could mean high altitude, steep terrain, or harsh climates which make mechanical production very difficult or impossible, necessitating cultivation by hand.
The international organization CERVIM (Center for Research, Study, Safeguard, Coordination and Enhancement of Mountain Viticulture) formally defines a vineyard as heroic if it has a slope greater than 30%, an altitude above 500 meters, or is located on a small island with harsh conditions.
With its dramatic cliff-sides, rugged landscapes, and slate-soiled mountain terrain, Spain is home to a number of excellent examples of heroic viticulture. In the Canaries, winegrowers on islands like Tenerife and Lanzarote use volcanic pits called hoyos to protect old vines from strong ocean winds. In DO Málaga-Sierras de Málaga, the mountainous coastal area of Axarquía requires grapes to be hand-harvested, with donkeys often used to carry the harvest down.
Along the steep banks of DO Ribera Sacra, vines are planted on narrow, hand-built stone terraces known as bancales, with slopes reaching up to 100% gradient (a 45-degree angle). In Empordá, near Girona in Catalonia, vines are cultivated amid ferocious coastal winds known as the Tramuntana. Instead of fighting against the wind, winegrowers ‘adjust the sails’, so to speak, training vines to grow very low to the ground and utilizing ancient terraced vineyards and dry-stone walls.
Elsewhere in Catalonia, the prestigious DOCa Priorat region features dramatic, steep hillside slopes of up to 60% gradient, with vines growing in poor, glittering black slate soils called llicorella, creating powerful, highly concentrated wines with deep minerality and bold structure.
Bodega Comarcal Valle de Güímar will be honored with its two top awards at the official awards ceremony, held on November 21, 2026 at VINSEUM – Museum of Wine Cultures of Catalonia in Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain.