Yes, ten years now! After finishing my previous project, we were looking for a property to buy. Someone showed us this piece of land and we just got immediately attracted to it. It had everything we were looking for: a good extension, lots of vines and mature fruit trees that needed a lot of care, plus a farm to revamp. But it wasn’t just that what captivated us, it was the smell of the place and the feeling that it was there where we were about to start a life project what captivated us.

Nature shows you the way, so the first thing you have to do is look around. In addition to the endemic species, we try to grow plants that are well adapted to these dry conditions and do not need so much water.

Yes, we must consider how many hours and efforts have gone to get to where we are. Generations of farmers and winegrowers have worked on this land to give La Geria its current shape and appearance. It's a unique landscape that has been modified by man in a very slow but intense rhythm, that allows us to observe and work with nature.

From 1730 to 1736, a series of violent eruptions covered huge extensions of the fertile farmlands with lava, rock and ash. I can’t hardly imagine the frustration of the farmers. But somehow they started to realized that if you dig wide holes you could get to the ancient fertile soil. So that’s what they did, they got there by patiently shovelling, and over the years, they perfected the method.Nature shows you the way, so the first thing you have to do is look around. In addition to the endemic species, we try to grow plants that are well adapted to these dry conditions and do not need so much water.

In Lanzarote we had had no phylloxera [a plague that devastated vineyards in southern Europe at the end of the 19th century] so you can plant directly into the soil without a vine rootstock. So what we do is planting the stock of the existing and ancient plants –in our case, Malvasia volcanica.

Yes, I am pretty much involved in it. What I like the most is the pruning of the vines. It is for me the most important part of the process since it is when you shape the plant. You control the growth and strength of the vine.

The joy of eating and drinking your own produce, ha ha ha. Also to pass on to my daughters the same love for nature and botany that my father passed on to me.

It’s essential, especially when you live on an island. Growing your own vegetables and buying produce from local farmers is not only good for you but for all the many families involved in the process. You’ll be protecting and preserving different local varieties from extinction and you’ll have a much richer diet with unique seasonal ingredients.

We usually travel to cities, so what we miss the most is the tranquillity and the rhythm of our life on the island

Probably the best place for me would be the San Francisco Bay Area. I spent four months in Napa Valley when I was 18 and really enjoyed it. You can find the most interesting city-life as well as beautiful nature, so it’s a great mixture.