A good article has appeared in the Daily Mail in the UK about the Tenerife of today - and past.

Guanches - tall, strapping shepherds from North Africa - were among the first-ever visitors to the Canary Islands, settling here more than 2,000 years ago, long before the Spanish took control in the early 15th Century.

Situated on arid land in the south of the island, San Blas - which opened last December - was earmarked to become a golf course.

But when a year-long clearance operation uncovered ancient caves and artefacts, it was turned into a nature reserve and hotel instead.

Volcanic eruptions have left the area rich in history rather than flora. The hotel’s multi-media exhibition explains how Guanches and the first Spanish settlers lived, and visitors can ‘meet’ these characters on a guided tour.

You also discover what life was like for the early Spanish settlers. In a documentary, you can watch a fishwife trek from the sea to the mountains, while, in a convincing enactment, tomato growers go about their business near the resort’s man-made lake which is populated by dancing dragonflies and waterfowl.

The hotel is part of Thomas Cook Holidays Sentido range. Sentido is Latin for ’sense’ and 19 hotels run by the tour operator in Europe and Africa are designed around the concept of appealing to all five senses. Each hotel has a signature scent - San Blas has a citrus bergamot smell in its 331 spacious bedrooms.

But the most enticing scent comes from the freshly cooked wreckfish, red mullet and tuna presented at the evening buffet in the airy, circular La Cueva de Atxona restaurant.

The taste element of Sentido Tenerife hotels is based on using local produce and the nightly spread of salads, vegetables and meats sits alongside traditional dishes.

If you feel like venturing a little further, the harbour of Los Abrigos is a five-minute walk from the hotel.

The quayside at Los Abrigos is dotted with seafood restaurants, and you can also watch fishing boats bobbing up and down in the sheltered bay and laughing children jumping off the harbour wall into the sea.

Sound is another sense catered for in Sentido hotels, with chill-out music playing in the bathrooms.

In the evening, the hotel’s Magma Hall hosts bands, while outdoors at the bar plaza there’s comedy, dance lessons, singing and the very popular mini-disco for children.

However, it is still possible to find lots of tranquil areas in the resort, where the only thing you will hear is the occasional owl swooping overhead.

Youngsters are welcomed in the resort - there’s a club where they can learn pottery, make kites or paint. And for adults, there are activities including yoga, tennis, volleyball, climbing and kayaking on the man-made lake.

For the touch element, San Blas has a mini-spa where visitors can enjoy a range of massages, use the sauna or rest weary muscles in a pool filled with water jets.

Eight outdoor infinity pools of various shapes and depths cascade through the resort down to the beachfront - in keeping with the eco-friendly theme, the pools use cleansed seawater. Two of the pools are heated, but year-round sunshine for the Tenerife weather means even the cool pools are a pleasant place to chill out.

It’s not possible to swim from the rocky beach in front of the hotel, though you can take a dip from the nearby beach at Los Abrigos with its black sand.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1222834/Tenerife-A-primitive-past-revealed-modern-resort.html#ixzz0gwwYd8KK

For those who have spent a good bit of time touring Spain’s beautiful countryside, you may not know that in many ways the country is one big vineyard. In that respect it is very much like California’s Napa Valley and Sonoma County. It is hard to drive for more than a few minutes in any direction without seeing vineyards. The same is true for most regions of Spain.

Spain has been producing wine off and on for nearly 3,000 years. Excepting a big gap between 711 A.D. and 1492 A.D., when conquering Islamic Moors outlawed wine production, it has mostly been on. In fact Spain introduced vineyards to the Americas. Spaniards sent the first cuttings to Mexico in the 16th century. By 1701 vines and cuttings were sent to Baja, California. It took until 1830 for the vineyards to work their way up to Sonoma County, thanks largely to the Spanish missionaries who also built a series of missions from south to north in California.

The American wine industry might have taken root and established itself then. The problem was that the grapes being grown were so high quality that Spain, fearful of losing out to the upstart vineyards, ordered all cuttings to be uprooted. Wine making in California ceased abruptly and did not resume until the late 19th century.

Spain clearly has an illustrious history of wine production. Despite its efforts at self preservation, it did early on nurture growth in the New World. It is surprising that it lagged for so long in producing wines that rival the best that Europe and America have to offer. Spanish wines remained fairly provincial well into the 20th century. One reason is that while the Spanish exported its vines and cuttings and even imported varietals from other countries, it took new methodologies in wine production that just had to be developed. In some cases, one or two key vintners in various wine regions in Spain completely transformed the types and quality of wines coming out of the region, thanks to new methodology.

About 10 years ago everyone began to notice that Spanish wines were beginning to look quite good. More to the point, some regions were producing very high quality wines. An American vintner of Spanish ancestry, Jean Leon, was among the first in Catalonia to grow foreign grapes in the region. With 275 acres of cabernet and chardonnay grapes, Leon produces about 25,000 cases of long lasting intense wines. And Leon’s story is being repeated in region after region.

The proof of the pudding lies in a trip to the local wine store regardless of where that store is located. There are of course the good standby wines that Spain has always produced, what might be referred to as good table wines. They are fairly inexpensive but suitable. In addition, however, more and more outstanding Spanish wines can be found on the shelves.

In the past few years notable Spanish wines that have wine lovers talking include the following:

* Vitas Terrarum winery in the La Mancha region that has produced a top of the line red. A 2001 Vitas Terrarum sells for $75 a bottle and is considered a good rival of other higher priced reds.

* Reserva Oro Seco from the Penesdes region is a crisp dry bubbly that has garnered a good bit of attention, perhaps because it is both very good and very inexpensive.

* From the same vineyard, 1998 Gran Reserva Hill is a full bodied red produced with a blend of cabernet sauvignon, tempranilla and syrah grapes that is a steal for about $26.

* Vina Mambrilla in the Ribera del Duero region produced an outstanding red, their 2000 Alidas Crianza, to which the Wine Spectator gave an 89 rating. Many believe it was underrated; at about $22 per bottle it also is a steal.

There are other measures of where Spanish wines are going. Spain’s tourist destinations, like Tenerife, have always featured Spanish wines in hotels and restaurants. The excellent Tenerife weather certainly helps. In the past, most of the Spanish wines offered were good enough but not the outstanding quality that fine dining often requires. Now it can pair extraordinary Spanish wines with inventive cuisine. The wine recommendation, still imminently affordable, elevates both the food and the dining experience. The result is a memorable event that sends patrons in search of fine Spanish wines in their local wine stores back home, wherever they live.

Food festivals are well known, but cheese festivals are more specialist, and at the 2008 World Cheese Awards, Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, took home the honour for the best cheese.

The winning cheese was Queso Arico curado pimento, a cured goat cheese with paprika, roasted maize meal and sugar. This particular cheese has been made for years in Tenerife, passing from generation to generation. It was produced by the Sociedad Canaria de Formento. The winning cheese was one of 12 from the Canary Islands to win an award at the show.

The festival, which began 20 years ago, was held in Dublin, Ireland. This marked the first time it was held somewhere other than the U.K. More than 2,000 cheeses were on display and competing for the title of “Best Cheese in the World.”

Thousands of entrants from across the globe participated in the event. Reports indicate that the competition was really fierce. Four cheeses were neck and neck in the final judging. However, Tenerife’s Queso Arico curado pimento came through to be victorious.

Cheese production forms a major part of the economic mainstay of the island. Tenerife is believed to produce about 25 percent of the cheese made in the Canary Islands. The island is actually known for its goat cheese, which makes up the bulk of the cheese it produces.

History of Cheese

Cheese has been around since before recorded history. There is no way of knowing where it was first made, but it is and was a popular food in many cultures. Murals in ancient tombs in Egypt dating back to 2000 B.C. show cheese being made. Over the centuries, cheese has grown to become a staple in many countries worldwide.

Types of Cheese

There are four basic types of cheese, namely hard, semi-hard, soft and semi-soft. All other types of cheese, over 1500 types, are derived from these. The terms used to differentiate types of cheese indicate how much moisture is in the cheese when it is finished being processed. This also dictates the texture of the cheese.

Examples of hard cheeses include the popular parmesan used often as topping for spaghetti, as well as Swiss and romano cheese. Cheddar, Gouda and provolone are some the better known semi-hard cheeses around. These types of cheeses are popular for use in cooking, like stuffing chicken breast.

Cheese that falls into the soft cheese category includes cottage and cream cheese, mozzarella, brie and ricotta. Well-known semi-soft cheeses include co-jack, Colby and American cheese.

What is so Great About Goat Cheese?

The winning cheese from Tenerife was a goat cheese with a little extra. But what makes goat milk so good? For one, it is a healthy choice for anyone seeking to increase calcium in their diet. Plus it’s good for people who are lactose intolerant, as there is rarely any reaction to it. Other health benefits of goat cheese are that it generally has less fat, cholesterol and calories.

The growing popularity of goat milk and cheese is partly as a result of the Mediterranean diet. Because of its low fat and caloric values, goat cheese is ideal for dieters.

Organic vs Processed Cheese

Statistics indicate that with the thrust towards healthy lifestyles and holistic health, the sales of organic cheese are increasing. Organic cheese is believed to have much more vitamins than processed cheese. It is said that this is because organic cheese is made from milk from grass-fed cows. Organic cheese also has more omega-3 fatty acids than cheese made from grain-fed cows.

Cheese continues to be popular in the cuisines of many countries. It is used as a topping on pizza, spaghetti and soups. It is used for healthy snacks, appetizers and quick pick-me-ups.

Cheese lovers can also look out for other cheese festivals in other parts of the world. Three festivals are the Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival in Wisconsin, USA; the South Africa Cheese Festival; and the European A.O.P. Cheese Festival in the year ahead.

And next time you’re on holiday in Tenerife, it might not just be the weather in Tenerife that attracts you there for a holiday, but her gourmet food too!