La Palma doesn't shout about its wines the way the mainland regions do, which is part of the appeal. Each May the Plaza de los Álamos in Breña Alta fills up for an afternoon, and nine island wineries set out their bottles alongside a dozen-odd stalls of local food and craft. You pour, you taste, you wander between trestle tables and work out which malvasía you'd actually carry home. Three bands keep things ticking over, so there's music without it turning into a full-blown concert.
It stays small and unhurried, the sort of town gathering where locals outnumber visitors and nobody's rushing you. Proceeds go to a local children's charity, which makes lingering over another glass feel entirely reasonable. A good excuse to drink the island where it's grown.
