Indiginious wine of Malta

Acorsing to wikipedia, wine production in Malta dates back over two thousand years to the time of the Phoenicians. However I belive it should have existed before that with the indiginious population preceding Phoenicians that had quite advanced culture centered on their link to the nature and peaceful living without wars.

Girgentina is a white-wine grape from Malta. Together with Ġellewża it is one of only two indigenous grapes on the island.

Ġellewża (Maltese pronunciation: [d͡ʒɛɫɫeʊ̯za]) is a dark-skinned grape variety native to the island. Only a small amount of wine is made from this little-planted variety. Volumes are far surpassed on the island by Girgentina, along with the ever-present Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ġellewża is used to make still red wines, as well as a semi-sparkling rosé wine. The strawberry-tinged sparkling rosés are often made in a medium dry style, with red fruit aromas to the fore. The red wines tend to be medium bodied, but Ġellewża is increasingly found in blends, together with Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon to make a more full-bodied wine. Ġellewża often acts to soften the spiciness of the wine and add a bright cherry flavour.

As most of Malta’s wine output is consumed by locals and the thriving tourism trade, very little Ġellewża wine is found outside of the island. Furthermore, the survival of indigenous grape varieties is under threat due to climate change (longer periods of drought) and the high average age of growers.

This variety of red wine grape is believed to have a very ancient origin, with number of wines and vineyards of Malta dating back over two thousand years.

Antonin is a medium bodied red blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc varieties.  Full fruit flavours of ripe blackberries, cherries and blueberries make this wine very enjoyable in its youth while the backbone and structure provide it with ample ageing potential. This is the closest to the classical Bordeaux blend that can be used to highlight the expressions of the terroir.

Marsovin’s Cassar de Malte is the traditional sparkling wine of Malta, which is made using the same method as champagne “methode traditionelle”.

It seems that there are five major wine producers on the island: Marsovin, Emmanuel Delicata, Camilleri Wines, Montekristo and Meridiana, all of whom offer some form of wine tasting or cellar tour. I managed to make appointments only with Meridiana and Marsovin, the last seems to be owened by the same owner of Camilleri. Delicata politely point me out that I can buy their wine everywhere including in the Aeroport. 😦 :/ here is the polite response judge it for yourself either it is polite or not. In any case no reference to Pandemics or holiday period made, so not clear either I needed to make extra efforts or there are objective reasons of refusals:

Good morning,
 
Thank you for your interest in Delicata wines. We are not hosting visitors at the moment but our wines are widely available all over Malta and Gozo in retail outlets, restaurants, hotels and wine bars. I hope that you get a chance to taste what we have to offer.
 
Our wines are also available at the airport departures lounge.
 
Best regards,
 
Jonathan Falzon
Viticulture, Quality, & Projects Manager

Published by mir5ea-stq

Created initially for the trip to Santiago de Compostela and later extended to the trip in Malta.

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