Malta - Wine Studies

Malta - Wine Studies

A Beverage Management Project at University Center César Ritz by MMU & HD Summer 2002

by

Sebastian Wagner

We would like to thank the following people for their support and help …

• Harish Malani- Wine Consultant at Marsovin
• Hans- W. Morawetz- Wine Importer
• Michael Blair from tourist office Malta

Index

Introduction of Malta 1

Country, Region, Area 1
Wine Origin and History 2
Wine Production 3

Grape Varieties 4

Winemaking in Malta 7

Methods of Viticulture and Vinification 8

The Quality certification system 13

Well Known Wines of Malta 14

Other Well Known Beverages of Malta 22

Maltese Dishes with Local Wines 24
Maltese Cuisine 24
Maltese dishes and wines 25

Legend 28

The Impact of Wines on the Local Economy 29

Ranking of Malta Wine 31

References 35

Introduction of Malta

Country, Region, Area

Set in the clear blue Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese islands are the most southerly European country. It is just an archipelago of islands about halfway between the coasts of Sicily and North Africa. The archipelago consists of five islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino, together with two other uninhabited islands Cominetto and Filfla. The total area is approximately 316 sq kms (Malta 246 sq km, Gozo 67 sq km, Comino 2.7 sq km). The longest distance in Malta from North West to South East is about 27 km, with 14.5 km width in an East - West direction. The Islands are only 90 km south of Sicily and 290 km from the northern coast of Africa.

The strategic position of Malta, Gozo and Comino has made these Mediterranean islands a crossroad of history and a bone of contention. The powers of Europe′s past knew it well as a stepping-stone between Europe and North Africa. Involved in Malta′s history are the Stone-Age and Bronze-Age people, Romans and Phoenicians, Arabs, Normans and Carthaginians, Castilians, French and British; from whom Malta became independent in 1964. Napoleon Bonaparte did unutterable damage in an only six-day occupation; and Malta stood firm against Hitler despite massive bombing during World War II, deservedly earning the nation the George Cross medal from King George VI (April 1942) and depicting it on the left hand corner of the flag.

Wine Origin and History

Malta′s viticulture, like its history, dates back thousands of years. The first Phoenician settlers introduced its cultivation in Malta. Along with improved forms of the vine they introduced their methods of cultivation which along the course of the ages have had slight variations and even today shows signs of its Phoenician origin.

Although it is assumed that vines were planted on Malta from the time it was properly settled, the foundations of today′s wine industry were laid by the Knights of St. John when they were ceded Malta by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of Spain in 1530. The Knights brought with them vine-cuttings from Europe to revitalize whatever vineyards remained after two centuries of Arab domination.
In the middle ages owing to the recurrent invasions by the Arabs of Barbary, the spread of malaria, the epidemics of fevers and plague, and the emigration to Sicily and Italy, the population became greatly reduced in numbers, and the cultivation of lands in outlying districts was neglected or abandoned.

But during the rule of the Order of St. John with the return of comparative after the defeat of the Turkish invasion in 1565, viticulture once more thrived, and the Island began to produce its own wine, and even exported some to other countries.

Consequently, the production of grapes became limited to their use as fresh fruit for the table, and the manufacture of wine ceased altogether; the Island becoming entirely dependent on imports of produce from Sicily and Greece.

However, around 1870 the cultivation of vines was resumed in both Islands and as of twenty years later there were considerable vineyards at Xaghra, Nadur, Qala, Zebbug, and other places in Gozo, as well as, in the districts of Notabile, Dingli, Fiddien, Ghemieri, Gnejna, Bahrija, and Mellieha. Moreover their viticulture entered into a new period of prosperity.

Wine Production

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