Our Wine’s Niceties & Scarcities
Once a winemaker found himself in the awkward position of being reproved whilst dining out by the patron-chef because his winery had run out of stock of one of the best-selling wines on the restaurant’s carefully curated list. To this the winemaker graciously replied with the question why the catch of the day didn’t include […]
Maltese Sausage and Wine Feasts
Zalzett Malti, the traditional fresh Maltese sausage, made from ground pork, sea salt, crushed black peppercorns and coriander seeds, garlic and sometimes parsley, is staple diet in Malta and Gozo. Regardless of the method of preparation, the nation has an unbridled gusto for Maltese bangers, which are eaten raw, plainly boiled, pan-fried and grilled, on […]
Heroism in a bottle
Of course, the adjective ‘heroic’ has been used before in the world of wine, namely to describe the efforts of vignerons and winemakers that work in steep, precipitous places inhospitable to man. Malta may not qualify as a mountainous island. But what else would you call local winegrowing if not audacious, brave and courageous? In […]
Gorgeous Garrigue in My Glass
Alas, land is far from sacred in Malta and even linguistically it’s sometimes referred to harshly and contemptuously. Through the use of the word xaghri, which derives from the Arabic sahra for desert, we demote our garrigue, those few untouched patches of literally hundreds of different low-growing shrubs and rare indigenous plants, to useless land […]
World Masters of Grape Vine Pruning
Close to the ancient village of Suvereto, on the hills of the Val di Cornia in west Tuscany in vineyards planted to Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties, delegates of Delicata’s viticultural team met up with the world masters of grape vine pruning. Winemaker and head of viticulture, Matthew Delicata accompanied the winery’s viticulturist Jonathan […]
