Disclaimer: You’ll Want Some Wine After This.

It all starts with Delicata Winery who in 1907 started the wine journey of Malta. This third generation winemaking family pioneered the way and throughout their legacy have improved their wine quality and market choice. Depending solely on vine farmers across the islands, a great deal of effort goes into monitoring their crop to ensure the standards aligned with the Delicata brand.

Their range of wines stretches from spritzers and table wines to premium bottles such as the Gran Cavalier. Delicata Winery was also pivotal in introducing the appellation system to Malta in 2007. 

From 1919, Marsovin Winery opened up shop in the same Paola Industrial Zone, with the mentality that they were producing a beverage for the nation; perhaps unaware of the cultural impact they were grafting their roots to. Marsovin, a Cassar Camilleri family heritage that celebrates a myriad of premium bottles including the supreme Antonin Riżerva. 

A cultural experience awaits at the Marnisi Estate; meticulously tailoring every detail for its grand opening this summer. The only teaser we will give is that it is a trompe l’oleil experience that I am sure will cause me to tear up a little upon visiting when it’s fully realised. My anticipation is high. 

Next landmark moment: 1934 where a short ferry ride to Gozo takes us to Tal-Massar Winery and the tendrils of adventure and experimentation entangled the aspirations of Carmelo Hili: he founded a vineyard upon his return to Gozo from America. Three generations later, vintner Anthony Hili alongside his son Gabriel tend to their vineyard with aspirations to continue the family tradition. We’re watching you Gabe, and we’re rooting for you!

Pride and enthusiasm are infused into the very core of this vineyard; with a genuinely Gozitan feel of authenticity and determination seen through the crisp Tanit, a favourite hailing from their cellars; all enjoyed with Għarb Valley as your backdrop, frontdrop and sidedrop — it’s just so romantically Gozo. 

Now... we enter a phase in Maltese winemaking where the experience becomes just as valuable as the barrel-aged treasures waiting for the winemaker’s nod of approval. The connectivity of vineyard, winery and tasting ground fused together into a fully immersive estate where you could experience it all. 

Meridiana Estate made this first bold move in 1985. An ex-RAF plot of land in Ta’Qali started its transformation into a vineyard with a traditional farmhouse-style chateaux just off centre that housed the winery: vats, pumping system, and all, a cellar where rows of barrels fill the temperature-controlled rooms, a terrace and lounging area for tastings and of course, the piece de resistance, the vineyard. Rows and rows of varietals that thrive in the clay, terra rossa and greensand soils found on our islands. 

Meridiana have a generous range of premium wines; their standout hard to choose but probably the Celsius or the Nexus (or the Bel, or even the Melqart). 

Continuing down the timeline of vinification in Malta; we shoot to Dingli for Markus Divinus where Mark Borg, and now, his son Markus Adon, embark on a mission of small batch vinification. Founded in 2005, what started off as a hobby in Mark’s garage developed into a school of winemaking that is now a fruitful-yet-time-consuming-hobby bonding father and son into an intense library of highly-interesting wines. 

Markus Divinus depends on farmers, specifically high-altitude farmers in the Dingli, Rabat areas, who train and tend to their vines according to Mark’s suggestion. With premium bottles like Adon (because one namesake for the winery’s future winemaker wasn’t enough), Zaren (not to be confused with Zareen) and Zafrana to name a few. Good luck with your studies Markus Adon Borg; bajtra is here to cheer you on!

Last, and by no means least (like certainly not), Ta’ Betta. The Estate that houses my personal favourite wine (globally) the Jean Parisot; a chardonnay so life-changing I could talk about it for days. Founded in 2019, this winery solely works with their own grapes and to date produces four excellent wines. A rose; Isabella Guasconi, 2 reds; Antonio Manoel and Philippe Villiers and the aforementioned white. 

Their story may not be as rich as the pioneers and experimenters that came before them; but by golly they’ve made quite a stamp in the past 7 years. Ta’ Betta is all about experience; truly it’s a feast for all the senses. 

And talking about experiences… you can literally experience each and every one of these wines produced and enjoy a tasting right there in the hub of the action. Wine tastings are generally hosted by the winemaker, vinifier or viticulturist who can best share the personification of the wines presented from their range. You get to learn about specific grape varieties, you get to taste a good selection of still and sometimes sparkling wines and you get to do it here, locally, in Malta and Gozo. 

Where else are you going to taste Girgentina and Ġellewża anyway? And hopefully in a few years some Miġnuna and Insolja Sewda too… with the help of Darren Borg at the Viticulture and Oenology Centre in Buskett. Boy I cannot wait for that day! 

To all you oenophiles out there; book a wine tasting or vineyard tour, heck book a wine course on Maltese Wines, there’s so much to appreciate and it’s been here since the Phoenicians planted the first vines and the Romans built (multiple) presses around our islands… it’s part of our heritage. 

Drink more wine. Just do it sensibly and make sure it’s local.