Maltese wine getting better

Perhaps an impartial observer may be permitted to join the discussion on Maltese wine. I regret that it was an Englishman, Colin Burn who chose to denigrate the Maltese wine industry in his letter Water Into Wine. He accuses the industry of claiming a greater production of wine from local grapes than is the case.

Had he pointed out that perhaps the Maltese had learnt this from the French and to a lesser extent the Italians it would have been a fairer comment. As Tony Cassar of Marsovin and Louie Camilleri of Camilleri Wines have pointed out, they and perhaps other wineries very generously (and altruistically) gave this student hospitality, assistance and a considerable amount of their time.

If Mr Burn reads the wine trade magazines he would know that there is hardly a month that goes by without a story of one or more AC French wine producers (including some very famous names) being prosecuted for breaking the AC rule that their wine has to be made from grapes grown in the AC area. The reason is simple - if the harvest is very poor in the AC area, the temptation is great to use grapes from another area that has a good harvest.

However, there are many, many totally honest wine producers in France, Italy and Malta, including Marsovin and Camilleri Wines. He could have commented on the high quality of a number of Maltese wines. I had the pleasure of Oz Clark, the very famous wine writer, staying with me once again this summer. Mr Clark has been coming to Gozo for many years. Each year we have an informal tasting of some local wines.

Mr Clark's view is that Maltese wine has improved significantly over the years and Malta now produces wines of quality. An example is the locally produced "champagne" Marsovin's Cassar de Malte which we tested against Veuve Cliquot and Moet et Chandon. Cassar de Malte came out with flying colours.

I am delighted to hear that the government has purchased a number of cases to serve at functions - particularly, I hope, when entertaining certain foreign embassies. Congratulations also to Winston Zahra for serving it at the opening of the Golden Sands.

There is something else the government can do to promote and enhance the reputation of local wine. Currently the fines for falsely claiming that wine has been produced from local grapes are paltry - Lm50 for refusing entry for inspection, Lm200 for the first offence and Lm500 for a second offence. Either a loss of licence or a really hefty fine would be more appropriate.

The government should also encourage all producers of local wine to publish their annual figures - hectares, grape yields and hectolitres by grape variety, as Marsovin do.