The other day, while I was trying to play golf with my good friend Uli Barfus, he asked me out of the blue, whether I had tasted the local wine La Valette Vin Blanc. First I told him that I didn't know that Marsovin made a La Valette White, I thought that they only made La Valette Vin Rouge, and secondly, that I preferred not to drink the inexpensive local wines because they tended to give me a headache, and their taste was not to my liking.

Uli's face lit up with a great big smile, and he said, "Frank, do yourself a favour and try it. Buy a bottle, chill it and then enjoy. You can drink as much as you like without headaches, and the taste is as good, if not better that many of the best imported white wines".

After having known Uli for the best part of a year, I knew that he was something of an authority on wines, so I made my way to the nearest supermarket and went to buy some La Valette Vin Blanc. It was on the shelf marked at Lm1.28 a bottle. I thought to myself, just what on earth was I going to buy.

What the heck. If Uli says so, it must be ok, so I bought two bottles for Lm2.56. I went home and chilled the wine, and later in the evening I opened a bottle to sample the contents. I had the first glass. Not bad, in fact, not bad at all. I had a second and a third. The wine was very good indeed. I remember thinking to myself, what have Marsovin put into this bottle? What grapes were used? It really was as good a moderately priced white wine that I have tasted, local or foreign. I drank another glass, and then I retired to bed to await the acid test. Would I get a headache?

Well I did not, and I must say that I was delighted with the whole experience. This locally produced white wine at Lm1.28 a bottle was excellent. Uli was right.

I phoned up Marsovin to compliment them, and I found out that this was the white wine normally drunk by the directors of the company.

This letter is not meant to be an advert for La Valette Vin Blanc. Far from it. It is a letter meaning to show that we in Malta are quite capable of producing an excellent local wine, as good if not better than the foreign imports. And we should be very proud of it.

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