The first local wines produced according to strict protocols that came into force this year are expected to be on the market in time for Christmas.
White and rosé DOK wines will be launched after December 1 while red DOK wines will be available from March.
The protocols - which have been in the pipeline for years - lay down the minimum quality of grapes and wine, the processes permitted in making the wine, and the labels.
Wine will be placed into three categories. The highest quality produced from local grapes will be able to apply for Denominazzjoni ta' Origini Kontrollata (DOK) status. The next level is Indikazzjoni Geografika Tipika (IGT), for which wines still have to meet very strict standards but may have lower natural alcohol levels. The third category covers table wine, with the name not indicating the grape variety or the area from which it came.
It will be up to the Rural Affairs Ministry to decide which category a particular wine falls under following rigorous controls and final approval of labelling content, parliamentary secretary Francis Agius said yesterday.
Speaking during a press conference at Marsovin's Marnisi Estate in Marsaxlokk, Mr Agius explained that controls and certification were being carried out by the Viticulture and Oenology Unit, whose officials were taking samples from the vineyards that registered under the new protocols and from wineries. Further analysis will be carried out by the respected Enoteca di Siena, which has been certifying Italian quality wines for many years.
"This will enable us to compete with other countries over the quality of local wine," Dr Agius said.
According to Marsovin's marketing and export director, Jeremy Cassar, this year's low grape yields and warm summer have contributed towards a very high degree of grape maturity, and the winery expects the 2007 vintage to be an exceptional one.
Mr Cassar said the Maltese climate was ideally suited for the production of good DOK and IGT quality wines of truly Maltese character and the winery will be using 103 tonnes of grapes as DOK estate quality, 203 tonnes as DOK quality and 410 tonnes as IGT quality.
He also said that this year Marsovin has contracted an extra 337.5 tumoli of land from 59 new vine growers.
Speaking to The Times, Mr Cassar said the protocols ought to go a step further and establish that if a wine cites a particular region of the island on its label, the grapes would have come from that region. A wine should only be called Marsaxlokk or Mdina if the grapes it is made from came from those particular localities, he suggested.