Maltese drink as many as 12 million bottles of wine a year, according to Agriculture Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes.

Speaking during a visit to local winemakers Marsovin’s Marnisi estate in Marsaxlokk, Mr Galdes said despite the figure, the industry needed to be protected. The figures, compiled by local producers, mean that every man, woman and child drank approximately 30 bottles of wine in 2012.

Commenting on the figures, Marsovin’s CEO Jeremy Cassar said the high number was dominated by foreign wines.

“I’d definitely be a much happier man if all those were local wines. Unfortunately, that’s not the case,” he said.

Mr Cassar said he expected to produce 3.5 million bottles of wine from this year’s harvest, which was officially launched yesterday.

The harvest will yield 1,250 tons of fruit, which should translate into 150 tons of wine, which Mr Cassar hopes will be a bestseller this year.

“There has clearly been a perception change on the island in favour of local wines. We are catering for a new generation of wine drinkers and they are after local wines,” Mr Cassar said, explaining how sales had shown a steady increase following an all-time low some 10 years ago.

“When the market opened up we took a nose dive, but we have reinvented our marketing and our products. I feel this will be another good year,” he added.

Mr Cassar felt this year would be also be a particularly good year for wine quality.

Citing the constant weather as a major factor, Mr Cassar said the overall quality of this year’s harvest seemed “top drawer”.

We are catering for a new generation of wine drinkers and they are after local wines

“There is a great sugar level in these grapes, which is due to the long hours of uninterrupted sunlight and higher than normal levels of acidity. This will result in more aromatic wine,” he said.

Above all, Mr Cassar called on the Government to maintain rigid controls on the production of local wines.

“It’s only through the commitment of producers and the controls set up by Government that the wine sector can grow,” he said.