One of the last international white grapes from the 2014 harvest to be pressed at the Delicata winery was the Vermentino, approximately 51,000 kilos of it. This grape is used exclusively in the Classic Collections Landini, in the winery’s Medina DOK Malta range (blended with Zibibbo), and sometimes in Pjazza Regina white, depending on that vintage’s blend. Also pressed were three other white varieties, Viognier (for Grand Vin de Hauteville), Chenin Blanc and Zibibbo (Moscato).
Vermentino has only been around in Malta for a few years but it’s quickly gaining respect and popularity. It grows well in our hot Mediterranean climate and is naturally a late ripening, amber or greenish-coloured grape variety which has quite large fleshy berries formed in loose bunches.
When the hand-picked grapes arrive at the Delicata winery for inspection, one of the first practices is to determine the degree of natural sugar in the grapes and this is measured by the use of a refractometer. Random samples are taken from each and every grower’s batch of grapes and the juice is squeezed on to a glass panel which is then held up to the light for a reading.
In the photograph on the right, taken through the refractometer, one can see a faint line under a slight stain that indicates that this particular grower’s Vermentino grapes have reached a brix measurement (on the right) of 23, which equates to a potential natural alcohol level (shown on the left) of approximately 13%. This is of course just one reading from one grape, so the final alcohol level will vary as some bunches will have slightly higher natural sugar levels or slightly lower than this one.
The actual alcohol of a particular wine will therefore vary from vintage to vintage depending on the ripeness of that year’s grapes. For the last two vintages of Medina Vermentino Zibibbo (2012/2013) the final alcohol levels were 11.5% vol.
The resulting wine is a particular favourite of mine and is yet to be discovered by many white wine lovers. It is aromatic, full flavoured and slightly spicy. When it is young it is fresh, fruity and quite floral but after a couple of years in bottle it develops into a much fatter, fuller-flavoured wine with bags of character and finesse. I really believe this to be a wine that’s just ‘waiting in the wings’, so to speak, and will eventually reveal itself in years to come as one of our islands’ viticultural jewels.
Maltese Vermentino also produces wines that are great with food, especially shellfish platters, crisp summer salads and oriental food, in particular Thai cuisine and sushi.
Three years ago, praise was given to this upcoming grape variety at a wine conference in Hong Kong by British wine writer Steven Spurrier (portrayed in the Hollywood wine film Sideways) who was asked to nominate the grape variety of the future, and he chose the Italian light-skinned Vermentino.
Leading wine expert Jancis Robinson MW also said of the variety: “I can quite see the appeal of young Vermentinos, virtually all of which exhibit the racy, citrus, often mineral and sometimes marine character of refreshing dry wine, usually unoaked and moderate in alcohol. This is a quintessentially Mediterranean grape variety, retaining its acidity well even in relatively warm regions.”
Another tribute for the Maltese Vermentino came from Stuart Walton, author of The Worlds Encyclopedia of Wine, following a visit and tasting at the Delicata winery in recent years. He described it as “a strikingly aromatic Medina Vermentino – Zibibbo blend is full of jasmine and apple, with nipping, delicate acidity”.