New York Times columnist Florence Fabricant’s article on her visit to Malta last September was published on January 7, under the heading ‘A secret hidden in the Mediterranean’.
The article focuses on the quality of the two Maltese grape varieties Girgentina and Ġellewża and the scarcity of Maltese wines in general outside our shores. A sub-head read ‘Maltese wines are a long way from the wine shop”.
The introduction states: “Even the most adventuresome wine drinkers have probably never tasted a Maltese wine. How could they? The Maltese themselves drink almost all that their handful of wineries produce.”
Subsequent posts on the New York Times Facebook page, alluding to the wines’ rarity, also produced positive comments such as “Maltese wines are wonderful if you can find them” and “Well, people of Malta, it seems you’ve been holding out on us when it comes to wine.”
Another story titled ‘Maltese wines win New York Times affection’ appeared on the American social networking website for wine lovers, Snooth.com. This states: “The tiny island of Malta surged its way to the headlines of the New York Times food section, scoring recognition for its little-known wines and proving that the country is more than just the title of a Humphrey Bogart film.”
The story was also picked up and run on fresh-news-uk and punchdrink.com.
Fabricant writes: “Once on the island, getting to know the wines is as easy as eating lunch. A couple of pages of them are right up front on every wine list, and they are the most reasonably priced choices.”
As regards the two native varietal wines, she says: “Why sip Syrah when there’s Ġellewża? I’m familiar with the earthy, spicy flavours of Syrah from sun-baked climates, but not Ġellewża. And why the ubiquitous Chardonnay when there’s a bottle of crisp Girgentina, or at least a blend of Girgentina and Chardonnay?”
During her visit to Delicata, Fabricant tasted both the Maltese Falcon and Delicata’s Frizzante wines with winemaker Matthew Delicata, two brands which she highlighted in her article.
Delicata has been a fervent supporter of Malta’s two indigenous grape varieties for a very long time now. It has been 18 years since Delicata was internationally endorsed in the leading UK Wine & Spirit magazine as “championing” Malta’s indigenous grape varieties; and following that it was a noticeably lone voice in the battle to save these two varietals from being ‘grubbed up’ when negotiations to join the EU were taking place.
But once again, the importance of our native grape varieties – and their quality – has been recognised, and articles like this in such a prestigious publication will hopefully guide wine enthusiasts to these unique viticultural treasures.
Fabricant closes her article saying: “Today, with the wine world discovering traditional oddball grapes like Nero Mascalese in Sicily and Savignin from eastern France, Ġellewża and Girgentina should have a following. That’s if the wines could ever make it out of Malta.”
Fabricant is a renowned US food writer and columnist who contributes regularly to the New York Times dining section. She is the author of 12 cookbooks, most recently a book written with Eric Asmiov, titled Wine with Food: Pairing Notes and Recipes from the New York Times.