Michele Chiarlo, owner of the eponymous winemaker from the Piedmont region in north-west Italy, spoke enthusiastically about the latest vintage – 2015, which was his 60th harvest in the business.

Chiarlo was speaking at the Half Way Inn in Mellieħa at an event marking the reopening of this landmark restaurant after it was rebuilt on the same site where it has been operating for the past 30 years after being closed for just under 20 months.

Proprietor Joe Bartolo said it was a family concern, started by his mother, that now employs professional chefs offering Mediterranean cuisine. It seats 120 indoors and 60 on the terrace. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 6pm (last orders at 10.30) and is also open for Sunday lunch from noon to 3pm.

Bartolo only started working with Attard & Co. Foodstuffs Ltd, local agents for Michele Chiarlo wines, since the restaurant reopened but he is impressed with the portfolio of wines offered and the high level of service.

“The 2015 vintage is one of the greatest in my life in terms of climatic conditions and the timing of the harvest, enabling us to conduct the perfect phenolic maturation, which is very rare,” Chiarlo said.

A frequent visitor to Malta and Gozo, of which he has a great passion, he told the distinguished guests at the event that our “beautiful islands are number one in the world for Michele Chiarlo in terms of market penetration and consumption per head of the population”.

There were two Gavis on offer, two Barberas and a Moscato.