A celebration of Maltese culture, arts and traditions will light up Qormi’s Main Street over the weekend for this year’s edition of the town’s Wine Festival.
Organised by the Kumitat Festi Esterni San Ġorġ Martri in collaboration with the Qormi local council for the seventh consecutive year, the festival will be held between Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. until midnight, while wine will be served until 11.30 p.m. to those over 17 years of age.
Main Street will be set up with several wine and traditional food stands in a festa atmosphere, and non-alcoholic beverages will be sold from a separate stall.
Although disputable, the name Qormi is said to derive from Curmi, meaning “vine”, and has always been synonymous with winemaking.
An exhibition recounting the journey of the grape from harvest to bottling will be set up during the festival.
The Committee’s cashier, Michael Muscat, will have a mannequin exhibition that will include original 20th century tools and equipment used for wine-making.
A wine-producer by profession, Mr Muscat, 59, has been in the business for more than 40 years. He points to a map of Qormi hung up to the side, dotted with more than 100 wine-bars located in Saint George’s parish: the old part of the town.
Mr Mifsud says the exhibits have been set up forming a trail of the wine process, including a tappatriċi (a machine which caps bottles with corks), a wine taster, a wine filler, a pressa (a machine which squeezes juice out of the grapes’ peels) and barrel making equipment.
There was a time when wine used to be sold from the barrel, carried around on a horse-drawn cart (karrettun).
Wine could be bought by the bucket (40 litres), ġarra (10 litres), by the kwarta (five litres) or nofs kwarta (2.5 litres).
A WWII shelter, discovered recently, will also be open for the public during the wine festival, while more than 90 artistes including bands, soloists and folk groups will be performing on three stages.
Entrance to the festival is free, however, those wishing to try out the several wines on offer can purchase a souvenir wineglass for €10 which will be theirs to keep. Maltese food platters will also be available at €6.
For more information, the organisers can be contacted on 7906 2455, 7920 3512 or winefestival@festiesterniqormi.org