A spectacular vocal performance by Joseph Calleja was served-up with fine wine and sumptuous food yesterday, as the visit to Malta of the oldest and perhaps most prestigious wine fraternity in the world reached a climax.

Delegates and members of the Jurade de Saint Emilion, based in the Bordeaux region of France, were treated to performances by tenor Calleja and soprano Gillian Zammit during Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

Jurade council members, in Malta on only their second overseas visit of the year, and local Jurats wore their robes for the occasion. Eleven more prominent members of Maltese society were initiated into the Jurade at a ceremony following the Mass.

Afterwards, they visited Caravaggio’s ‘Beheading of St John’ and were given a presentation by cathedral curator Cynthia de Giorgio. A champagne reception followed at the Casino Maltese before lunch hosted by President and Mrs George Abela at the Palace in Valletta.

Eight of the finest French wines were served to guests with the lunch, all proceeds of which will go to the Community Chest Fund. Delegates arrived last Thursday and on Friday evening a convivial evening of wine and live music was held at Trabuxu in South Street, Valletta. Wine lovers at Trabuxu had the unique opportunity to sample 11 different Saint Emilion wines, served by the producers themselves.

Originally founded in 1199, the community of St Emilion revitalised the Jurade in 1948, primarily to promote wines produced in its jurisdiction.

French television was in Malta to cover the visit, which ends today.