Winemaker and head of viticulture Matthew Delicata accompanied the winery’s viticulturist Jonathan Falzon and vineyard hand John Grima on their second visit to the Italian School of Vine Pruning founded by long-time viticulturists Marco Simonit and Pierpaolo Sirch.

This time they participated in master classes about green pruning whereas in December the lessons delivered by the same team of highly-specialised technicians (nicknamed the ‘pruninguys’) focused on winter vine pruning carried out when the vine is dormant.

Rather than old-fashioned, opportunistic wood-snipping action with only grape yield in mind, Delicata’s viticultural team embraces new pruning techniques.

The aim is always to prune in the best possible way so as to prolong the lifetime of Malta’s vines and improve the structure of the plant in order to harvest a high-quality grape crop.

The newly-acquired knowledge and skills are transferred by Delicata’s team to the Maltese grape growers that tend the many boutique vineyards making up the Delicata domaine.