If you are lucky enough to have lived through a vintage season from grape to bottle, then wherever you go next for the rest of your life, the love for the divine nectar stays with you, for wine is a moveable feast.

It is no wonder that we wish to celebrate the yearly spectacle that is the grape crush. As the 2017 Maltese harvest gets out of the blocks this week and the first lots of grapes start to roll in at the Delicata winery, wine enthusiasts rejoice in wine celebrations.

The Delicata Classic Wine Festival is one such celebration. The event is currently in full swing at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. The 16th edition started yesterday and is still on tonight until Sunday, every evening from 7pm until midnight.

Anyone attending and purchasing a souvenir wine glass and a purse filled with wine coins will have the unique opportunity to sip and savour some of the favourite winery picks, Malta’s most iconic, award-winning labels and other vintage wines released in tiny quantities such as the Grand Vin de Hauteville Viognier.

Remarkably, this dry white wine made an unusual escapade of its own earlier last month. In fact, the bronze medal-winning 2016 Grand Vin de Hauteville Viognier mono-varietal DOK Malta Superior by Delicata was chosen as the only Maltese wine to represent Malta at the maiden edition of the Scirocco Wine Fest 2017 held in Gibellina, Sicily.

This Sicilian wine festival is dedicated to culture, gastronomy and wines of the Mediterranean. Delicata’s Malta-grown wine was put on show alongside other quality wines such as wines from Gibellina itself, an off-dry version of the Muscat of Alexandria grape made in the Greek island of Limnos, an oaked red Garnacha Tintorera originating from Almansa in Spain, a Vermentino and Viognier blend representing Tunisia and a Cabernet and Merlot assemblage from the Turkish island of Bozcaada.

Next Delicata’s moveable wine feast will cross the blue Mediterranean waters to Nadur on the weekend between August 18 and 20. With over 20 Delicata quality wines to try, this year’s Gozitan edition might be just another perfect occasion to clink glasses this summer.

There will be plenty of culinary delights on offer, too. Various cooking stalls will sell traditional local favourites and à la carte dishes at the seated Il-Kċina al fresco restaurant in Nadur’s scenic garden Ġnien il-Kunsill with spectacular panoramic views of the valley leading down to Mġarr harbour and then across the Gozo Channel taking in the islands of Comino and Malta.

Adding to the fun of what must be one of the most popular wine festivals in one of the world’s teeny-tiniest winemaking islands is live music performed by local talent.

The line-up includes deejay Pierre Cordina, Straight Ahead, Upper Lip, Cash & Band and many others.

As is the case at the Valletta festival, entrance is free but to sample the wines one must pay €15 for a souvenir wine glass which comes with a wine purse filled with 24 wine coins exchangeable for glasses of a wide selection of wines.

The Delicata Classic Wine Festival in Gozo is organised in collaboration with the Nadur local council.

For more details, visit www.delicata.com.

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