Two new wine classifications have just been introduced in Malta for the first time (commencing with the 2007 vintage) and the wines permitted to use these new classifications must be made entirely from grapes grown in Malta and Gozo. The wines will have to have gone through independent analysis and adjudication both locally and overseas before certification was finally given.

The term ‘Quality Wine’ is an official wine designation used throughout the European Union and beyond and the E.U. recognizes this category of Quality Wine as the highest of its wine categories. These wines are classified as Q.W.P.S.R.     (Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region). Each country has its own terminology for identifying these Quality Wines, which it then proudly displays on the label of each bottle. ie. D.O.C. in Italy, A.O.C. in France. For the consumer it is an instant guarantee of the wines authenticity and origin. 

In line with stringent E.U. regulations, Malta wines from the 2007 harvest, that conform to the QWPSR legislation and pass D.O.K. accreditation, can display the words on the label DENOMINAZZJONI TA’ ORIGINI KONTROLLATA or the abbreviation D.O.K. This will be preceded by the sub region denoting where the grapes used to produce the wine were grown ie. MALTA or GOZO.

The grapes used to produce these D.O.K. Quality Wines will had to have had higher natural alcohol levels and must have come from authorised vines with lower yields than wines falling under I.G.T. and Table Wine status. The finished wines will also have undergone rigorous, independent, analytical and organaleptic tests by blind tasting panels at the Enoteca di Siena in Italy. 

The five Q.W.P.S.R. wine brands produced by Delicata, which will all have either D.O.K. or I.G.T. status once the 2007 vintage has been released are:

The Maltese Falcon, Medina, Victoria Heights of Gozo, Grand Vin De Hauteville and Gran Cavalier.