Heroism in a bottle
Of course, the adjective ‘heroic’ has been used before in the world of wine, namely to describe the efforts of vignerons and winemakers that work in steep, precipitous places inhospitable to man. Malta may not qualify as a mountainous island. But what else would you call local winegrowing if not audacious, brave and courageous? In […]
Gorgeous Garrigue in My Glass
Alas, land is far from sacred in Malta and even linguistically it’s sometimes referred to harshly and contemptuously. Through the use of the word xaghri, which derives from the Arabic sahra for desert, we demote our garrigue, those few untouched patches of literally hundreds of different low-growing shrubs and rare indigenous plants, to useless land […]
World Masters of Grape Vine Pruning
Close to the ancient village of Suvereto, on the hills of the Val di Cornia in west Tuscany in vineyards planted to Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties, delegates of Delicata’s viticultural team met up with the world masters of grape vine pruning. Winemaker and head of viticulture, Matthew Delicata accompanied the winery’s viticulturist Jonathan […]
Nothing but the Whole Wine
So many people have been made to believe by the virtues of noses and egos of famous wine critics and other characters in the wine trade that the only way to appreciate wine is through a reductionist search for certain distinct characteristics. If you’re a wine enthusiast who’s attended the odd wine tasting session, you […]
Wine and the Ravages of Time
A thirsty, corkscrew-slinging friend once justified his quick pull of the cork by the witty remark that “wine is merely a crossroad on the thoroughfare from grape juice to vinegar”, to which there is some truth. Wine may very well be a living thing but the popular belief that all wine can be or should […]
