Delicata crushes more rare grapes

They do it in Bordeaux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rioja, Tuscany, Douro and many of the world’s renowned wine regions in search of consistency, complexity and longevity.

What are winemakers in these classic red wine areas and appellations doing to improve their wares? Blending of course!

The Delicata’s portfolio of award-winning labels, too, includes red wines that owe their character partially to the art of blending. And, lesser-known grape varieties are often the secret ingredient used to spice up things.

The famed Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot and Syrah varieties are just four of the many varieties that the winery crushed during the long and quality-yielding 2020 harvest season, which for Delicata only came to a close this week.

Other, lesser-known red-skinned varieties that got pressed precisely for their blending properties are Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and the even scarcer Montepulciano, Nero d’Avola, Tempranillo and Graciano cultivars.

These uncommon grape varieties are scarcely planted locally but grown with great care in family-run vineyards of the Delicata domaine in Malta and Gozo.

Traditionally, Graciano gets used as a blending partner to Tempranillo in Spain’s iconic red Rioja and in the neighbouring Navarra region. It is a low-yielding variety that produces red wines with deep colour and strong aromas and it adds ageing potential.

The name Nero d’Avola may ring a bell: it is the most important red wine grape in Sicily and can add body and boldness. Central and southern Italy’s Montepulciano, when fully ripened, is plump with high amounts of juice and generally used to balance acidity and increase extract and alcohol levels.

This 2020 vintage, Delicata harvested a record total of 22 different red- and green-skinned grape varieties. During this harvest, which will be remembered as the pandemic vintage, Malta’s foremost winery has not refused any quality grapes but honoured their commitment to the grape growers affiliated to the Delicata Vines for Wine scheme.

The Delicata winery remains steadfast in the pursuit of more land to put under vine for their award-winning Maltese wine brands.

This article by Georges Meekers was first published in the Times of Malta on 25/09/20.