Wines of Malta - Choices of the best Maltese produced wines for the Festive Season.

Peace be with you.

The Festive Season starts early in Malta and gastronomy with ample wining and dining to last everyone for about a year, in normal circumstances, is consumed and indulged in, as if there is no tomorrow, in the last couple of weeks of the year, and possibly during the first week of the new one.





Staff parties, family dinners and lunches, group lunches and dinners, etc., will be the order of the day in a week or so, culminating in the traditional Christmas Day lunch and the New Year's Day lunch, both of which are traditionally family affairs carried out at home, or as has been more popular these last few years, in restaurants and hotels.

And what better way is there to celebrate these festivities, if not in the company of one's loved ones, with sumptious cuisine, complemented by a well chosen wine that pairs well with the cuisine on the menu?

Some of the wines taste-tested
prior to featuring and recommending.

Over the course of the last year, I have officially taste-tested and reviewed numerous bottles and brands of wine varietals produced both locally as well as overseas, as may be seen in the features that have been published both in this website, as well as in my wine dedicated website Wine:Reno Spiteri's Wineopolis.






For your enjoyment, and to keep within the scope of this website - Wines and Restaurants of Malta, I am highlighting herewith a selection of the best, premium, local wine brands and varietals which would pair well and complement to perfection traditional Festive Season cuisine, whether one is dining at home or in any restaurant.

Traditional Roast Turkey.

The traditional and most popular dish for Christmas is without a doubt the roast turkey. From appetizers which might consist of good helpings of meat and ricotta or spinach cannelloni, or rich home-made timpana,  to white and dark turkey meat, mashed or roast potatoes, herb-filled stuffing, cranberry sauces, there does not seem to be just the one wine varietal that would fit the meal seamlessly from start to finish. On the other hand, turkey oriented dinners can lend themselves to good choices of wines, if one takes some time to think, plan and choose beforehand.

So how do we go about it? If we are choosing white wines then we have to select wines that have a well-balanced acidity and not to much, if any oak, and for red wines we have to aim for wines with fairly mild tannins (not so dry), having a medium body.

My selection to pair with turkey oriented cuisine would be a choice from:
White wines selection::
Sauvignon Blanc - Gran Cavalier;
Chardonnay - Meridiana ISIS; Ta' Mena Enchor.
Viogner - Gran Vin De Hauteville;  Laurenti-Vermentino/Viogner.
Pianoforte white from Camilleri.

Gran Cavalier.

Meridiana's ISIS and Astarte.

Red Wines selection:
Syrah - Gran Cavalier;
Merlot - Gran Cavalier;
Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend-  Laurenti; Meridiana Melqart.
Cabernet Sauvignon - Ta'Mena Gabillot (Unoaked).
Pianoforte Ebony from Camilleri.

The Ta' Mena Selection.

Pianoforte.

To complement the above cuisine or in lieu of , some would opt for roast chicken or capons, or better still the traditional free range bred Maltese Rooster (serduq ta' Malta),  for which an unoaked white wine such as the:
Medina Vermentino-Zibibbo;
Meridiana Astarte Vermentino and Isis Chardonnay,
as well as a good value for money Palatino Sauvignon Blanc would be ideal.

Three fine wines for duck and geese.

For duck and geese my selection would fall on a:
Meridiana Nexus and Melqart,
Victoria Heights Merlot;
Laurenti Cabernet/Merlot;
Medina Syrah 2010 and Gran Cavalier Syrah 2010.
or an excellent Enchor Chardonnay from Ta' Mena,
all of which must be opened at least two hours prior to serving.

Laurenti.

Veal and pork dishes are paired with a:
Gran Cavalier Sauvignon Blanc; Grand Vin de Hauteville Viogner;
Ta' Mena Enchor (Chardonnay); a choice from the Laurenti selections;
or a Gran Cavalier Merlot.

Roast beef prime-rib

Then we have the traditional roast and grilled beef for the New Year's day lunches.
Beef and lamb and game such as vennison open the doors to the full bodied, oak aged red wines. My selection here would be:
Meridiana Celsius Cabernet Sauvignon; Nexus Merlot; Bel Syrah;
Emm. Delicata Gran Cavalier Syrah; Gran Cavalier Merlot.
Ta' Mena Marsamena blend of five grape varieties.
Grand Vin de Hauteville Cabernet Sauvignon and the Shiraz-Cabernet blend.

Ta' Mena Marsamena.

Meridiana Celsius.

Fish and king prawns.

Some families also may choose to celebrate the New Year's Day Lunch by preparing a feast of fish and seafood. For fish and seafood we are spoilt for choice in as far as Malta produced white wines are concerned, but my choices would fall as follows:
For fish, seafood and seashells served with a pinch of lemon, poached or grilled- strictly unoaked white wine such as the:
Meridiana Astarte Vermentino, and ISIS Chardonnay, Gran Cavalier Sauvignon Blanc, Meridiana Vermentino-Zibibbo, and Palatino Sauvignon Blanc.
For fish and seafood with cream sauce the selection is:
Ta' Mena Enchor Chardonnay; Gran Cavalier Chardonnay, Hauteville oak aged Chardonnay.

Wine choices are of course subjective and should be made with personal preferences. But pairing the correct grape variety or wine varietal to the cuisine being consumed will enhance one's dining pleasure and give that fulfilling taste to the food. When serving wine always ensure that the correct glassware is available for the particular wine being served, and of course that the wine is at the correct temperature. Generally 18 Deg.C for red wines, and approx 10 to 12 deg.C for white.

And for dessert!!!

Dolce Vita and Moscato

Desserts, cheese and coffee? Naturally no lunch or dinner such as those enjoyed during the Festive Season is complete without these and to complement desserts and cheese, and to finish that espresso, both Camilleri Wines and Emm. Delicata Winemaker have on the market two excellent and affordable dessert wines in the name of  Dolce Vita for Camilleri and the recently released Grand Vin De Hauteville Moscato Liqueur Wine 2009  for the Delicata.

For more details and wines of Malta illustrations and features on each individual winemaker mentioned above, refer to the earlier articles published in this website.



So what's left to bedone? Prepare your home menu, stock up on a choice of the recommended wines, and there you are. On the other hand if you are eating out, one might be subjected to what the restaurant has to offer, but selecting a wine from the above choices (if on the wine list), will no doubt satisfy you and your guests. 


Cheers.