Cracking bottles and eggs

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Cracking bottles and eggs
The egg measure of skill White wine is to a winemaker what the egg, one of the most finicky but essential staples of cooking, is to a chef: a telling gauge of ability and skill. Making white wine is easy but hard to master. Requiring a delicate touch, an exact sense of timing and an [...]

The unsung heroes of wine service

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The unsung heroes of wine service
I remember how about 10 years ago the hospitality sector in Malta lamented the lack of sommeliers for hire. Back then, the feeling was that more certified wine professionals with the aptitude to look after wine service lock, stock and barrel needed to join the ranks. Pessimists will say that wine service is still not [...]

Manners Maketh the Wine

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Manners Maketh the Wine
The festive season is that time of year when some people get to try wine for the first time, especially when dining out. That’s when they come to realise that wine drunk at the restaurant table is a unique beverage having a set of manners all its own. Take the ritual of approval. Once you’ve [...]

Wine lists by soil type, seriously?

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Wine lists by soil type, seriously?
Listing bottles on wine lists according to the soil type the grapevines grow in instead of by wine style, grape variety or winemaking region is the latest fad. I’m all for novelty but is this really a helpful way? It’s easy to see where this trend is coming from. Wine professionals and aficionados alike are [...]

Wine and Vitello tonnato revisited

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Wine and Vitello tonnato revisited

If you were to take a culinary snapshot of Malta, apart from wine, tuna and capers would be some of the most likely local ingredients centred in the crosshairs of your viewfinder. Prepared together with fresh veal, they would make for a vanguard Maltese surf-and-turf dish local fishermen and farmers, chefs and sommeliers, and all … Read More