Conventional wisdom has it that well-balanced, healthy older vines, with their roots firmly in the soil and with grape yield kept in check, produce the best fruit. Deep down there seems to be some dirty realism to this supremacy of ‘old vines’, a term which has roots, so to speak. But has it really?
Maltese Wine
Con or Concours
If you were really a member of the wine elite, you’d know this already: wine competitions are ruled by a powerful, secretive few or the so-called ‘concours illuminati’. They are a cadre of wine wonks with the sole mission of publishing fake wine awards, a fraternity plotting against consumers on behalf of a united council of … Read More
2044 Malta Wine Odyssey (intro)
There are times when I wouldn’t have liked to have been a quality-conscious Maltese winemaker. One of those periods was up to the early 1980s, when I wasn’t allowed to buy the vines or the equipment I needed and was told to charge much less than what I really ought to. It was a time … Read More