Ta Mena Wine Estate.

I parked the car outside the Ta Mena winery reluctant to leave the comfort of my climate controlled environment as the sun shone and a shimmering heat haze rose from the tarmac outside.
I had been invited to meet with the winery owner Joseph Spiteri, the oenologist from Veneto in Italy Claudio Bortoli, the winery manager Carmelo, and marketing consultant Mario Vella.
My brief was simple, the blends for the 2009 vintage of the '1551' range of wines was about to bottled the blends had been decided and I was to come and give my opinion as an outsider, the man in the streets opinion would perhaps be a good analogy. I was reliably informed that wine expert Oz Clarke was in the winery a few days earlier giving his opinion on this vintage. No pressure then!

I entered the winery and immediately found myself back in a climate controlled environment. (The Ta Mena Estate is in the middle of the 2010 grape harvest at the moment as is every other winery in Malta and Gozo.) The diverse mix of smells that hit you as you enter the tall metal roller shuttered doors, that of alcohol, yeast and grapes.
Introductions over I was presented with a table displaying the wines I was about to try, a spittoon and relevant glasses, I sat down at the table and each wine was poured in turn for me as studied swirled and spat, taking notes as I went. Meanwhile 4 expectant faces watched and waited for my conclusions. You have to understand that I thought I was asked just to offer an opinion, surrounded by these seasoned professionals.

The wines tasted are not yet the finished product, they are coming to the end of their raw state, so the skill (as they say) is in trying to visualise, to see into the future and determine how the wines are likely to taste once filtered, bottled and have had any ageing where required.

Joe Spiteri wine enthusiast and owner of the Ta Mena Estate

Ok Steve less of the waffle, what were the wines like?

• ‘1551’ Gozo D.O.K.Chardonnay. 2009. 12.5% alcohol. Grapes handpicked in the Ramla Valley. A simple clean tasting no nonsense chardonnay. On the nose, buttery, slightly citrus a hint of peach. On the palate very good fruit acid balance with the fruit slightly dominating, a medium length finish.

• ‘1551’ Gozo D.O.K.Chardonnay. 2009. Barrel Fermented 12.5% alcohol. Grapes handpicked in the Ramla Valley. This wine is very much more complex that the standard chardonnay, when poured into the glass it did take a good 10mins for the aromas to start leaving the wine. Slightly toasty, spicy oak (but not over oaked) rich layered and complex but not too heavy, a good food wine.

• ‘1551’ Gozo D.O.K. Merlot, Grenache, Tempranillo, Rose’ 2009 12.5% alcohol. Grapes handpicked in the Marsalforn Valley. A medium red rose’ on the nose slightly sweet soft fruit, on the palate strawberries, slight acidity, nicely rounded light with a good long finish. A good summer lunch time wine.

• ‘1551’ Gozo D.O.K. Serkuzan, Syrah, 2009. 13% alcohol. Blend about 50% of each variety.I here you saying what is serkuzan? Well not enough room here but let’s just say it is a close relative of Nero D’Avola. This wine has an interesting nose, of raspberry, cherry, slightly herby on the palate, not too fat. A medium bodied and easy drinking style.

• ‘1551’ Gozo D.O.K. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, 2009 13% alcohol. 65% merlot 35% cabernet franc. The merlot dominates but you can definitely notice the Cabernet franc. On the nose red berries and pencil shavings with raspberry on the palate A dry finish with raspberry, cranberry, and a hint of tobacco. Will improve with keeping.

• ‘1551’ Gozo D.O.K Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009. 65% cabernet sauvignon 35% merlot. This was my favourite of the reds. On the nose blackberry and raspberry, on the palate red cherry spice notes with tobacco. Soft tannins and good length a nice food wine. Another keeper.

Joseph Spiteri happily admits that he is a new boy in the local wine industry; his aim is recognition as a producer of high quality wines. I am sure with the expert help he employs; with his enthusiasm and dedication and based on the wines I have tasted, he is well on the way to achieving his dream.

Read more...

Twenty Five Random Things About Wine

I signed up to Facebook in order to be better "connected." I must have forgotten that I still can't even keep up with my own e-mails Now every time I receive a message on my "Wall," it shows up on my e-mail too, compounding the number of things I have to either delete or answer. Plus, there are other sneaky Face-book things, like being "tagged." No one ever told me about this.

Thanks Face-book. Here are 'Twenty Five Random Things About Wine'

1. Syrah and Shiraz are the exactly the same grape. This grape grows all over the world. But it is the Aussies that are particular to the Shiraz name.

2. Red wine can go with fish (e.g. Pinot noir and grilled tuna).

3. A robust full bodied White wine can go with meat.

4. Very few people know that rosé wine (the pink one), goes with just about anything.

5. Extra dry Champagne is actually a bit sweet. It's the Brut Champagnes that are the dry ones.

6. Most of the world's vineyards fall between the 30 degree and the 50 degree parallels (that's latitude talk). Under 30 is too close to the Equator and too hot. Over 50 is too close to the arctic poles and too cold. Forty is just right, if you ignore global warming.

7. One 750 milliliter bottle of wine contains about 2.8 pounds of grapes, if chemically reconstructed.

8. An adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood was withdrawn from a recommended reading list by the school board in Culver City, Calif., because the heroine had a bottle of wine in the basket she brought to her grandmother.

9. The longest recorded Champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches, 4 feet from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York state, on June 5, 1988. (Don't do it, it's such a waste).

10. White wine gets darker as it ages, while red wine gets lighter.

11. According to scientist Bill Lembeck, there are about 49 million bubbles in every bottle of Champagne. Give or take a few.

12. The largest cork tree in the world is known as The Whistler Tree. This tree is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal and averages more than 1 ton of raw cork per harvest, which is enough to cork 100,000 bottles of wine.

13. A case of 1982 Le Pin (Bordeaux red) cost $327 upon release. Years later, at a Hong Kong auction, a case was sold for $106,000.

14. America's oldest Zinfandel vineyard is believed to be the Grandpère (meaning "grandfather") vineyard in Amador County, California. It was planted in the 1850s and consists of 20 acres of very wise vines.

15. The corkscrew was invented in 1860.

16. Bag-in-the-box wines were invented in 1960.

17. The wine list at Bern's Steak House in Florida is 2,500 pages. It weighs five pounds and is chained to the table.

18. Marilyn Monroe was said to have once taken a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne. Vintage not confirmed.

19. Claret is the British term for a Bordeaux red wine.

20. In the 1964 movie Gold-finger, James Bond (Sean Connery) drank a 1947 Mouton-Rothschild at dinner with Auric Goldfinger.

21. Famous wine buyer Angela Mount has her nose and taste buds insured for $18 million.

22. Demi Moore tried to seduce Michael Douglas in the 1994 movie Disclosure with a bottle of the limited edition Pahlmeyer 1991 Chardonnay (Napa Valley, California). She seduced Ashton Kutcher in real life with a case of Red Bull.

23. Horton Norton is a delicious red wine made in Virginia. The winery name is Horton. The Norton is a native Virginia grape (originally grown by the Monticello Wine Co. of Charlottesville in the late 1800s). "Who"?

24. In Fairbanks, Alaska, it's illegal to feed a moose any alcohol beverage, including wine.

25. A jar of red wine was found in Tutankhamen's tomb, inscribed with the winemaker name, Khaa, and the vintage, "Year 5." Those who tasted it remarked that it was "kinda funky."

Well there it is, I could probably find more but my concentration was starting to go.

Read more...

Malta Wine Labeling Laws

I published a review last week on a wine I had found being produced here in Gozo (See previous post) I inadvertently stirred up a bit of a storm concerning the recently implemented wine labeling laws here in Malta.

Here is the comment on the post from a reader of my blog, goes by the name anonymous -

Hi, I see at least two problems with this label: 'Cabarnet' should be 'Cabernet', and, more importantly, unless this wine is certified as a D.O.K. Gozo by the powers that be, the mention 'hand-picked Gozo grapes' is illegal. The authorities have no choice but to force this cowboy and his agent in Malta and Gozo to recall all bottles from shelves, restaurants and wine bars that have been ignorant enough to stock it. Yes, let's watch this space...

A bit of research was required on my part to clarify the situation. I contacted a friendly wine consultant here in Malta. And this is his view.

1. The wine in question appears to be of the 2007 vintage. Therefore it has to comply with the Maltese Wine Law and protocols, which apply for all wines made from grapes of the 2007 and consecutive vintages. That's the law.
2. Amongst many things, this means that the words 'Gozo' (clearly visible on the label in this case) or 'Malta', 'Maltese Islands' can only be mentioned on wines that have been officially certified, and only in legally defined combination's with the the terms 'D.O.K.' and 'I.G.T.', written as an abbreviation or written in full as the appellation of the corresponding wine.
3. I do not know if this wine has been certified or not. But, even it it were, its label fails in this respect (as I do not see 'D.O.K.' anywhere near the word 'Gozo') which consequently makes it 'irregular' to say the least. Your blog follower seems to have a valid point, indeed.
4. You are correct that wines made in Malta - and Gozo - do not have to get certified as D.O.K. or I.G.T. per se. However, the law has it that wines which are not certified as such can only be labeled and put on the market as 'table wine' at best (and again, only if these wines comply with the governing rules for the 'table wine' category).
5. One needs to understand, though, that, according to Maltese regulations for 'table wine', none of the terms 'Gozo', 'Malta', 'Maltese Islands' can be used on the label. Neither is the producer allowed to mention the vintage, the vineyard and estate, or the grape variety on the label of a 'table wine'.
6. Thus, even if this wine in question were to be a correctly made 'table wine', still it seems to obstruct labelling regulations. Judging by the picture on your blog, it appears not to be labelled correctly as a 'table wine' either since it does in fact mention vintage and vineyard/estate. This once more favours your blog follower's argument that it needs to be recalled.
7. Since I'm not an authority on such legal matters, I suggest you contact the ministry concerned (MMRA) for further clarification (forgive the pun).

So there you have it, anonymous was completely right, you learn something new every day. Legalities aside still a very nice wine.

Read more...

A Great Wine on My Doorstep.

I pulled a bottle of wine from my cellar the other day whilst looking for a red wine just a little different from my usual everyday quaffing wines to accompany my roast beef dinner. I found Marsamena 2007, not being familiar with this particular wine I thought lets give it a try. I could not remember where I had bought it from, I could see that I had payed €12.00 for it.

After checking the label I could see that it was produced less than 1 mile from my front door at the Ta Mena Estate famous for being the first agrotourism project in the Maltese Islands, I knew that wine was made their and being the cynic that I am expected to be trying a rather harsh country style wine made in the kitchen with whatever equipment could be found, how wrong I was.

Let me give the little information I have been able to find about this wine, it is a Merlot / Cabernet Sauvignon blend, is made from grapes grown on the estate, is barrel aged in new oak and unfiltered, (filtering a wine can strip some of the original character).

Deep purple to look at, spice, vanilla and red berry fruits on the nose and the all important tasting gave me - spice, oak and cherry had a long finish it reminded me of a well made red wine from the Nappa valley. This wine is not at all what I expected and has certainly not been produced by granny in her kitchen. I can not recommend this wine highly enough, at €12.00 a bottle it's not an every day drinking wine but for that special dinner, superb.

I guess I should go and check out this estate and find out more.
Watch this space.

Read more...

International wine trade to help Haiti.

The wine trade has been working together to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake tragedy.
Wine experts Jancis Robinson MW, Matthew Jukes and Gary Vaynerchuk have been active in using social media to promote the Wines for Haiti fund-raising project, started by US wine network.

The campaign has drawn in support from social networking sites across the globe to encourage people to donate something special from their cellar to be auctioned online. The Wines for Haiti auction has raised over $30,000 to date. Australian social networking site Booze Monkey is hoping to raise $100,000 by asking for wine donations.

Booze Monkey CEO Marc Jardine said: 'I don't care if it's a bottle of Blue Nun or a case of Grange, if you can spare some wine to help save a life, we want to hear from you.' Dale Williams, founder of the website Wine Lovers Discussion Group has also become involved, offering his collection of fine Bordeaux as prizes in a wine raffle, including a 1979 Domaine de Chevalier.

Further initiatives include a dedicated Oxfam appeal asking wine lovers to substitute buying their favorite bottles for donating money to the appeal.

Read more...