A CNBC World film crew recently spent some seven hours filming at the Delicata winery and at the company’s wine festival at the Upper Barrakka gardens in Valletta. The film crew were filming a new wine, food and travel series for the Wine Portfolio programme presented by TV host Jody Ness. The programme is watched by over 88 million viewers in the US and 330 million people worldwide.
Mr Ness together with Kevin Fox, president and CEO of Re: Source Media inc. and John Primeau, Public Relations manager of Holland America Line were welcomed to the wine festival by Michael Delicata who had coordinated the visit.
The following morning the CNBC film crew visited the Delicata winery on Paola waterfront where Bill Hermitage, Delicata’s director of Sales and Marketing, escorted Mr Ness and his team through the grape receiving area and Delicata’s new fermentation hall before tasting wines from both the tanks and French oak barrique.
Mr Ness was particularly interested in the wines made from Malta’s two indigenous grape varieties and particularly liked the Girgentina and Gellewza Frizzantes. He also passed very favourable comments on other wines made from the international varieties such as the two I.G.T. Maltese Islands Maltese Falcon red and Pjazza Regina red as well as the three D.O.K. Malta Medina Vermentino Zibibbo and the barrel matured Gran Cavalier Merlot and Syrah wines.
This year’s Delicata wine festival, which broke all previous attendance records, was highly praised by the CNBC news team who stated that they had been caught totally by surprise, both by the quality of the Delicata wines and the atmosphere of the festival itself. They also commented on what a great showcase the festival is for Maltese wines and how unique and impressive such an event is, especially being that it is all organised by one single producer at such an exclusive venue.
After his visit the TV host of CNBC Worlds Wine Portfolio programme posted these comments on his Facebook page: “While in Malta, we attended Delicata’s annual Classic Wine Festival 2010. WHAT an amazing night. The bands, the food, the venue and of course the wines. I have to say Malta absolutely makes great wines.”