Viticulture in Malta is one of the principal agricultural sectors and has an important socio-economic and environmental bearing.

On the basis of a census carried out by the National Statistics Office in 2001, Malta had a surface area of 345 hectares under wine grapes, of which 303 hectares were on Malta and 42 hectares on Gozo.

On Malta, the majority of vineyards were concentrated in Rabat and Mgarr. In 2004 the total vineyard surface area was increased to 710 hectares with most of the new areas under vine not yet in production. These areas fall within a specific derogation granted by the Commission whereby Malta will be able to increase the area under vines for the production of quality wine produced in a specified region (QWPSR) and table wines with a geographic description to a total of 1,000 hectares. In 2005 this figure stands at 840 hectares.

Of the 345 hectares according to the census of 2001, only 40 per cent were in production and destined for the production of “quality” wines.

From the above area under vine Malta produced, in 2001, about 10,000 hectolitres (100 litres) of wine.

The production of vineyards destined for family consumption has a great incidence on the national production. In fact 65 per cent of the 345 hectares under vines produce grapes for family consumption, which is vinified by the same producer (20 per cent) or by third persons who acquire grapes at the central market (45 per cent) for family consumption.

The remaining 35 per cent of the vineyards produce wine for commercialisation.

In 2001, Maltese viticulture was mainly based on the cultivation of white grapes, which represented about 65 per cent of the area under vines, against a 35 per cent of black grapes. The presence of the original, earliest-known grape varieties was highly significant. The white Girgentina, in particular, represented 50 per cent of the vineyards, while the black Gellewza represented 20 per cent of the area in 2001.

The new vineyards planted between 2002 and 2005 have been principally planted with international varieties such as Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

In 2001, 2 per cent of the vineyards were less than two years old, 39 per cent were aged between two and 10 years, 26 per cent between 10 and 20 years, 20 per cent between 20 and 30 years and 13 per per cent were over 30 years old.

With regard to the training systems used, in 2001, 80 per cent of Maltese vineyards did not have any type of support, being cultivated with a sprawling form, while 20 per cent had a trellised support.

From recent studies it has become evident that the majority of the original varieties present a high degree of viral infections which compromise the maturation and quality of the grapes as well as their production.

The above prevailing system of cultivation has a further detrimental result on the effective yield and quality of these vineyards.

To satisfy internal requirements, Malta also produces wines from imported grapes and musts. In fact, every year Malta vinifies about 20,000 hectolitres of wine from foreign grapes and acquires about 20,000 hectolitres of musts from abroad. In 2004 Malta commercially vinified about 2,500 tons of locally produced grapes and about 6,000 tons of imported grapes. Therefore the volume of wine produced was of about 60,000 hectolitres of wine with another 10,000 hectolitres estimated for family consumption.

Moreover, one has to take into consideration that the lack of specialised personnel and agricultural machinery, which result in the consequently high cost of planting and maintenance operations, give rise to a situation where the layer of underlying superficial rock is not broken in favour of a deeper rooting zone before plantation. This conditions the quality of the final product, since the reduced cultivatable depth accentuates the progressive concentration of salts in the soil and further reduces the water availability to the plants, factors which together with a hot-arid climate block the correct maturation of the grapes and increase the concentration of salt in the wines produced.

Positive features of the Maltese vitivinicultural sector are as follows:

• favourable pedo-climatic conditions for vitiviniculture. Because of the dry climate, the vineyards need fewer anti-parasite treatments;

• the possibility of easily introducing vine propagation material which has been genetically selected (clonal selection) and virus free;

• the presence of original varieties which could produce typical wines of Maltese character;

• the existence of a strong tie between grape growers and wineries who tend to incentivate quality and promote the development of the sector.

Negative features of the Maltese vitivinicultural sector are:

• a reduced average area under vine per holding;

• limited ampelographic platform;

• Poor state of phytosanitary conditions of the local varieties;

• Superficial soils, especially on the southern part of the Island;

• Widespread use of cultivation systems which are not adapted or rational;

• Wine production from traditional vineyards of a low qualitative level;

• Low incidence of vineyards which allow the partial or complete mechanisation of cultivation operations, with consequently high maintenance costs;

• High costs for the setting up and maintenance of rational vineyards trained onto a trellis structure;

• High incidence of vinification of grapes for the purpose of family consumption;

• High dependence on imported grapes and musts to satisfy internal need.

The year 2005 has afforded us a great vintage year, which augurs a promising start for the birth of Malta’s quality wine system. In the EU only two categories of wine are recognised: table wine and QWPSR. The Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment will shortly be enacting the subsidiary legislation that will provide for the creation of the QWPSR category of wine. The Maltese term will be “Denominazzjoni ta’ Origini Kontrollata” or DOK for short. From then onwards it will be up to the producers to present a production protocol to the Agriculture Department in line with EU and national legislation, to create Maltese DOK wines. These wines will be closely controlled and certified according to the respective recognised production protocol.

The subsidiary legislation will also allow for the creation of table wines with a geographic indication, which is a sub-category of the table wine class. These will be produced following more restrictive rules than simple table wines but are nevertheless regulated at a less restrictive level than QWPSR wines.