Many speak of the culture of wines, be it their origin, serving or tasting, but Marsovin Ltd, a leader in wine production, goes beyond this and bonds new brands of wines with aspects of the arts and culture. This is evident through the 2005 vintage of 1919 red and white wines, with a portrayal of Greek mythology as the image on the bottle labels.

This year, Marsovin Ltd has commissioned the well-established artist Kenneth Zammit Tabona, whose form of inspiration was Greek mythology. The original paintings were on display during the launch held at the Marsovin Wine Cellars. Last year, Marsovin Ltd had commissioned Debbie Caruana Dingli for the 2004 vintage of 1919 and the concept she based her paintings on was that of emotions.

“The link between wine, culture and the arts has become synonymous with 1919 wines. Apart from providing the market with authentic, Maltese wine of excellent quality, the company is giving the opportunity to local artists to express their talents in a different field,” said Mr Jeremy Cassar, director of Marsovin.

The 1919 white wine is produced from two grape varieties: Chardonnay and the indigenous Girgentina. It has a pale straw hue with light reflections and a complex bouquet of fresh apple notes, married with undertones of tropical papaya. The company produced 8,215 bottles of 1919 White from 8.9 tons of grapes from their 8,000 vines spread on 14 tumoli of land.

The 1919 red wine is produced from three grape varieties: Merlot, Syrah and the indigenous Gellewza. This full-bodied ruby red wine has intense complex aromas reminiscent of prunes, cherries and liquorice. It is smooth on the palate with velvety tannins. The company produced 32,858 bottles of 1919 Red from 34.2 tons of grapes from their 43,200 vines spread on 82.4 tumoli of land.

1919 celebrates the year that Anthony Cassar started what would later become Malta’s leading winery, Marsovin.