While welcoming the recent EU decision to award Malta Lm44,641 (EUR103,987) to cover the restructuring and conversion of vineyards for 2007-08, Camilleri Wines viticulturist Patrick Xerri and wine maker Adrian Borg said Malta needed more aid “if we are seriously to save Girgentina and Gellewza and to market Maltese wines to EU and non-EU countries.”
Malta will receive the Lm44,641 in EU funding this year to cover the marketing year, the European Commission recently announced.
The objective behind the funding is to adapt production to market demand and covers measures such as varietal conversion, relocation of vineyards and improvements to vineyard management techniques. However, it does not cover the normal renewal of vineyards which have come to the end of their natural life.
Although the sum is insignificant in comparison to the Lm219 million (EUR510 million), for a total of 62,816 hectares of vineyards, forked out to the whole of the EU’s 16 wine producing member states, the figure nevertheless stands above the average fund distribution.
With nine hectares of Malta’s vineyards receiving Lm44,641 (EUR103,987), Malta’s allotment per hectare amounts to Lm4,960 (EUR11,554) per hectare while the average across the 16 beneficiary states was of Lm3,485 (EUR8,119) per hectare.
Camilleri Wines, along with other local wineries, need to restructure the bush type vines due to DOK protocols.
“Certain types, especially the Girgentina and Gellewza varities, have to be restructured in such a way to a vertical shoot positioning, which is difficult and nearly impossible on old vineyards where the main trunk is not straight,” explained Mr Xerri and Mr Borg.
There are approximately 250 hectares of Gellewza and Girgentina vineyards to be seen to, which requires much more funding if Malta is going to invest in these indigenous varieties, they added.
Mr Xerri and Mr Borg both said that while the announcement of aid was positive, “the sum of EUR103,987 which will be given to Malta is quite low, when you consider the fact that the EU has been handing out millions of euros to large EU states.”
New common market organisation reform, which shall come into force from next year, has only allocated about Lm15,884 (EUR 37,000) to Malta for marketing Maltese wines to non-EU countries.
“Considering the fact that Malta never took any of the millions of funds allocated to get rid of the excess wine, I believe the EU should give us more funds with respect to marketing both within the EU and outside,” they said.
“We hope that this year, the applications for grafting open by the end of November,” they said.
They explained that grafting can start from January and take place until April but last year the applications opened in mid-December, which was “a bit late.”
They also called on using other funds to pay foreign grafters who would, in turn, teach local farmers the art of grafting as very few local farmers could do it.
“Alternatively we can graft and change the unwanted international grape varieties on vertical shoot positioning with the indigenous Girgentina and Gellewza - one has first to search for virus free stock of these varieties, a project which the enological and viticulture department embarked on with the University of Bari a few years ago,” they said.
However, they said they do not have a follow up of what happened to this project.