Malta makes more wine than people expect, and some of it is very good. What to order with the heavy dishes.
Malta has been making wine for a very long time and telling almost nobody about it. The island has two grapes of its own — Ġellewża, red, and Girgentina, white — alongside the international varieties that grow well in this heat.
With the rabbit
Stuffat tal-fenek is braised in wine and garlic for hours, so it arrives rich and deeply savoury. It wants a red with enough acidity to cut through rather than sit beside it. A local Ġellewża does this well and has the advantage of tasting of the place you are sitting in. A Maltese Syrah works if you want more weight.
With fish — the lampuki while they last, or whatever came in that morning — Girgentina, cold, and not much thought required.
Ask whoever is serving you. The house recommendation is rarely the most expensive bottle, which is deliberate.
Drink the local grape at least once. It grew about ten kilometres from your table.
Photo: Florival fr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Malta has been making wine for a very long time and telling almost nobody about it. The island has two grapes of its own — Ġellewża, red, and Girgentina, white — alongside the international varieties that grow well in this heat.
With the rabbit
Stuffat tal-fenek is braised in wine and garlic for hours, so it arrives rich and deeply savoury. It wants a red with enough acidity to cut through rather than sit beside it. A local Ġellewża does this well and has the advantage of tasting of the place you are sitting in. A Maltese Syrah works if you want more weight.
With fish — the lampuki while they last, or whatever came in that morning — Girgentina, cold, and not much thought required.
Ask whoever is serving you. The house recommendation is rarely the most expensive bottle, which is deliberate.
Drink the local grape at least once. It grew about ten kilometres from your table.
Photo: Florival fr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0