When you think of Malta, your mind probably jumps to ancient history, tales of knights, turquoise bays, stunning beaches, epic scuba diving, and maybe even a few Game of Thrones filming spots… but wine? Not so much. Yet that’s exactly why we love a good mystery . We’re excited to share our adventure exploring the smallest wine-producing country in the world!

THE BEGINNINGS…

When it comes to Malta, everything we see in terms of culture, history, architecture, traditions, customs, cuisine, and even language is the result of the many different peoples who conquered this “island fortress” at various points in time.The very first grapevines were brought by the Phoenicians around 800 BC. Later, the Greeks maintained them, and then the Romans continued the tradition.After the Arabs conquered Malta, viticulture entered a long period of decline (as we know, alcohol is not permitted under Islamic religious rules). This decline lasted for several centuries. However, the vines were eventually brought back to life thanks to the famous Order of the Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Knights of St. John), who are rightly remembered as the true defenders of the islands.
The story changed direction again when the island passed first into French hands and then under British rule. Once more, viticulture suffered, this time curiously in favor of cotton cultivation.It was only at the beginning of the 2000s that the Maltese wine scene truly began to transform. New and renewed wineries started investing seriously in quality, expertise, expanded vineyard areas, and modern technology.Still, we must remember the extreme conditions we are dealing with: very high temperatures and an incredibly small territory. You can drive across the main island of Malta in a maximum of 45 minutes. In total, we are talking about around 450 hectares of vineyards and roughly 10,000 hectoliters of wine per year (basically the equivalent of a single Romanian winery such as Crama Ceptura or Domeniile Sâmburești ).

GEOGRAPHY, SOIL & CLIMATE

Fun fact: On our first visit, we discovered that Malta is actually an archipelago made up of 8 islands, but only 3 are inhabited (Malta, Gozo, and Comino).These islands, scattered in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, sit just 80 km from the southern tip of Italy and 284 km from Tunisia, with over 300 sunny days a year… in short: hot and nice .
We are talking about a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, heavily influenced by sea currents and occasionally by hot tropical and desert winds blowing in from Africa. We were surprised in Bordeaux when we heard that grapes are now often harvested in August due to warmer conditions. Well, imagine that in Malta, with extreme summer temperatures (usually 35-40°C), the harvest typically starts in July (depending on the variety, of course).
On the island of Gozo, you find a different microclimate dominated by cooler, saltier sea breezes, with sandy soils that are extremely versatile and well-suited to all kinds of grapes (though whites really shine here).
On the main island of Malta, limestone and clay dominate, while in some southern areas you see strips of terra rossa soil (and yes, you guessed it: this is where red varieties are mostly planted).
In summary: although vines have been present in Malta for thousands of years, cultivation is a real challenge: tiny surface area, extreme heat, high salinity in the soil and air, and very little to almost no rainfall.

GRAPE VARIETIES, WINES & APPELLATIONS

Malta has two native grape varieties: Girgentina (white) and Ġellewża (red). These heroic varieties survived phylloxera and still thrive today.
When you think of Girgentina, picture a perfect summer wine: fresh and floral, with citrus and elderflower aromas, plus a pronounced salty minerality that screams Mediterranean sea air.
Its sibling Ġellewża, especially in barrel-aged versions, radiates pure warmth: ripe and dried fruits, figs and amarena cherries, smoke and chocolate, with a spicy finish of cinnamon, white pepper, and cloves. Both varieties appear as single-varietal wines or in blends. Girgentina often teams up with Chardonnay or Moscatel, while Ġellewża blends beautifully with Syrah, Cabernet Franc/Sauvignon, and Merlot. Why the blending? Although these natives are expressive, they seem to need a little “help” to gain full personality. Girgentina can struggle with low acidity, and Ġellewża without international support would be fairly light in structure, alcohol, and aging potential.
In 2007, three years after joining the EU, Malta adopted two international appellations: DOK (equivalent to DOC) and IGT (equivalent to IGT/IG in other countries). All wines labeled DOK or IGT Malta/Gozo must come exclusively from grapes grown on these two islands. You might wonder if producers can “adjust” quality by importing grapes in tough years. Apparently not allowed under this strict classification system for appellation wines. Imports are possible, but then the wine cannot carry the DOK or IGT label.
The most planted international varieties are heat-resistant and adaptable ones like Syrah, Moscatel, Chardonnay, Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

WINERIES, TASTINGS & WINE BARS

On our first trip, when we were still beginners in wine, we visited a small winery on Gozo that felt more like a farm than a proper cellar. Everything was very artisanal, and we left a bit disappointed.
This time, armed with a stronger desire to change our view of Maltese viticulture, we did more research. Although we found about 10 wineries, we decided to visit two established ones properly.

We started with Marsovin.

This is the largest winery on the island, covering around 40% of Malta’s total wine production, which equates to roughly 1-2 million bottles annually. As the name of one of their top ranges suggests, Marsovin was founded in 1919 by a young Anthony Cassar.
The beginnings were humble: Cassar collected grapes from various Maltese farms, made wine in his own garage, and had the smart idea to store all the bottles produced during World War II.The winery really gained fame after the 1960s/70s, when Cassar’s son returned from Italy and France with revolutionary ideas. Until the 1960s, Marsovin produced white, red, and rosé wines only from native varieties.
Now the winery expanded, acquired plots on Gozo, planted international varieties, and created the signature blends of the Marnisi range. We booked and paid for our tasting two weeks in advance (it was actually a unique Christmas gift ).
The experience took place in their cellar in Paola, an impressive building constructed by the Knights of St. John about 400 years ago. We paid 60€ per person for a tasting of 5 wines. Here is what we tried:

• Sparkling Cassar de Malta – the only Maltese sparkling wine made by the traditional method. Refined yet fresh, with remarkable fine bubbles and complex notes of biscuit and toast.
• Rose 1919 -a fresh blend from Gozo of Grenache, Syrah, and Ġellewża. We had tasted the 2024 vintage the day before in a wine bar in Valletta, and it was completely different: subtle pomegranate, strawberry, and lime peel. The 2025 version was something else entirely: banana, baked cherries, and bubblegum notes. A bit too perfumed for our taste, but perfect as a summer aperitif.
• Antonin Blanc -Chardonnay DOK Gozo. This one spent 4 months in French oak barrels, with velvety notes of butter, pear, and vanilla, plus a bittersweet almond finish.Ps. You must also try the one with strong sea water and lime notes
• Cheval Franc – 100% Cabernet Franc 2023. A real premiere: a bold red variety grown in super-hot conditions on clay soils in the north of the island… and unoaked . An unusual mix of green, herbal aromas (grass and bell pepper), followed by black fruits, blueberry, pepper, cocoa, and tobacco.
• Antonin Noir 2023 -A Bordeaux-style blend from the Marnisi range, from a southern Malta plot (mix of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon). Right from the first nose, you feel the warmth: baked figs, blackberries and raisins, leather and bitter chocolate, with oak just enough to balance.

Time flew by, we didn’t realize almost 3 hours had passed. We loved the tasting: everything was professionally organized, our guide Mirko explained the winery’s history in detail, as well as the origins of the native varieties. We went down to the cellar, learned the full winemaking process, and finished with the 5 wines paired with a generous platter of Maltese specialties.

Ps. We had also tried other Marsovin varieties in Valletta at the WhyNot wine bar, unforgettable: from the 1919 range, a beautiful Ġellewża with superb notes of smoked plum, cherry, cardamom, and eucalyptus. Highly recommended .

The 2nd winery: Meridiana

Our next stop was Meridiana Wine Estate , a visit that included not only a tasting but also a full winery tour and a walk through the vineyards.
This relatively young winery was founded in 1987 by Mark Miceli-Farrugia, at the insistence of the renowned oenologist Denis Dubourdieu, and is now part of the famous Antinori group (yes, the same Antinori with estates in Tuscany and California).
It took several years to clear the entire winery area, which was previously a heavily bombed World War II military airfield, and they initially planted wheat to restore the necessary nutrients to the soil. Only after a few years did they start planting the first grapevines.
While Marsovin uses local varieties either as single-varietal wines or in blends, Meridiana cultivates only international varieties, but with a distinctly Maltese character: Syrah, Cabernet Franc & Sauvignon, Moscat, Chardonnay, and so on.
We learned that the winery’s name was inspired by the southern location of the island and also means “sundial”. They use French oak barrels, initially used by the Antinori winery in Italy, and bottle an average of 120,000 bottles per year.
We found the vineyards in “hibernation” mode, resting for spring, and we were surprised to see drip irrigation systems installed across all the plots.

The tasting, this time organized in style on the winery’s terrace, included 3 wines and cost 37€ per person, also including a charcuterie-style platter.
We tried a Chardonnay DOK from the Isis collection with fresh citrus notes and deep minerality, followed by Fenici a delicate yet balanced rosé made from a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Syrah with a delicious profile of strawberries, cherries, lime and finally a spiced Syrah from 2022 collection BEL .

WINE BARS

To our surprise, we conclude that Malta does not particularly excel in wine bars (or… maybe they are undercover and we just don’t know). For an island that lives off tourism and wants to put viticulture back on the map, we would have expected at least more variety in Valletta.
There are only a few options… the vast majority with “museum” hours: either starting at 7 pm, and/or closed on Sundays and Mondays, plus on public holidays.

Here is what we found:

• Trabuxu Valletta the only truly honest wine bar in Valletta, but reservations are a must. We tried spontaneously twice and only succeeded on the third attempt with an outdoor table. The staff is very well trained (they really know what they are selling) and extremely helpful, the wine list is impressive but so are the prices.
• WhyNot Valletta (no pun intended) with a decent menu, plenty of seats, modest decor but right in the center of Valletta. Here we had a tasting of 3 Maltese wines (Marsovin) for 20€.
• Vinuri Valletta 5 tables, almost always full, but we managed to get a spot on a Tuesday evening and enjoyed 2 glasses of Girgentina. Only 5 wines by the glass, the rest only by the bottle.
• Iber&Co Valletta small of course but super atmosphere… you are transported to southern Spain with flamenco rhythms… we highly recommend pairing the wines with tapas… divine marriage (ps. insider tip: ask for Alaya Tierra)
• White Wine & Food St Julian a wine bar we discovered on our first trip to Malta when we were staying in St Julian. It is by the sea but in an area with heavy traffic and with a focus on Italian wines.
• Vini & Capricci Gozo our discovery on Gozo that crowned the trip… at first we were convinced we had the wrong address, but after climbing over mountains of sacks, pallets and dodging forklifts, we found this bistro/warehouse/wine bar.The wine selection surprised us given the location, the kitchen is Italian-Maltese style exceptional and the service as well. We left with 2 bottles of Chardonnay from Gozo, pure paradise.

Overall, prices seem fairly consistent: 7 or 8€ per glass, and from 30€ upwards for a bottle.