Yes, there is a third part to this saga. Turns out it is not too difficult to find reasonably priced, home-grown, wine in Malta. Really, has nobody every done a full-on wine tasting of Maltese wines before now?
Anyway, here is La Croce, another entry from Camilleri wines.
Blurb on Bottle: Locally grown, intense red and fruit character on the nose and palate supported by a medium bodied intensity and soft tannins making an approachable wine suitable for everyday consumption.
We Say: You can smell the tannin, but the taste is surprisingly crisp and smooth. No sticky after-taste with this one, it's great value at less than a fiver.
Bought For: €3.50
Back with a few more bottles of Maltese goodness. Here's a little tip for you wine fans, as told to me by a vintner over here: keep your red in the fridge and take it out about 30 minutes before you want to drink it. Room temperature in a Maltese summer can be considerably warmer than in a drafty old French castle.
First in the firing line is Marenzio, part of 'The Classic Collection' from Delicata.
Blurb on the bottle: Soft, mellow and medium bodied*. An easy drinking, fruity red wine.
We say: Not one of the best on the market. It's alright, but a bit of a sour taste to it. Danya says 'no', I say 'why not?'. Not as good as Torre or Medina though.
Bought for: €4.35
So as to simplify things, and to protect both my wallet and my liver, I am imposing a couple of restrictions on this search. Firstly, the wine must be available for less than ten euros, as the title above would suggest. Secondly, I am only checking out Merlot wines in this survey, as they are your basic introductory red wine and pretty much everybody likes Merlot. It should also be noted that I am by no means a Wine Expert, but I know what I like.
First off, it is La Torre from Marsovin in Marsa.
Blurb on Bottle: Easy drinking, fruity with aromas of plums, cherries and coffee. Pleasantly smooth finish.
We Say: Not a bad effort. Crisp, plummy flavour with a slightly acrid after-taste (so I can't agree with that 'smooth finish' from the blurb) but it's an adequately decent wine at this price.
Bought For: €4.28
Humans like top ten lists. (Especially the Men humans, they makes us feel as though there is organization and righteousness to the universe, which is always reassuring). So here is my list of the top ten things - in very particular order - to stick in your gullet during your stay on the island:
1. Maltese Sausage: Maybe it's because I've recently returned from a Muslim country where pork is hard to come by, I don't know. But that first pasta with Maltese sausage just tasted absolutely delicious. In fact they've been a favourite of mine since I first came to the island. I don't know whether it's the garlic, the coriander or the rosemary, but they just taste great. And speaking from my vast experience on the subject, it's a shame more local restaurants don't include Maltese sausages in their English breakfasts.
It may surprise you to discover that Malta has a soft drink all of it's own - none other than (heavily advertised) Kinnie. According to it's website, Kinnie is a "unique tasting, refreshing beverage... made from bitter oranges and a variety of aromatic herbs". Now the first time I tasted Kinnie, I concluded that it's unique taste was rather reminiscent of what would happen if you took a load of bad and definitely gone-off oranges, juiced them, and then stirred in some 'aromatic herbs' to try and negate the taste somewhat.
But I must be fair here. I've tried it again since, and it could just be a grower. I think 'like' is still too strong a word, but it has improved on further tastings, so maybe my palate is adapting.
