Malta makes its own wine, and the interesting part is that some of it comes from grapes you won't find anywhere else – the native Ġellewża and Girgentina. A guided tasting in St Julian's or Valletta is the easiest way in, pairing local wines with Maltese cheeses and cured meats over a couple of hours, while a winery visit gets you out to the vines themselves. Prices are reasonable, the wines are genuinely worth trying, and it slots neatly into an afternoon or an evening. Here's what to drink and how to do it.
- 01The reason to bother is that Malta's wine is genuinely local – built on native grapes you can't easily drink elsewhere, not a Mediterranean copy.
- 02For most visitors a town tasting is the easy way in; a winery tour is the deeper, half-day version – pick by how much time and curiosity you have.
- 03It's better than visitors expect, and the appeal is as much the novelty as the wine itself.
- 04It's an indoor, weather-proof plan – a good shout for a cooler or wet day when the beaches and boats are out.
- 05Book the small guided sessions ahead, as they fill up; Valletta's wine bars are the walk-in alternative.
Is Maltese wine any good?
Better than most visitors expect. Malta has been making wine for centuries, and the modern industry turns out some genuinely good bottles – crisp whites and easy-drinking reds that suit the climate and the food.
The draw for the curious is the two native grapes. Ġellewża is the local red, light and fruity, and Girgentina is the white, fresh and citrusy – both are grown almost nowhere else on earth, so they're a proper taste of the place rather than a Mediterranean copy of something French or Italian.
Alongside those, the estates also grow the familiar international varieties – Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet – often blended with the local grapes. The headline producers you'll see on lists are Marsovin and Meridiana, with smaller estates dotted across both islands.
The best way to try Maltese wine
For most people the easiest introduction is a guided tasting in town, and the most central runs in St Julian's. Over a couple of hours you work through a flight of local wines paired with Maltese cheeses and cured hams, with a guide explaining what you're drinking and why it tastes of Malta.
It's a relaxed, sit-down experience rather than a tour, which makes it a good early-evening plan – and it's popular with couples for exactly that reason. You can book the Maltese wine tasting ahead, as the small sessions fill up.
Valletta is the other natural spot, with a clutch of wine bars in the old streets where you can order local bottles by the glass without booking anything – the low-commitment version if you'd rather just wander in.
Visiting a winery or vineyard
To go deeper, head out to the source. Several estates across Malta and Gozo open their cellars for tours, walking you through the vines and the production before the tasting itself – a half-day out rather than a sit-down hour in town.
The estate tours tend to run a bit longer and cost a bit more than a town tasting, and many include hotel pickup, which makes the logistics easy if you're staying in the resort areas. Gozo's wine-and-lunch experiences are the most leisurely, building a long meal around the tasting.
This is the option for anyone who wants the full picture – the landscape, the winemaking and the story – not just the glass.
What a wine tasting costs
Malta is affordable for this. A guided town tasting with food paired in sits at around €40, which is roughly the price of a decent dinner, and you come away having tried six wines you couldn't easily find at home.
Winery and vineyard tours cost more, often €60 and up depending on length, pickup and whether a full meal is included. A glass of local wine in a bar or restaurant, meanwhile, is cheap by northern-European standards – part of why Malta stays good value for eating and drinking.
When and where to do it
A tasting works year-round, since the experiences are indoors and don't depend on the weather – which makes it a useful plan for a cooler day or a rare wet one. Winery tours are nicest in spring and autumn, when the vineyards are green and the heat is gentler; the best time to visit Malta guide has the seasonal picture.
For where to base the day, St Julian's and Valletta are the obvious choices for town tastings and wine bars. If you want to build a fuller food day around it, pair a tasting with a seafood lunch on the water at Marsaxlokk, or fold it into a wider things to do in Malta itinerary.
Featured image: Frank Vincentz / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
