If Maltese wines were athletes...

If Maltese and Gozitan wines were athletes they would be heroes. Imagine the victorious welcome they would get if they were medallists returning home after having stood next to some of the greatest players from the world’s biggest sporting countries on the highest podium of a grand champions cup, be that one of football, snooker, volleyball, tennis or any other sport. In a way, that is the kind of accomplishment achieved by a locally grown wine crafted by Malta’s Delicata winery, namely their Victoria Heights Chardonnay, DOK Gozo, superior. Recently, the 2017 vintage of this Gozitan mono-varietal won a silver medal at the 25th edition of the prestigious Chardonnay du Monde wine competition governed by the Forum Oenologie. It was the only entry by Emmanuel Delicata Winemaker and the only Maltese wine to win this year. Delicata has been very successful before at this wine judging event. The winery has amassed a total of 15 medals to date for their Chardonnay wines in the Victoria Heights (four), Grand Vin de Hauteville (six) and Gran Cavalier (five) ranges. To industry outsiders, the weight of these winemaking laurels is understandably more difficult to grasp than achievements in...