Marsovin’s first harvest is the chardonnay for its Cassar de Malte sparkling wine
Malta’s warm climate allows grape picking as early as July, and sparkling wine requries an early harvest for grapes with higher acidity
Maltese winemakers Marsovin kicked off the 2021 grape harvest with their first chardonnay grapes from the Wardija Valley Estate, making it one of the first vineyards to be harvested across Europe.
All hand-picked to ensure grape bunches are handled with care, the chardonnay grapes from this estate will be used to produce Marsovin’s Cassar de Malte, Brut, a sparkling wine whose chardonnay require high acidity, which is why the grapes are cut earlier than any other.
A high level of acidity in a sparkling wine made in the traditional method is crucial for the age maturation of quality sparkling wine.
Marsovin harvests its grapes from their five privately owned estates around Malta and Gozo and over 200 contracted Maltese and Gozitan farmers. The harvest is a long one, starting in July and ending in beginning October.
Malta’s favourable warm climate allows picking as early as July, whilst other countries further north will wait till later in the summer for grape sweetness levels to be of an appropriate maturation.
The harvest will carry on throughout the month of August with other white grape varieties pressed at the winery such as the Vermentino, Pinot Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Moscato, Trebbiano, and Sauvignon Gris.
As of mid-August and well into September the winery will be welcoming the red varieties, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Malbec, Grenache and the indigenous Ġellewża.
The white indigenous variety Girgentina, a late ripener, is one of the last varieties harvested, as late as mid-September.
