On Sunday, the 1st of November, as part of MOAM’s 10th Anniversary celebrations, a visit was organised to Tal-Massar Winery, in Gharb.

On there arrival at Mgarr, the visitors were taken by horse drawn carriages through Gozo from Ghajnsielem to Gharb, to enable them to enjoy the surrounding countryside.

On arrival at the vineyard, those who attended were given a tour with an explanation of the viticulture methods used on the vineyard, followed by a tour of the wine cellar and explanation of oenology methods used in their wine making, done in caves which were previously used as war-time shelters.

The proprietors, Anthony Hili and his wife Marisa, embarked on this project of wine-making with the sole purpose of perpetrating an old tradition that was handed down from one generation to the other since 1936, using solely Gozitan eco-friendly grown grapes from their private estate at Gharb.

Tal-Massar opted for a particular approach to viticulture, better known as ‘viticultur rationale’, which basically focuses on reducing crop yields to improve quality meaning that each vine is allowed to produce only two kilos of grapes. Tas-Sisien vineyard has a density of 4,000 vines per hectare which are expected to yield 5000 bottles of Gozo red wine bearing the DOC certification. The vines of the ‘Nero d’Avola’ and ‘San Giovese’ types are also innovative as are the environmental friendly practices used, which are based on the integration of scientific and ecological principles as envisaged by EU legislation. This entails that the grapes are grown without the use of herbicides to ensure that no toxic residues will be present in the wine produced.

Malta Organic Agriculture Movement (MOAM) is a totally independent and voluntary organisation set up in November 1999 to promote organic agriculture in Malta. Its members include farmers, consumers, technical people and many others who have the local natural environment at heart.

The primary aims of MOAM is to inform the public about organic agriculture, share and disseminate ideas and methods for organic agriculture, organise the necessary training, represent those who embrace organic principles both locally (in parliamentary circles, administration and policy making) as well as internationally, follow closely the developments in this field, set up and update organic agriculture standards for Malta and co-ordinate product certification.

More details can be found on their website: www.moam.org.mt

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