Malta makes more wine than it can reasonably drink, in more styles than any single guide can carry. This almanac is our reading of it. 5 regions, ranked the way we'd visit them; the houses our critics keep returning to; and a short list of restaurants where we'd spend the evening.
Malta
Malta
5
40
90
The country, in numbers and adjectives.
The terroirs, by hand.
3 regions worth the trip first — chosen by the Femente desk for the houses we’d open with, the variety of styles within each, and the cooking that grew up around them.
Malta
Malta's vineyards cling to limestone hills where Negroamaro and Syrah meet salt wind, yielding reds tensed between ripe fruit and mineral…
Gozo
Gozo's winemakers chase ripeness in limestone and sea wind, pulling high alcohol and dark fruit from a small island where Bordeaux…
Ta Qali
Ta Qali's reds lean muscular and sun-baked, their tannins shaped by Mediterranean heat and limestone soil—a style that rewards the…
The country’s house grammar.
The 1 styles Malta makes most of, ranked by bottle count on Femente. The bar beneath each cell shows that style’s share of malta’s production.
1
South African Bordeaux Blend — the country’s most numerous bottle.
The houses that keep showing up.
1 Malta estates the prestige critics have agreed on — ordered by the count of 95+ scores across Vinous, Decanter, Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.
Where to spend the evening.
12 rooms across Malta our editors keep coming back to — chosen for the cooking and the wine list, in that order.
ION Harbour by Simon Rogan
Mediterranean · Traditional — Valletta
96
Rosami at The Villa
Grill · Seafood · Mediterranean — Sliema
92
Le GV Rooftop Restaurant
Seafood · Mediterranean · European — Sliema
92
fernandõ gastrothèque
Street Food · Modern · Mediterranean — Sliema
92
de Mondion Restaurant
Fine Dining · Mediterranean — Mdina
92
Grain Street | Michelin Bib Gourmand
Seafood · Mediterranean · Modern — Valletta
88
Rubino
Grill · European — Valletta
88
Terrone Restaurant
Mediterranean — Birgu
82
Rebekah’s
European · Traditional — Mellieha
82
Aki Malta
Seafood · Mediterranean · Modern — Senglea
82
The Seafood Market Grill by Adam
Grill · Seafood · Mediterranean — Msida
82
Tmun restaurant - Food - Malta - Gozo
Grill · Mediterranean — Għajnsielem
82
Add Malta to your cellar journal — or pick a region and start walking.
A short note in your inbox when we add a new region, find a winery worth crossing town for, or open a tasting we’d send you to. No noise. Just the ones we’d book ourselves.