Meridiana wine estate -
A mediterranean vocation finally fulfilled
Meridiana has its
roots in 1985 as a result of a conversation between Mark Miceli-Farrugia, a
trader in wines for over 20 years, and a Bordeaux oenologist. The latter
persuaded Mark that there was potential for high-quality wine growing in Malta.
As a consequence, Meridiana Wine Estate was established in April 1987. The
company's pioneering mission is to produce "World-Class Wines of Maltese
Character" - internationally acclaimed wines made from wine-grapes grown
exclusively in Maltese soil. Until then, all "Maltese wine" was
produced from a mixture of table-grapes, imported wine-grapes, and sugar. Up to
this day, Meridiana stands alone in Malta in militating for the enaction of
internationally endorsable wine regulations which ban the addition of sugar to
Maltese wine, Meridiana is also insisting that such regulations distinguish
truly Maltese-grown wine from imported make-believes.
In 1987, experimentation with various grape varieties, clones and
rootstocks was initiated on a small agricultural plot in Siggiewi. Meanwhile,
after extensive research, a 19-hectare (47-acre) agricultural site was
identified at Ta' Qali, Malta's agricultural heartland.
The Estate lies scenically below the ancient, walled-city of Mdina. A financial
and technological partnership agreement with Marchese Piero Antinori
helped overcome local financial institutions' reservations to this novel
initiative. Marchese Antinori descends from the oldest established vintning
family in the world and brings with him a wealth of experience acquired in
Tuscany and the New World. The European Investment Bank opportunely advanced 30
percent of the project's equity finance on a venture capital basis.
The Ta'Qali Wine Estate was planted in 1994 and 1995 with Chardonnay,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot. The vineyard is
drained by a herring-bone system laid by the Royal Air Force during the Second
World War. The water flows into a large underground cistern which is used to
supply the vineyard's 91,000 individual drip-feed irrigators. A picturesque,
purpose-built winery was completed in 1996, constructed from the
characteristic, local, chalk-coloured limestone. State-of-the-art, individually
temperature-controlled fermenters are set within a process area conditioned to
21°C. The winery's underground cellars are
passively cooled to within 18 to 22 °C.
The first harvest of a limited quantity of red and white wines
took place in 1995 and 1996 respectively, with the first (1996) release of both
wines being sold out within months. Since then, despite the annual increase in
vine yields, domestic demand has been so high that the Company's wines have
sold out within months. Nevertheless, the company has reserved limited
quantities of its wines for export to Belgium, France and Singapore. Maximum
production of 140,000 bottles should be reached by the harvest year of 2002.
The name Meridiana and the Estate's sundial insignia have been inspired
by Malta's Southern European location.