Wine Law

THE WINE INDUSTRY REGULATION IN MALTA 441 Local Councils”, or better “Codes”, for each location, within the Maltese Islands; and [III] a list of the Local “Councils making up the Harbour Area”. It is pertinent to point out that these annexes are similarly reproduced and attached with Legal Notice No. 146 of 2007, which regulates the DOK wine production with certain differences. On the one hand, Annex I to Schedule I of the latter Legal Notice provides only a map of Malta, rather than the Maltese Islands, with 1:110,000 scale instead, which delineates the regions of grape production falling under the Denomination of Origin (DO) “ Malta ”. On the other hand, Schedule II provides a map of the island of Gozo (and of a smaller island known as Comino) in a 1:55.00 scale delineating the Island of Gozo, thus marking the region of grape production falling under the DO “ Gozo ”. This first Subsidiary Legislation simply provides that “ Wines shall only be certified as “MALTESE ISLANDS” I.Ġ.T. wines if the protocol in Schedule I is fully respected .” 15 . It is Schedule I that carries the protocol for a licensed vintner to obtain the IĠT certification for his locally produced wines, making specific reference to the Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) 1493/99, which, in turn, references the typologies of wine under Article 2(1) of this Schedule, entitled “Oenological Typologies”. The protocol further provides for the “Ampelographic scope” whereby, for example, the mono-varietal production of wine, a minimum of 85% of the grape variety to be identified may be used for its production, whilst the remaining 15% “ may be derived from non-aromatic grapes have the same I.Ġ.T. typology .” 16 . The Schedule further addresses the maximum production of wine allowed per hectare in selected vineyards for the production of the Maltese Islands IĠT. This, whether for red, white and rosé typologies, with or without a non-varietal production with the vinification thereof, that is the ageing, bottling and ageing in bottles, to be carried out within the territory of the region of production which, according to this Schedule, the territory shall be the whole region of the Maltese Islands. Moreover, the production of wines must consider their alcoholic strength, and the Schedule provides that for the finished wine ready of consumption, the minimum alcoholic level must be 10.5% for all white and rosé typologies, 11.0% for all red typologies and, specifically excluded therefrom, is the indigenous grape, Ġellewża mono-varietal typology, which is expected to be 10.5% minimum. Given the fact that this Subsidiary Legislation has been adopted from EU Legislation, it is accepted to make specific references to such legislation, as 15 Legal Notice No. 167 of 2007, Article 4(2). 16 Ibid , Schedule I, Article 4(2).