This festival is held in August, in the picturesque Upper Barrakka Gardens, and should not be missed if you are a fan of the grape. It operates a system whereby you pay €12 for a wine glass and a coloured bracelet, and on presentation of both at one of the stalls, you get a free glass of whichever wine they are providing. So basically your task is to wander from stall to stall, filling up with wine, and ensuring that you neither break nor lose your glass, because if you do that then it’s another €12 for a replacement.
Now maybe I’m overly cynical, but I fear for the success of this type of arrangement in Ireland, where I have
visions of shuttle runs with people cycling wine from the official glass into a plastic version in order to send their mates up for more… However, it works perfectly well in Malta, where everyone was very civilised and well-behaved on the night we attended. There was live music (I got to see Janvil play: he’s definitely not as good as he thinks everyone thinks he is, but would probably place top 3 in a karaoke bar in Reading), and lots of foods on offer – not too expensive and pretty tasty. Plus the views from the gardens are pretty special.
This is definitely worth going to. It only goes on for 4 hours a night, so no thoughtful inhaling of fragrances and comparing tasting notes, just get it into you and move on to the next stall. The wine is good, as mentioned previously, so make sure you’re there next year.
(Held annually beginning of August – Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta)
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