Wine & dive MALTA
Jane Doran
TEN years ago, I visited the Maltese islands. I did not know much about the culture, the landscape, the food or the people and, to my shame, I was not too bothered. I did not intend to experience much of it: I was there to dive.
The combination of the warm Mediterranean, great visibility and abundance of reefs, shipwrecks, caves and sea life have earned Malta, and its little sister island Gozo, a reputation as one of the top dive spots in Europe; an underwater Disneyland if you like.
Alas, my dive-buddy-to-be’s tumble down a flight of ancient steps in the pretty capital Valletta and the resultant broken leg, scuppered my plans. A miserable week confined to a hotel room being a reluctant nursemaid followed. I never got to paddle, never mind dive.
I finally read my guidebook (there was nothing else to do) and learned about everything I was missing above water: the beautiful land and seascapes, medieval towns and villages, monolitic tombs, superb beaches and Mediterranean-with-a-twist cuisine.
So when I got the opportunity to return to the archipelago to dive, I was rather excited.
I flew into Valletta but took the half-hour ferry trip the next day to Gozo, the smaller, less populated island. Things move slowly in Gozo; you get a sense not much has changed since the middle of the last century. It has a hazy, lazy, wild beauty and is dotted with sleepy villages and megalithic temples older than the Egyptian pyramids.
The island of Malta is a popular package-holiday destination and while there are areas such as St Paul’s Bay or St Julian’s with sprawling complexes that some holidaymakers never leave, both islands have plenty to offer for all types of holidays.
We went for self-catering, staying in Ta’ Salvu Baron Farmhouse in Xaghra — a tiny village in the centre of the island, home to the UNESCO Ggantija Temples which are considered to be the oldest free-standing structures in the world.
Our five-bed converted farmhouse had traditional thick walls and stone floors but with all the mod cons. It had a private pool and a barbecue that got a lot of use thanks to the two great butchers in Xaghra.
The huge numbers of dive sites around the islands mean there is a good choice of schools. I dived with Atlantic Divers in Marsalforn, the closest thing to a seaside resort in Gozo. The shop was a professional, family-run operation with top-ofthe-range equipment.
We did six dives: a ‘getting to know you’ dive at Xlendi; two boat dives — the P31 shipwreck and the Comino Caves — and three shore dives — Cathedral Cave, the Inland Sea and the world-renowned Blue Hole. On March 9 this year Malta’s top tourist attraction, the Azure Window, collapsed into the sea after heavy storms. The 100ft limestone arch, it-Tieqa tad-Dwejra to the Maltese, near Dwejra Bay on Gozo was
‘A light lunch is lunch in the sun’
one of the most famous landmarks in Europe — it has featured in numerous films and TV series including the Dothraki wedding scene in Game of Thrones. Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat called it “heartbreaking”; the nation mourned.
All was not lost, however. Next to the window lays another tourist attraction: the Blue Hole, a circular, sinkhole of stunning colour. It’s a wonderful place to swim, snorkel or just lay about and also happens to be one of the best dive sites on the planet.
Getting to the site is a bit of an ordeal however — it’s a 300m hike/ climb in the heat across large, slippery jagged rocks. Add in a thick wetsuit and 10 tonnes of scuba gear and you would be forgiven for turning back and having a beer. I did stop whingeing once I reached the ‘hole’ though, as it is such an inviting-looking dive site — the prettiest, bluest, most light-filled water I have seen. And what was below did not disappoint.
A choral garden; an underwater archway; a fantastic eight-metre swim-through called the chimney; crystal-clear visibility, a cave and diverse marine life — this dive ticked every underwater theme park box there is and has been made even better by the sad collapse of the ‘window.’
Its remains — huge glowing white chunks of limestone yet unsullied by the sea and its creatures — are everywhere; a breathtaking sight. Experts indicate the limestone will take about a year to become discoloured by algae, so don’t leave it too long to strap on a tank.
Diving looks like a gentle enough pursuit but, during an average dive a person burns around 800 calories. So when we surfaced, we were hungry. Very hungry.
Luckily, we were in the right place.
I received valuable advice about
‘Malta’s great secret is that it has fantastic, reasonably-priced wine’
Maltese food in Munchies in Mellieha Bay; an elegant restaurant with a terrace on a beach. On seeing my face when my lobster ravioli arrived, a local laughed and said, “a light lunch to the Maltese is lunch in the sun”. The Maltese do not do small portions. They do, however, do great food.
Maltese food is rustic with a focus on fresh ingredients; its long history of colonisation bringing an electric mix of Mediterranean flavours and colours. There is a very strong Sicilian influence. I loved gbejniet, the local sheep or goats cheese, and the national dish of rabbit stew. By far the stand-out culinary experience in Malta was in Ta’ Phillip in Ghajnsielem on Gozo. Owned by charmer Phillip Spiteri, the menu changes every week. The restaurant uses a traditional wood-burning oven and serving produce from the archipelago is its priority. It’s pricier than most other restaurants in Malta, but worth the splurge.
Philip is a spectacular host and insisted on us having a seven-course taster menu which included suckling roast pig, rabbit stew and, my favourite, wild nettle pesto. And, oh yes, every course was accompanied by a different wine hand-picked by Phillip from his impressive cellar. His wine-list prices start at around €30 and keeps on going into the thousands.
The restaurant is a former winery and Philip spent two years digging his cellar out of rock. On the walls of Ta’ Phillip hang photographs narrating the history of Gozo and a section of the floor is made of glass, giving a great view of the cellar stocked with foreign and local wine.
Yes, Maltese wine. Malta’s great secret is that is has fantastic, high-quality, reasonably priced wine. You’ve never drunk it or seen it in an off-licence because the Maltese keep it all for themselves.
They are one of the biggest wine drinkers in the world — some estimates indicate consumption works out at two bottles per day per person.
Diving can be a hard physical work and a little stressful at times — dragging wetsuits on and off had shredded my knuckles; my back and shoulder muscles had seized up; my legs were black, blue and bleeding from being bashed by waves against the boat ladder. My mind was slightly frazzled from navigating through shoals of jellyfish and the low-level anxiety of knowing if I surfaced in the wrong place in Cathedral Cave I risked death by boat propeller. So, a glass of wine, or two, at the end of the day was very welcome. The best I tried was a Marsovin Grand Maitre 2016 from Phillip’s cellar but its price puts it in the ‘special occasion’ or ‘let’s splurge’ range. The Nexus Superior that you can get for under a tenner in most restaurants and supermarkets, was a close second.
Malta makes a wonderful holiday for the more adventurous wine-lover. Exploring the unknown adds excitement and a sense of the unexpected; as if you’ve just joined an arcane club. There are five major wine producers, all offering some form of wine-tasting tour. Grape varieties grown include the indigenous Gellewza (red) and Ghirgentina (white), as well as international varieties.
Wining and diving, it’s the perfect combination for a week away — just don’t do it at the same time.