Wines of Malta and Gozo.

Thank you all for your encouragement with the new wine blog (you know who you are).
Just to let you know it is now up and running, with a few bugs, but we will hopefully iron those out over the coming weeks. You can find it at Wines of Malta and Gozo .
This blog 'in search of nirvana' will continue while I still get people happy to read it, close to 600 a month now.

Meanwhile subscribe to my monthly newsletter on the new wine blog.


'The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand'. Frank Herbert.

Just Imagine..

Just imagine an evening tasting wine where the atmosphere is friendly, relaxed, informal. Where the measures being served from each of the wines being shown, are more than just a tasting measure, to give you the best opportunity to relish each glass, and if you were not sure, you could go back and try another glass. And all this served with high quality food from Patrick and his crew.

This was what I had to suffer last night at the award wining restaurant It-Tmun here in Gozo. The show case wines available to try were from the ozzy wine maker Peter Lehmann's Barossa range presented by Julia Schregel, export manager for the Hess Group, also on hand to answer questions were Mr Abraham of Abrahams Supplies Ltd and Marco Vella import export manager for Attard & Co.

We were greeted on arrival by Patrick and were served an aperitif of very Italian pink Prosecco, most welcome considering the very hot day we had just endured. Prosecco is a fresh light, simply made sparkling wine that is not at all like champagne (other than the bubbles) nor does it try to be champagne, and is made from the prosecco grape, the producer I can not remember. Normally at these events I take a pen and paper and take notes, which I failed to do last night that is why I am sat here at 6.00am in the morning writing just in case my ageing brain forgets where I had been last night, let alone remember what I tasted.

• The first of the Lehmann wines was the Chardonnay, light and fresh not over full as some Ozzy chardonnays can be, with some oak, once again not over oaked as some Aussie chardonnay can be. If you like Chardonnay but are fed up with the fat over oaked, over alcoholic style this would be a good choice.

• Next to try, the Riesling this grape better perhaps known in Germany has found a new home here in South Australia, made to drink young, hence screw cap closure (Maltese winemakers note) with hints of peach and citrus fruit, clean and refreshing, went very well with the Paella that was being served freshly cooked at the table by Patrick's brother.

• Then we had Barossa's own adopted grape of Shiraz, deep red with lots of red fruit favours and enough tannin to balance nicely with the 14.5% alcohol . The Shiraz paired very well with the cheese selection that was on offer.

• A wine called Clancy's (not sure where the name came from) a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot a big wine that is straining at leash to get out but has been tamed by the addition of Merlot, noticeable tannins. This is certainly a different wine to the usual ozzy reds, so for something a little different try it.

• To finish the evening we were served a port style wine called 'The King' made from a blend of Shiraz and Touriga Nacional (the traditional port grape) and I thought that the quality was very good indeed, and would be happy to drink it in place of a traditional vintage port, I am sure there are a few purists out there that might cringe at this statement.

Patrick tells me that he had an enjoyable evening, I know I did, I also added further to my wine knowledge. Note to self 'when wine tasting remember to take notebook and pen'.

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. Albert Schweitzer.

Yet Another Wine Blog.

This blog In Search of Nirvana is all about my move from the UK as an expat to the sunny Maltese Island of Gozo. I have enjoyed writing it very much, I sometimes have a problem trying to think of something worthwhile to write about. I normally manage one or two posts a week. The blog has a small following and I get a respectable 500 hits each month now which considering I make very little attempt to drive people to the blog is quite reasonable. Now the question is could I justify starting a second blog.

I am a bit of a wine geek as anyone who knows me will tell you, and I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on the wine front when it comes to the famous wine regions of the world, France, Italy, Australia etc. A region not much talked about until recently, are the wines of Malta and Gozo and whilst there are hundreds of blogs out there on the subject of wine in the various regions, I have not found any that cover Malta and Gozo (I stand to be corrected if anyone knows any different), so I thought I might start one now. This would enable me to enhance my knowledge on the subject of Maltese wine and at the same time help those that may have a desire to learn a bit more about Malta as a wine region.

I would like to keep the content interesting and without jargon, or where jargon is required it will be explained. I would like to be able to play my part in promoting the wines of Malta both inside and outside the borders of these islands and remain as impartial as possible. I am thinking interviews with wine makers and highlighting the many restaurants that take the serving of wine as seriously as the serving of their food. I would like to involve people at all levels in wine tastings pitching local wines against other regions of the world in blind tastings.

What do you think, is there room for another wine blog, if so what would you like to know, what would be of interest to you. Take a few minutes to let me know either by email or via comments on this blog.



"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put thngs in it" Terry Pratchett.

The Pro's and Con's of owning a Swimming Pool.

We are lucky enough to have a swimming pool with our farmhouse here in Gozo, and I would not have it any other way. I have never owned, nor had to run a pool before we bought this house, and at this time of year it is a wonderful luxury to have. Nothing beats slipping into the pool to refresh yourself, day or night, to escape the heat and humidity, the heat can exceed 40 degrees centigrade and the humidity can approach 100% at times here in Malta & Gozo.
We have just had the pool tiled with nice Spanish mosaic tiles to cut out the cost of having it repainted every 2 years. The final cost of this little project came to €2500.00, it should be money well spent, time will tell. Then I started thinking what an expensive luxury a swimming pool is and is it really worth it when you think we are 3 minutes from the beach.

A list of the pro's and cons of owning a pool.

Pro's

1. Cool convenient welcome relief from the heat.
2. A classy way to entertain your guests.
3. Just add a barbecue to a pool, and some friends, an instant winner.
4. Everybody loves to at least look at a clean baby blue body of water. It's almost hypnotic.
5. It keeps my wife happy. (She is looking over my shoulder at the moment)
6. On hot sweltering days when you can't go to a beach, it really is a life saver.
   
7. Adds to the value of the house, here in Malta and Gozo.
   

Con's

1. Cost of Pool chemicals each month.
2. Cleaning the pool every day.
3. Chemical test every 2nd day.
4. Vacuum pool once a week.
5. Top up pool (around once a month in the summer months).
   
6. Clean pool filters about once or twice a week.
7. Repainting of the pool base once every 24 months (If the pool has a painted finish).
8. Servicing of pool pump every 2 years.
   
9. Pool licence Fees.

The pool is now full of water the sunshine is high in the sky and it is hot, Yes I think it is worth it.

'Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…' Ralph Waldo

Car Registration in Malta, (Is It an Extreme Sport?)

I have done what thousands of Maltese are doing at the moment, going to the UK and buying a car, why, because they are so much cheaper that's why, I mean by 60 or 70% cheaper in some cases. As I mentioned in my previous post I have brought back from the UK a Toyota Prius Hybrid and I am very pleased with it. Let me take you through the process of registering an imported car here in Malta..... My story.

• When I arrived here in Malta (if my intention was to import the vehicle) I must inform the ADT (government car registration department) within 7 days of arrival, or I am told I am likely to get a fine.
• I need to retain proof of when the vehicle entered the country and proceed to the ADT office in Valletta to 'open a file' on the car, this can not be done by post or on the Internet, it has to be done in person. After queuing for some 3 hours, this had been done, and I was to take the car to the vehicle inspector, his office is about 20 meters away from where I was standing, an appointment had to be made, and my appointment was in 2 days time.
• I was issued with a green ticket, this meant that I was allowed to drive the car for one day in order to get a vehicle test certificate and enable me to drive the car to the vehicle inspection center, and if caught driving the vehicle at any time prior to completion of the registration process I would be shown no mercy and thrown into jail.
• Two days later the vehicle was inspected, the engine, chassis number and mileage were checked, this process involved a one hour wait and took 3 minutes, I was instructed to return to the ADT office (20 meters away) in two days time, at which time I could complete the registration process. I was to take with me all relevant paperwork (equivalent to a small rain forest) including one year full year of insurance, and a sack full of cash, no credit cards, debit cards or personal cheques. Failure to do this would result in me being publicly flogged.
  
• I arrived in Valletta as instructed to complete the registration process, I waited in the line to be seen for three hours and then, it was my turn, I smiled and said good morning I received an icy stare in return. I handed over the relevant documentation and relaxed, the young lady looked up and said 'oh the vehicle is under 12 months old and the valuation has to be confirmed by my manager', surprised I said oh ok, the young lady replied 'he is on holiday this week and is the only person in Malta that can make the valuation, you will have to come back next week'. I smiled and left. Almost forgot to mention, if I use the car before the registration process is complete I will be shot.
• One week passed and I returned to the ADT office to attempt the final process again, I waited three hours again (this is not an exaggeration, all these times are correct) whoopee my turn again, the paperwork was rigorously checked all the paper work processed and I handed over my sack full of cash, I was told to wait nearby for my Maltese number plates to be issued. I sat and waited, 30 minutes later I was told the process had all been stopped, they had noticed that my insurance broker was one day short of the full year for my insurance cover, (a clerical error) so they could not give me my plates until my broker confirmed by email that my cover is in fact for 365 days and not the 364 days that my policy actually quoted. All this achieved I was finally issued with my number plates and windscreen tax.

I can now drive the car without fearing for my life. I did not get a fine, thrown in jail, get publicly flogged or get shot. The number plates have been attached to the car and the car and I are now very happy together.

THE END.

Since Our Return.

Since our return from another trip overland from the UK and back to Malta / Gozo again we have both been very busy...

• We have had a Solar water heater installed in the farmhouse which will give us around 90% of all our hot water needs throughout the year courtesy of the sunshine, just need to find a way of getting our water free now.
• Just to continue the green theme I brought from the UK a 7 month old Toyota Prius if it's good enough for Hollywood it's good enough for me, how good on fuel is it? well I filled up in Burgundy in France and did not need to refill again until I had returned to Malta.
• We are in the process of having the pool tiled with some very glamorous Spanish glass tiles, should be finished on Tuesday.
• I am in the process of getting my Toyota Prius registered on Maltese plates, I can tell you it's the stuff good TV comedy's are made of and deserves it's own post, when I have completed the registration process I will attempt to do it justice.
  
• And Chilly the cat will get the 'two brick treatment' so will probably be feeling a little sorry for himself.

'The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all responsibility'. Brooks Atkinson.