The Inquisitor’s own 18th century bottigliera, historic wine narratives, and a pairing of foreign wines and local cheeses appraised by an acclaimed sommelier are Taste History’s promise for its next public event happening on 24th November at the evocative Inquisitor’s Palace, in Birgu.

Despite not having a strong reputation as wine producers, our history pages have certainly never run dry of Embit, as de Soldanis refers to wine in his c.1760 Damma, a Maltese-Italian-Latin dictionary.

Archives are replete with references to vine cultivation, yet Malta never produced enough wine for its inhabitants, thus relying on a considerable quantity of imports. In Roman Malta, wine reached our islands in amphorae originating from the Adriatic, the Tyrrhenian, North Africa and Greece. The Castellan in Birgu had eighty-six barrels of wine in 1274 and three large barrels in 1429. The Universitas issued a veto for the selling of wine from Dar Cucara shop in Ħaż-Żebbuġ in 1468, yet it welcomed the Knights with wine in 1530.

Wine was on all tables since it was not just a social pleasure like today, but was considered essential for one’s diet. It was indispensable at sea, occassionally replaced cash payments and was considered as having therapeutic and, at times, magical properties. Therefore it was widely consumed.

Taste History invites you to gain more insight into wine consumption in Malta during this exclusive event, through a historic wine pairing, as we celebrate the opening of the Inquisitor’s own bottigliera – a documented wine cellar for the storage of wines which has just been restored and made accessible as part of the Inquisitor’s Palace experience.

Foreign wines and local cheeses were selected by our food historians and a sommelier, who will be commenting from their different yet complementary angles. The evening will commence at 19:00 hrs.