Marsovin
The Marsovin Ltd. is Malta's largest producer of premium wine, pressing approximately 50% to 55% of locally grown grapes. It was founded in 1919 and is situated in Paola .
The high standard of Marsovin wines is attributed partly to Malta’s favourable climatic conditions but also to the stringent controls maintained by experts from the viticultural aspect to the vinification process in order to ensure that the optimum level of quality is achieved. Such quality has also been recognised by independent parties through the years when Marsovin wines have been put to the test by participating in international competitions and awarded gold,silver and bronze medals. Such comepetitions include Efffervescents du Monde, International Wine Challenge, Challenge du Vin, Emozioni del Mondo amongst others.
Today, Marsovin owns 199.7 tumoli of land which make up their five Estates, testimony to Marsovin’s commitment to the culture of wine. These Estates are owned by Marsovin and the Cassar family and are specifically intended for the production of premium quality, single-estate wines. Over the recent years Marsovin has also introduced several wines into its portfolio all of which are produced from contracted land, owned by Maltese and Gozitan who produce grapes according to Marsovin’s specifications, Marsovin currently contracts a total of 1116 tumoli/125 hectares.
Marsovin has an extensive variety of brands in its portfolio from table wines all the way through to Single Vineyard, Methode Traditionnelle and high profile sweet wines. Due to the fact that Marsovin has been established from so many years, since 1919, the winery has been in the fortunate position where it could slowly build up an extensive range of wines for different palates and budgets. These wines are classified either as table wines, I.G.T Maltese islands, D.O.K Malta or Gozo, D.O.K Superior, Single Vineyard Estate wines and Boutique wines.
Marsovin has been the pioneer in wine making in Malta during the course of its history. In the early 70’s Marsovin was the first to come out with a Mono varietals range of wines, which at the time stood as Malta’s most premium wine. In the early Marsovin planted its largest ever vineyard in the south of Malta, Marnisi between Żejtun and Marsaxlokk. This vineyard then produced two wines of noble character, Antonin and Marnisi both of which well known in Malta as two of the leading premium red wines on the island.
Following this Marsovin moved onto its next great achievement, the production of the first ever Brut, methode classique from the chardonnay grape variety, Cassar De Malte. This project started off in 1997 to then be launched at the Millennium.
Needless to say that in between these great milestones for the winery, Marsovin also introduced other very significant brands such as Grand Maitre which was launched in 1999, this wine today is recognized by many wine enthusiasts on the island as Malta's most distinguished premium red wine.
Marsovin is the only wine maker in Malta that produces 'champagne'. The Cassar de Malte is vinified using the same procedures of the methode traditionnelle used to create champagne but nevertheless cannot be labelled as Champagne because the terms ‘champagne’ and 'methode champegnoise' are restricted to those wines produced by the methode traditionelle in the confines of the Champagne region in France. This Marsovin wine takes its name from the wine-making family, in keeping with tradition. It is made from Chardonnay grapes harvested from the family’s private 15-tumolo estate in Wardija, where there are 7,500 vines. No more than 8,000 bottles are produced from each harvest, and the process takes more than two years, including two fermentations and 15 months in which the bottles are left to lie on lees, allowing the conversion of yeast into sediment. The bottles are placed on special racks called pupitres where they are turned by hand every day for four weeks in a process called riddling or remuage in French, so that the sediment collects in the neck, from where it is finally removed to allow the addition of the liqueur d’espedition, which determines its classification as Brut.
Today Marsovin has a presence in the United States Of America, Japan, China, Hong Kong and ships directly to end-consumers worldwide.
History
After World War I Chev. Anthony Cassar founded a wine company with the name of A. & G. Cassar. Since 1956 the firm still owned by the Cassar family has been called Marsovin Ltd.. In the beginning, only imported grapes were pressed, but since the 1950s Marsovin has its own vineyards , where red and white grapes are grown, mostly French types.