There has been a push for people to buy more local products, Marsovin CEO Jeremy Cassar told WhosWho.mt, but adds that more still needs to be done.

One positive thing that came out of Covid, he said, was the push to buy local goods. “By local I don’t just mean local wines, certainly we would benefit on that front.”

“We should be giving preference to anything good that’s local, without any question. There's a lot of quality out there, and if you don't start supporting even small initiatives here and there, they won't grow. So our starting point should be, yes, we support local. It needs to be given more of a push.”

The Malta Tourism Authority is working on that front, the Marsovin CEO said encouraging the push to be even stronger, explaining that local products strengthen identity. “It is a given in many Mediterranean countries, and Malta is still behind catching up.”

The more investment, exposure and appreciation for Maltese quality produce, he said, the more the country will benefit.

As for whether the winemaking sector needs more support, he said that it should be supported on a cultural level and in as many ways as possible.

“I tend to take the Italian strategic outlook that its Government and the whole country takes. There's collective support for viticulture and winemaking in Italy, right from the top to the bottom,” he said, adding that the Italians invested heavily in their promotion of the sector.

What is needed, is continued support and continued promotion, he said, adding that supporting agriculture must be continuous. “The agricultural challenges are continuous. It is not like an industrialized product.”

He said that when dealing with challenges to do with nature, they are not challenges one can really foresee.

“The quality is created in the vineyard. If facing a challenge in the vineyard that is out of your control and is a situation of force majeure, you could end up losing your entire harvest. That can happen, and it has happened over the years in many countries around the world.”

Mr Cassar said that there is a strong element of risk when dealing with nature, because nature is in charge.

He spoke of the importance of winemaking having continued support from Government, from the many entities that are showing they are proud of locally produced wines and foods.

“We are a Mediterranean country. We are a bit behind in terms of our development of high-quality agricultural products which find themselves on shelves or in restaurants. Certainly a lot has been done to push that, but there's still a long way to go. It's good to see good cheese producers coming up, Charcuterie with a lot of small initiatives. They start small and they grow."

He stressed the importance of continued support in terms of marketing, and also in sustaining the DOK and IĠT protocol for wines. “It is the backbone which certifies what Maltese wine is.”

“Certainly, the producer produces a style that he wants to produce, but the standards are dictated by the European Union approved protocol, and it is critical for us to have a structure whereby people can say the quality is guaranteed.”

Wines being marketed as DOK or IĠT have to be certified as such after a rigorous process carried out by a Directorate.