Malta Weinliebhaber-Tour

This is NOT a tour and is hardly a wine tasting. It is a personal driver with 3 glasses of wine at the end. Based on the price we expected a VIP and personal wine tasting experience after visiting different tourist spots of Malta. While being dropped at different locations we kept thinking that it would all come together once we got to the vineyard and started the wine tasting, but what was included was just a standard €30 vineyard tour that could be booked on the spot while there and 3 glasses of wine with a meat and cheese platter. The driver is very kind and punctual, we had no issues with him as long as you understand that he is not a tour guide and will just ensure you get from A to B. He also very kindly added a stop to our itinerary. Do not book if you're looking for wine tasting.

Excellent experience at the vineyard : good tasting with a large plate of local food for pairing. Nice driver who took us to Médina and Rabat before going to the winery, plenty of time to visit. So you have a 3 in 1 experience

Our driver Justin picked us up from our Hotel in a nice clean mini-van and took us to our first stop, Dingli Cliffs. The itinerary shows this as being a 1hr stop, but aside from the amazing views from the top of the cliff there wasn’t really anything else to see or do, so we spent less than 20mins there before we set off for Mdina. This beautiful fortified town was a pleasure to stroll around and we enjoyed a coffee at Don Mesquita Cafe Wine Bar, which provided a sunlit square to enjoy our drinks in. We left Mdina and the next stop was the Meridiana Wine Estate. We were warmly greeted upon arrival and waited for other people to arrive that were booked for the tour. The tour was more limited than other wine tours we’ve been on, showing the fermentation tanks and the cellar. The guide provided detailed information about the history of the vineyard and the process used to make their wines, what they grow themselves and where they rely on other farmers to provide certain grape varieties. The harvesting sounds like a fun time, as additional local help is sought to manually pick the grapes. We were then taken up stairs for our the wine tasting and lunch, consisting of a Maltese platter (meats, cheeses, bread etc). We were given our plate of food and the first of 3 glasses of wine, 2 whites and 1 red. The wine had been described to us whilst in the cellar, but normally with a tasting, you’d expect each wine to be introduced and reminded about the characteristics of the wine, that wasn’t the case here, the glasses were just given out one at a time over the course of eating our lunch. The wines sampled were quite average, and not the flagship wines produced by the estate. During our time in Malta we had already enjoyed several of the wines produced by the estate, and was the reason for selecting this tour. Following lunch we visited the Estate shop and arranged for some wine to be shipped back home to the UK. Shipping is expensive, but for the right wine it’s worth it. Justin picked us up from the vineyard, we only realised we weren’t being taken the craft village once we recognised places as we travelled back through Sliema. We didn’t query/complain, just accepted arriving back early at our hotel. For the price we feel the tour should have been better. Offering more than just 3 glasses of mid-range wine instead the vineyard should have showcased some of their better wines. We’d have preferred having someone act as more of a guide and talk about the sites as we travelled, not just acting like a private taxi. Skipping the craft village was not a significant issue for us, but might be for others planning on taking this trip.

This was a 6-hour private tour, my driver was Kenneth, and the vehicle was a beautiful new, large, comfortable van for only 3 people who signed up for the tour. Kenneth was on time picking me up from my hotel and very engaging. I easily get motion sickness so Kenneth invited me to sit in the front seat to reduce the effects. Although Kenneth was listed as only “the driver,” he was very informative about the area, the stops we were making, history behind the culture, food, materials, etc. we encountered on the tour. Such a joy to spend time talking with a local about things you wouldn’t normally encounter. We made stops at the Dingli Cliffs and Mdina as well as the glass factory and finally, Meridiana Wine Estate. He patiently waited for us to finish our free time at each stop. I give Kenneth and this tour an absolute 5-stars! He was a delight to speak with and his engaging manner made it easy to learn so much about Malta. HIGHLY suggest this tour, but ask for Kenneth! A plug for the drivers…PLEASE remember to tip them!! I was the only one out of 3 people that tipped Kenneth!

+4

If you only have a couple days this is a great way to hit the highlights. Meridiana winery was fun and tasty. Mdina is a fascinating view of the past. Dingli cliffs were a letdown compared to all else.

Our tour guide was very nice and did show use some lovely parts of Malta but I do feel we have been on better (and cheaper) wine tour experiences. This is definitely more of a tour of Malta with a winery visit added on at the end. Highlights were the visit to Mdina the silent city and our tour guide bought us some wonderful pastizzis.

The winery was beautiful, with very nice wines. Our driver was very nice, but seemed new at tours, felt very safe. Had five good pours of five different wines, all delicious. Very charcuterie plate. Cute lazy cats. Would recommend, and purchased some of the wines.

Duncan was the sweetest tour guide we've ever had. We loved his company, his wisdom and his pure Maltese insight. He showed us the secrets and the absolute beauty of so much of Malta that we never would have even thought to have looked up ourselves. We were on our honeymoon and it was so wonderful to hear that he recently got engaged as well. Best of luck to both of them!

Excellent area - a little away from the centre but easy access to buses (5 min walk) and 20 mins later you are at the Trevi Fountain. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful and the rooms while smallish are very clean and comfortable with tea and coffee-making facilities. Altogether excellent value! Highly recommended!!

The whole day was perfect. Great way to see some of the top sites of Malta and experience good food and wine

+1