I refer to Roger F. Aquilina's letter Production Protocols For Wine (March 7) and agree with him that the rules and regulations governing the production and labelling of "Maltese" wines must be made absolutely clear. Furthermore, they must be rigorously enforced and any unscrupulous practices severely punished.

Malta's reputation as a low volume producer of premium quality wines is slowly becoming recognised around the world and it would be nothing short of a national disgrace and yet another blow to tourism if the hard work of those responsible for putting Malta on the wine map was to be undermined by poorly drafted, ambiguous or unenforceable legislation.

In good humour, however, I must take issue with Mr Aquilina when he states, "After all, the company I work for depends entirely on the trust it enjoys from Maltese patrons!" As I know to my cost, this statement is not entirely correct. His company also enjoys the trust and patronage of a growing number of discerning foreigners, like myself, who greatly appreciate the unique characteristics of the finer Maltese wines and who consciously choose to buy these in preference to imported, often less expensive alternatives. A number of us regularly take Maltese wines abroad in our quest to spread the good word and I have little doubt that, if yields allowed, we would welcome the opportunity to export on a commercial scale.

Having spent the last 28 years promoting investment and tourism into Malta, in increasingly difficult circumstances, I would like to thank Mr Aquilina, Meridiana, Marsovin and others for their skill, passion and above all their determination to show the world that there is still much to appreciate in Malta.

If only the hunters and property developers were as enlightened as Malta's wine producers!