Each Friday, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious, top-value 'Everyday Italian Wine' for you to enjoy at home - or on your Abruzzo vacation !

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo. Vini Masciarelli. 2007
As it's been a while since we last looked at Abruzzo's top regional white wine, this seemed a fine opportunity not only to reintroduce you to Trebbiano, but also to pay tribute to the driving force behind this winery, Gianni Masciarelli, who died aged just 53 at the end of July this year.

In addition to revitalising his own winery after taking it over 30 years ago, Gianni Masciarelli was also one of the prime movers in the tremendous advances made by Abruzzo wine in general over recent years.

In partnership with his Croatian wife Marina Cvetic, the Masciarelli wine brand in general - and the flagship 'Marina Cvetic' range in particular - became without argument one of the region's absolute best, producing a succession of tremendously good, award-winning wines.

And just as much care and passion has gone into producing this entry-level Trebbiano d'Abruzzo as into making wines costing five times as much. As with all Masciarelli wines, the key philosophy is that the true character of the fruit is the all-important factor.

So grape selection is rigorous and the production run is comparatively small for a wine of this type - in the region of around 150,000 bottles a year. The wine-making method's hardly revolutionary - stainless steel vats at controlled temperatures - but the result has the unmistakable Vini Masciarelli stamp that allows the wine to stand or fall on the quality of the fruit alone. 

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo can be thin and sharp. This has refreshing hints of green apple and elderflower and a zingy juiciness that makes it excellent on its own and the wine of choice when you next find youself eating Abruzzo seafood. This coped admirably with mussels in quite a punchy tomato and chilli sauce and drank beautifully with a classic seafood salad. This Masciarelli Trebbiano d'Abruzzo isn't a wine to squirrel away. Drink and enjoy it at its best in the year immediately after the vintage.

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wine: Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
• Vintage: 2007
• Producer: Vini Masciarelli
• Designation: DOC
• Grape: 100% Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
• Strength: 12%
• Closure: Plastic cork
• This bottle cost: €4.62

Vini Masciarelli
For a winery as prestigious as this, the Masciarelli wine list is commendably restrained, with just four 'brand ranges', all featuring Montepulciano and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, with the presence of a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay adding a little international variety. Top-of-the-range is the rightly-lauded 'Marina Cvetic' line, headed by as good a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo as you'll ever drink. Not far behind is the 'Villa Gemma' range that launched Gianni Masciarelli's career back in the early 80s. Add to these the 'house range' Trebbiano d'Abruzzo reviewed here - along with a Montepulciano and a pink - and the 'Castello di Semivicoli' Trebbiano - a sort of 'super house white' with a year of bottle age - and that's basically it. Aside, that is from four truly sublime olive oils, each pressed from single olive variety, that need no more than good bread and a little salt to appreciate.

Next Week: You'll know the delightful island of Ischia - just off the coast from Naples - as a prime tourist destination. But maybe not as a wine producer. We run the rule over a red from Ischia's oldest cantina  and discover if it's a wine you'll enjoy at home - and on your Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation ! 

Abruzzo vacation, Everyday Italian Wine, Gianni Masciarelli, Masciarelli wine, Trebbiano dAbruzzo, Villasfor2, Vini Masciarelli

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 4:34 am and is filed under David's 'Everyday Italian Wine', Eating and Drinking, Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.