The stunningly scenic acre of gently-sloping, south-facing land bordered by olive groves that we bought in Abruzzo after moving permanently from England a year ago is coming along a treat. Soon, it'll provide our new home; your three Abruzzo holiday villas; and a swimming pool. Now we just have to transform an Abruzzo building site into an Abruzzo garden…

Luckily, we don't have to do much in the way of ground clearance. Not that there was much to do in the first place as our acre was a tree-free vegetable garden. Stretching away into the distance are beautifully-tended olive groves. (From which - incidentally - comes the oil we provide in your villas).

But how do we transform the rubble-strewn mudslick leading down to the olive groves into a Mediterranean garden blending seamlessly into the scenery ?

We'll be starting the hard landscaping later this week - putting in the foundations for the swimming pool down by the olives and then terracing our way up the slope.  That's all pretty straightforward and can be done reasonably quickly, but the real work on the garden starts with the planting plan.

I'm going to have to unlearn everything I know about gardening in England. Fuelled by optimism, we crammed as many plants and cuttings as we could from our old garden in south-west England into the removal van and brought them with us.

All except a couple have survived the year - but only thanks to constant care and gallons of water. The kind of attention we simply won't be able to provide on a large scale next year. Some will be OK. Many, nurtured by the damp, shady softness of an English garden and unsuited to the harsh glare of a Mediterranean garden, will not.

Afraid of what won't survive, I'm on a crash course trying to discover what will. The Royal Horticultural Society in England provide a useful 'Mediterranean Climate Plants' list; and I've been reading and making endless notes through 'Mediterranean Gardening - A Waterwise Approach' by Heidi Gildemeister; and Graham Payne's 'Garden Plants for Mediterranean Climates'.

I can sum-up their approach to Mediterranean gardening in a sentence: Plan carefully; buy wisely; mulch deeply. But their plant recommendations - and the RHS's - are irritatingly and bewilderingly different. Not that many plants appear on all three lists - so what are you supposed to make of a plant endorsed by one - but not the others ? Our Abruzzo garden will be hot in Summer with some snow and frost in Winter. Painstaking choices to match these criteria lie ahead.

ps…
How's the build going ? Really good thanks. Vito and the boys are currently putting the big, traditional coppi tiles on the roof. Then the plastering and painting of the outside starts.

You can plan to take your Villasfor2 holiday - and be one of the first to enjoy our new Abruzzo garden - anytime after 2 May, 2009. You'll be able to book your Abruzzo holiday villa - with big introductory discounts - from early January. More soon…

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Vino Novello 2008. Cantine Tollo and Miglianico

November in Abruzzo is a good month. We get our first taste of the year's new olive oil - emerald green and peppery; the sweet chestnuts are are gathered in sackfuls for roasting on open wood and charcoal fires; and best of all, around the middle of the month, all the local cantine release their Vino Novello.

What exactly is Vino Novello ? In Abruzzo, it's the first September pickings of the red Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grape, with wine not produced by crushing the grapes as normal, but by a process known as carbonic maceration, using whole, uncrushed grapes, which produces intensely fruity wine, low in tannins. It's not a wine for keeping. In Abruzzo, the last bottles of Vino Novello will have all been drunk by January. 

Maybe you remember the hysteria - and the hysterical prices - that used to surround the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau in the UK ? The arrival of Abruzzo's Vino Novello isn't a similar exercise in one-upmanship to see who can be the first to buy a bottle, but rather a cause for intense interest and speculation - what's it going to be like ?

The 2008 vintage wasn't easy. Hail just as the fruit was setting on the vines in early June; then some rain during the harvest in September - but if anyone could overcome these problems and make good Vino Novello, it had to be our two top local producers Cantina Tollo and Cantina Miglianico. But I hadn't expected their two wines to be so very different…

At first sight, Cantina Tollo's vino novello looked more like cherryade than red wine - very pale in comparison to the rich, plummy red that was in the Cantina Miglianico glass. On first appearances then - one-up to Miglianico.  Then a little sniff of what was in the two glasses. From Tollo, a clear, clean, vibrant fruitiness that I couldn't wait to drink; from Miglianico - well, not a very great deal really. All rather muted. 

So it all came down to the taste. Tollo's wine more than lived-up to its promise in the glass and was absolutely delicious - the real essence of what a top Vino Novello should taste like. Soft, fruity, quaffable - and without a hint of tannin.

Not so Miglianico's novello. This a much heavier wine than Tollo's; indistinct and surprisingly tannic and without that absolute piercing clarity of flavours that's the trademark of these early-release wines. It's not unpleasant - but as a Vino Novello, it's not that great either. Shame really, as last year's Cantina Miglianico novello was an absolute belter - the best of the bunch by a mile

Just for the fun of it, I took a leaf out of the Beaujolais Nouveau book and gave both these wines a couple of hours in the fridge. The Tollo was again superb - and I can't decide whether I prefer it cool or at room temperature. The Miglianico was simply muddy. But there's always next year…

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wines: Vino Novello
• Vintage: 2008
• Producers: Cantina Tollo; Cantina Miglianico
• Designation: IGT (both)
• Grape: 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (both)
• Strength: 12.5% (both)
• Closure: Plastic cork (both)
• These bottles cost: €2.49 (both) - as part of a special local vino novello promotion !

Click on the images in the text for larger images - and if you like Italian wine, why not check out last week 'Everyday Italian Wine' and bookmark this site for future weekly posts !

Next week: Our first review of a wine from Molise - the region beyond Abruzzo's southern border. We taste a white from the area's best producer and discover if it's a wine you'll enjoy at home - and on your Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation !

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Pescara 2009 will be the biggest sports festival that Abruzzo's ever staged. Like the Olympics, the Mediterranean Games takes place every four years and is a multi-event spectacular - but it features 30 different sports, while at the Olympics, you can see only 26. Pescara 2009 will be only the third occasion that an Italian city has hosted the Mediterranean Games since they were first held at Alexandria in Egypt in 1951.

Taking part in Pescara 2009, from June 26 to July 5, will be competitors from 23 countries bordering the Mediterranean, contrasting sporting superpowers like Italy, France and Spain with countries like Monaco, Andorra and San Marino that in the past have scarcely ever rippled the waters of international sport. But there's always a first time… 

On view - and highly accessible too - are the kind of sports you generally expect to see on occasions like this - Athletics, Swimming and Cycling - and a few you don't - Golf, Roller-Skating and Water-Skiing.

The most easily-accessible sports to go and watch if you're staying at Villasfor2 from June 26 to July 5 will be the rowing and canoeing at Lake Bomba, about 20 minutes away. Lake Bomba was artificially created in 1962 by the damming of the Sangro River as part of a hydroelectric power scheme and it'll be the perfect setting for these two sports. It's long - around 7 kilometres - but not that wide, so you'll get some particularly good views from the banks.

I'm going to try and see at least one day's play in the golf at Miglianico GC. The course has been 'reworked' - OK, toughened-up - over the past few months. This might cause the pros the odd problem or two, (especially if they've tweaked the big water hazard on the 8th), but it'll mean major and lasting headaches to players as excessively moderate as me, who'll have to negotiate this new, cranked-up course on a regular basis once the pros have played their four rounds, pocketed their medals and gone home. 

Pescara 2009 wil be centred in and around the Stadio Adriatico - home of Serie C football club Pescara Calcio - which can hold around 25,000 people. The opening and closing ceremonies take place at the Stadio Adriatico, plus the athletics programme and the football.

Incidentally, you may be wondering about the significance of the three rings on the design of the Pescara 2009 logo. Echoing the five Olympic rings, the three rings symbolise the three continents - Europe, Asia and Africa - from which countries come to the Mediterranean Games. And the little 'ripple' at the base of each ring represents the Mediterranean Sea lapping around the coastlines of these three continents. 

Although ticketing arrangements/prices haven't been released yet - though much will be free - you can find out more about Pescara 2009 on the official website. You could even immerse yourself completely in the entire Mediterranean Games experience by working as a Volunteer - the site will explain how !

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Aglianico del  Vulture. 'Corte dei Reami'. Cantina di Venosa. 2004
You've probably come across wine made from the aglianico grape before as it's the red wine grape across a great swathe of southern Italy. Pretty harsh and tannic when it's young - but a different story entirely when it's got a bit of age to it. 

Aglianico del Vulture, (say it vool-TOOR-ay) is made in the Basilicata region of Italy's deep south and is the only DOC wine you'll find from here. Production's extremely tightly controlled, with wine made from aglianico grapes grown in the reddish volcanic soil of just 15 comunes around Mount Vulture allowed DOC status.

The example comes from Venosa, a town of great antiquity in the north-east corner of Basilicata, and is produced by the local co-op from grapes gathered from around 500 local growers. This 2004 will have accumuated three years in barrel and bottle before release and is just hitting its stride nicely.

This is a bottle you'll need to open an hour or so before you drink it. Better yet, decant it into jug or carafe and just let it sit. It'll make an appreciable difference for the better. Colour in the glass is a deep garnet and the aroma is rather classy with distinct tones of fresh coffee and mulberries. The tannins are now soft - and will get softer, for this wine will happily go on improving for around 10 years after the vintage - with the richness of the fruit overlaid with a hint of bitter chocolate. The finish is long enough to cross adjoining time-zones. Intensely savoury and delicious. This is a very good wine.

Go up a notch in class and price to a 'Riserva' Aglianico del Vulture and you'll be buying a wine known - with reason - as the 'Barolo of the South'. But without the epic price-tag usually carried by the 'Barolo of the North'. Five years in wood and bottle; an ageing potential of 20 years - or more - and a wine of rich opulence that will drink perfectly with game, or a properly-aged roast sirloin of beef.

And a little inside gossip. In the neighbouring region of Campania, no more than 50 miles from where Aglianico del Vulture is produced, you'll find 'Taurasi' - another top-notch wine made from the aglianico grape. You'd be hard-pressed to notice distinct differences between this and a Riserva AdelV, but crucially, 'Taurasi' has been awarded DOCG status - and that adds to its prestige and, consequently, its price. Strong lobbying has been in progress for a similar promotion for Aglianico del Vulture. So now would be a good time to buy before that lobbying pays off and prices go up…

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wine: Aglianico del Vulture. 'Corte dei Reami'
• Vintage: 2004
• Producer: Cantina di Venosa
• Designation: DOC (for the moment…)
• Grape: 100% Aglianico
• Strength: 13%
• Closure: Cork
• This bottle cost: €4.70

Cantina di Venosa
Hardly surprising that the Cantina di Venosa's list is dominated by aglianico variants, including a rose and even an 'Aglianico Spumante' - which sounds like fun ! There's a very little white on the list - a dry Muscat probably the pick  here - plus a Muscat sparkler and a grappa, but the star of the show is the top-of-the-line 'Carato Riserva'. Powerful and profound - and at 14%, not for the faint-hearted !

Click on the pictures in the text for larger images - and if you like Italian wine, why not check-out last week's 'Everyday Italian Wine' and bookmark this site for future weekly posts.

Next Week: It's November - and here in Abruzzo, the year's new wine has just been released. Join us in a head-to-head tasting of the 'Novello' from our two favourite local cantine - Miglianico and Tollo: another good reason for an end-of-year Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation !

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

On a warm Sunday evening towards the end of last month, we drove up to Paglieta, high in the hills overlooking the Val di Sangro for the Sentieri d'Autunno festa, an excuse - as if anyone ever really needs an excuse - to taste the year's new wine and olive oil and tuck into mounds of roasted chestnuts. 

Abruzzo festa - invariably terrific. Abruzzo music - invariably not. Usually - with just a couple of honourable exceptions so far this year - the kind of bland Europop that you'd normally switch-off in a blink, but, wreathed in a festa-induced spirito di benevolenza, you tolerate and twitch along to.

But just this once, on that warm October evening in Paglieta, we heard a band who were so outstandingly and blindingly good, they held us - and everyone else within earshot - happily spellbound.

Terre del Sud are a hugely-talented, multi-instrumental, multi-vocal six-piece playing the traditional folk music - and dances - of central and southern Italy. Their sound swoops and soars; intensely rhythmic, bitter-sweet and instantly captivating. Listen.

Engagingly, the music enticed just one or two to dance; then one or two more; then a host of people in the centre of Paglieta's old town were remembering and recreating the traditional dances they'd learned at school, or been taught by nonno and nonna. Except nonno and nonna wouldn't have taught the grandkids that most famous and sensual of all Italian folk dances the Tarantella. 

The band were formed in 2003. A gift to Abruzzo music. The tall guy in the back row is Alessandro (who produces beautiful hand-made tambourines). Next to him is Cinzia - with the amazing voice - then violinist Marco and Emanuele, who seems to play a different instrument on each song. Mimmo supplies guitar, voice and charisma; and according to the band's online biog,  Martina has a great voice and great legs. Both true. She also dances and plays percussion !

Terre del Sud perform mainly in and around Abruzzo. Especially Chieti province. Lucky us ! If you get the chance during your Abruzzo holiday, hold the flight; cancel the dinner reservation; delay the shopping trip. Drop everything. Go and see them.

Click on the pictures in the text for larger images - and thanks to the band for letting me use them. For more info about Terre del Sud - and to listen to a couple more tracks off their CD - visit their website www.terredelsud.biz

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Torre di Giano. Lungarotti. 2006
A treat. This very wine from the classy Lungarotti stable in Umbria has been awarded an 'Oscar Nazionale' by the prestigious Almanacco del Berebene 2008. And it's not difficult to understand why.

This wine comes from the Torgiano area of Umbria that's better known for its reds. Despite that, this Bianco di Torgiano was awarded DOC status in 1968 - not long after the Lungarotti winery itself was founded. This version sold under the 'Torre di Giano' brand-name is a blend of (predominantly) Trebbiano, plus a little Grechetto.

The blurb on the label describes this wine as 'elegant' which for once, hits the bullseye. There's a beguiling scent of greengages and acacia honey in the glass; now take a sip and that soft fruitiness is cut with just enough acidity - and a little mineral dryness in the finish - to stop it being flabby. It's a really well-made wine and for under €6 a bottle, it's an absolute steal.

Don't swamp the delicacy here with highly-flavoured food. Personally, I'm happy just to drink a glass or two on its own as an aperitif with no accompaniment whatsoever. That said, it was just delicious with a mushroom risotto - and it would've drunk nicely with a plate of plain, pan-fried scallops too; or, if you were feeling extravagant, a grilled Dover sole. Even simpler, treat this wine as you would a good Fino or Amontillado sherry and try it with just a few green olives and a handful of salted almonds. And drink it within two years of the vintage !

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wine: Torre di Giano
• Vintage: 2006
• Producer: Cantine Lungarotti
• Designation: DOC
• Grape: 70% Trebbiano: 30% Grechetto
• Strength: 12%
• Closure: Cork
• This bottle cost: €5.95

Cantine Lungarotti
Take a look at the excellent and bang up-to-date Lungarotti website, which has a real 'something for everyone' feel. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, grappa, a hefty 16% dessert wine, a Nocino liqueur and a 50-50 Chardonnay/Pinot Nero sparkler provide the bonus goodies to an impressive list headed by a couple of oustanding Umbrian DOCG's - the Sangiovese/Canajolo 'Rubesco Riserva' and the 'Sagrantino di Montefalco' made with 100% Sagrantino grapes. There are even a couple of DOC 'junior' versions of these wines: a 'Montefalco Rosso' - a Sangiovese/Merlot blend with just a touch of Sagrantino; and a 'Rubesco' with the same 70-30 Sangiovese/Canajolo blend, but a little less age and refinement. If they're as good as the bottle reviewed this week - can't wait !

Click on the pictures in the text for larger images - and if you like Italian wine, check out last week's 'Everyday Italian Wine' and bookmark this site for future Friday posts ! 

Next Week: Southern Italy's best red - Aglianico del Vulture, the only DOC wine produced in Basilicata. It's a wine you'll enjoy trying at home - and on your Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation !

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Our friends Nick and Susie recently visited us from England and were deeply impressed by the contrasting areas of mountains, hills and beaches all within a short distance of our Abruzzo villas for two. On successive days, we enjoyed the warm autumn sun as we strolled over what in a few weeks time will be the ski slopes of La Majelletta; and then found the sun to be even hotter at sea level as we went for a paddle and had miles of perfect sandy beach all to ourselves at Le Morge.  

Then, in answer to their search for exercise just a little more strenuous, we took Nick and Susie to the Spirito Sancto gorge in Fara San Martino - a short drive from your Abruzzo villa for two. We've talked before about Fara and its stupendous Visitatore festa in August, which is climaxed by a thunderous firework display set off at the entrance to the Spirito Sancto gorge - a deep cleft leading into the heart of the towering mountains that loom over the town.

Just follow the road through Fara and park near the small wood-built bar at the top of the path that leads down to the entrance to the gorge. Stop for a coffee and take in the view !

At the very entrance to the gorge, the remains of a medieval abbey are being excavated. Once you leave that behind, you're in 'Lord of the Rings' scenery as the easy-to-follow path leads you under vertical cliffs upwards into the heart of the Majella.

At weekends, especially in July and August, the Sprito Sancto gorge is a popular spot for a typical walk in Abruzzo. But in midweek, especially outside the peak season, you - like us - will probably have the place to yourself.

The gorge is steeped in legend. The story goes that it was San Martino himself who parted the mountains and created a way for the villagers of Fara to take their herds of sheep and goats up into the slopes to graze. 

Take a look around you. In the cliffs you'll see many curiously-shaped holes. Geologists will tell you that they've been created by water cascading down from the melting snows of the Majella each spring. But the legend is that these are marks left by the elbows of San Martino as he forced his way through the mountains to open up the path you're now on.

This particular walk in Abruzzo can be as long or short as you want. When you've had enough - simply turn round and head back. Press on and you could tackle a route up to the top of Monte Amaro - the second-highest peak in the entire Appenine chain at 2793m/9163ft. An arduous day-long - but achievable - adventure for experienced, guide-led walkers only !

Or if you're truly into challenging sports, the sheer sides of the Sancto Spirito gorge offer around thirty free-climbing routes, ranging in difficulty from Grade 3 to 7.

Aside from good trainers in dry weather, or light boots if it's wet, you won't need any specialist clothing or equipment for a walk through the Spirito Sancto gorge of around 'an hour up - and an hour down'. 

The shale/pebble path is generally well-marked and easy-to-follow and though it leads pretty continuously uphill, there are no steep gradients in the first couple of miles or so. But be warned that the further into the gorge you go, the tougher it gets !

We reckon that the best time to enjoy this particular walk in Abruzzo would be in the spring when the alpine flowers in the Spirito Sancto gorge must be a wonderful sight. We'll check and let you know… 

(Click on the pictures in the text for larger images) 

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Ischia Rosso. Perrazzo. 2006
This is actually one of the most interesting reds I've tasted in quite some time. First sniff was highly promising - though not that typically Italian, with a great spicy waft of cloves, cinammon, anise and liquorice. More Shiraz than Sorrento. But the first taste was a bit of a let-down. Quite hard and tannic. Definitely not a wine you'd want to sip on its own. And not that special either with either meat or cheese.

But. (There's always a but…)

This is the first and only wine I've ever tasted that goes perfectly with food in which cooked tomatoes are the predominant ingredient. And while you're debating whether to laugh scornfully or snort derisively at this statement, name me one - one - other wine that can successfully rise above the tomato's unique sweet acidity. I'll save you the trouble. There isn't one. Anywhere. And when you're talking of Italy, where tomato and wine play such pivotal roles, this is a startling realisation.

Rather than open a different bottle, I poured a glass of this Ischia Rosso to go with a thick, rich soup made of roasted tomatoes, with sweet red peppers; fresh borlotti beans; a plate of finely-shredded left-over porchetta; garlic; and a careful spoonful of hot, smoked Spanish paprika. Mediterranean fusion food !

This delicious soup has previously spelled death to all wine. But not this time. The two blended sensationally well. Same story with spaghettini and a plain tomato sauce. Ditto even with that Tuscan peasant staple pappa e pomodoro.

Don't ask How ? or Why ? Just accept and enjoy. Ischia Rosso's the 'house red' of the tiny island of Ischia that lies off Naples. This bottle comes from the Perrazzo winery - the oldest on the island, tucked away in Porto d'Ischia in the island's north-east corner - and the wine is a roughly 50-50 blend of two grapes about which I'm in absolute ignorance - Guarnaccia and Piedirosso. Don't go the the Perrazzo website seeking enlightenment. You'll find a modest list - and, unusually, prices too - of a dozen wines and a history of the winery that seems to have been last updated in 2003. 

Ischia Rosso - or at least this example - isn't a wine for modern tastes. It's far too hard and uncompromising to offer a wide appeal. It achieved DOC status in 1966 - three years after the system was instituted - but I suspect it was around and unchanged for a very long time before that. And to be honest, it's unusual and rather nice to come across such an unashamedly old style wine. Better yet that in these mass-market days, a wine of such limited appeal is still being made. If you can find it - try it.

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wine: Ischia Rosso
• Vintage: 2006
• Producer: Vini Perrazzo
• Designation: DOC
• Grape: Guarnaccia and Piedirosso blend
• Strength: 12%
• Closure: Cork
• This bottle cost: €5.24

Click on the pictures in the text for larger images - and if you like Italian wine, check out last week's 'Everyday Italian Wine' and bookmark this site for future weekly posts.

Next Week: Torre di Giano - an award-winning Umbrian white wine from a superb producer that you'll especially enjoy trying at home - and on your Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation !

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

Since the last Abruzzo property blog just a month back, the structural work on our new Abruzzo home is now about 90% completed, with just the roof tiles; a bit of decorative brickwork; and a couple of internal walls to finish. 

This week, Domenico the plumber's on-site to start work on the heating systems and bathrooms in both our home and your villas. At some imminent point, a digger's going to lumber onto the site to excavate a hole for the swimming pool.

The phone keeps going with people asking when I want loos, sinks, bidets, tiles, kitchens and sunbeds delivered. Sunbeds ? In November ?? Sure. Why not ? We've already got the tables, chairs and umbrellas for the villas' sun-terrace  and - thanks to my new best friends Alfredo and Pepino - I'd met Alessandro the sunbed king, it seemed silly not to.

Anyway, you're going to need somewhere to lie back and luxuriate in the view. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, though Pauline and I are still pondering about a name for our new Abruzzo home, we've decided to name each villa after a mountain in the Majella: Martellese - the nearest mountain to Villasfor2 - Acquaviva (which you can also see from your villa terrace) and Pesco Falcone (which we still haven't quite worked out if you can see or not…)

So, on the right, with Martellese beguilingly-clad in scaffolding, here's what you'll see to the south-east.

Change the view to due south. In the distance are the Monte Pizzi at the furthest end of the Majella. Rather nearer is a corner of the big sun terrace fronting the three villas - and the one little remnant of the assorted ruins that we took on when we bought our Abruzzo property.

It just seemed right to keep this little reminder of what had been on the site - and it does nicely frame the olive grove that lies just beyond Villasfor2 at the other side of the swimming pool.

And talking of the pool - and the imminent arrival of Digger Domenico - not to be confused with Plumber Domenico - plus another big sun terrace, plus the sunbeds and yet more umbrellas, our 10m x 6m bean-shaped pool is rather prettily-place. Take a look.

Those three white rocks in the picture mark the spot where hopefully Domenico will stop digging. Your sunbed view from the pool terrace across the water will be of flowering oleander and olive trees. And blue skies.

Click on the pictures in the text for larger images. And think about your Abruzzo villa for two holiday next year… 

Post from: AboutAbruzzo

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 ! 

Post from: AboutAbruzzo