Masciarelli Italian Wine – ‘Tis the Season

For me, the cozy holiday season is synonymous with indulgent food and delicious wine. As my fiancé and I are getting married in 1 month (eek!) in what will be a romantic and chic Italian wine, we have been tasting and trying lots of Italian wines as of lately.

I was recently introduced to Masciarelli‘s Italian wine portfolio, and I’m excited to share more about the brand and how I’m enjoying their wines this holiday season! A native to Italy’s Abruzzo region, Gianni Masciarelli, was convinced that he could bring the production of world-class wines to the Abruzzo region – tricky for their non-traditional winery terrain.

In 1981, Gianni did just that, and he has now brought the prestige and recognition of fine wine to his home of Abruzzo.

So, you know I love wine – let’s talk Italian wine. I set up a little at-home tasting of two Masciarelli’s Villa Gemma wines – the flagship line of Masciarelli.

Villa Gemma Bianco is produced on the hills around Chieti (doesn’t that sound dreamy?). The wine is a blend of three white grape varieties that are significant in the Abruzzo region – Trebbiano, Pecorino and Cococciola.

This wine is characterized by fruity and aromatic herbs notes, perfect for raw fish appetizers, seafood, fish courses.

Villa Gemma Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC Superiore

Cherry red in color (hence it’s name “cerasuolo” meaning cherry-like or cherry-colored), this rich and ripe wine is described by its intense aromas of fresh cherries, cherry blossoms, citrus fruits and rose petals. It pairs well with just about anything – from heavy meals to decadent desserts, or while grazing a charcuterie platter.

Here are a few ways that you can get festive with Masciarelli’s Italian Wine varietals this holiday season, and especially with guests:

• Charcuterie platter and wine flights – Create little wine flights of four different varieties per person, so they can taste and pair while they’re grazing.
• Blind taste test – Pour different reds in a variety of glasses, each marked with a drink marker that coordinates with a specific wine (you can keep the “answer key” to yourself). Have some fun by tasting and comparing with each other! You can even make little “ranking” cards, for people to rank their favorites. At the end, reveal each wine!
• Wine and chocolate pairing – need I say more? Really though – make a cute “dessert” board of different sweets, and have a merry ‘ol time with some glasses of red!
• White Elephant Wine Exchange – If you’re not familiar with the popular white elephant game, every guest brings a wrapped gift to contribute to the pool of gifts, picks a number, and then gets to select a gift from the pile to open on the spot. Each subsequent player then has one opportunity to “steal” from any of the previously opened gifts (AKA – the last player has their pick of the litter!). This could be such a cute and fun concept with bottles of wine – everyone walks away with a new bottle to try!