Behind the Cork™ - Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva

Masciarelli (Mass-shee-ah-RELL-ee) Winery is located in the Abruzzo region of Italy on the eastern coast, just east of Rome on the Adriatic Sea. It was established in 1981 from the entrepreneurial intuition of Gianni Masciarelli. Today, Miriam Masciarelli (Gianni’s daughter) works with her mother, Marina Cvetić Masciarelli, to run this fabulous family winery that now has 22 labels and seven product lines all sourced from 60 vineyards in all four provinces of Abruzzo. One of their product lines, Marina Cvetić, was named by Gianni in honor is his wife.

2019 Marina Cvetić Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva ($38)

This wine is produced from 100% Montepulciano grapes that were harvested from four top “cru” vineyards ranging between 435-1,200 feet in altitude. The fruit from each vineyard was fermented and macerated separately. It was aged 12 months in French barrels of first-use before being bottled. It then underwent further aging in the bottle.

Marina Cvetić Montepulciano is deep ruby red in color. On the nose it has medium notes of red and dark fruit, including dark cherry, along with herbal notes and hints of oak. On the palate, this full-bodied wine is rich and complex with red fruit flavors, dried fruit, some spicy notes, cocoa, and black pepper. It has a medium-long finish.

Masciarelli’s Marina Cvetić Montepulciano is yet another delicious example of the great wines coming from the Abruzzo region of Italy and featured as the Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Media Sample Provided by Masciarelli Winery

Behind the Cork™ - Villa Gemma Cerasuolo D'Abruzzo Superiore

Masciarelli (Mass-shee-ah-RELL-ee) Winery is located in the Abruzzo region of Italy on the eastern coast, just east of Rome on the Adriatic Sea. It was established in 1981 from the entrepreneurial intuition of Gianni Masciarelli. Today, Miriam Masciarelli (Gianni’s daughter) works with her mother, Marina Cvetić Masciarelli, to run this fabulous family winery that now has 22 labels and seven product lines all sourced from 60 vineyards in all four provinces of Abruzzo. One of their product lines, Villa Gemma, honors the modest family home where Gianni Masciarelli was born.

2022 Villa Gemma Cerasuolo D'Abruzzo Superiore ($24)

This wine is produced from 100% Montepulciano but is made as a rosé. But instead of calling it a rosé, they call it a Cerasuolo, meaning ‘cherry-colored.’ And, indeed, this wine is a beautiful cherry color.

This Cerasuolo shows how well suited the Montepulciano grape is for a rosé. The grapes are grown in eight vineyards, harvested in crates, destemmed and remain on the skins for 12 hours, followed by fermentation in stainless steel. It remained on lees for three months prior to bottling.

The use of Montepulciano grapes that remain on skins for such a brief period and then on lees, produces an excellent wine. You may not be a rosé fan, but this Cerasuolo will win you over! With notes of cherry and strawberry on the nose, it has wonderful candied-cherry flavors with medium acidity and a light finish. It is medium-full bodied, 14% ABV and dry.

This is a super wine that isn’t your typical rosé - it’s a Cerasuolo! And, at this price, it’s a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Media Sample Provided by Masciarelli Winery

Behind the Cork™ - White Wines from Masciarelli Winery in Abruzzo

Masciarelli (Mass-shee-ah-RELL-ee) Winery is located in the Abruzzo region of Italy on the eastern coast, just east of Rome on the Adriatic Sea. It was established in 1981 from the entrepreneurial intuition of Gianni Masciarelli. Today, Miriam Masciarelli (Gianni’s daughter) works with her mother, Marina Cvetić Masciarelli, to run this fabulous family winery that now has 22 labels and seven product lines all sourced from 60 vineyards in all four provinces of Abruzzo. Two of the product lines featured here are Villa Gemma, honoring the modest family home where Gianni was born, and the Marina Cvetic line that Gianni named for his wife.

2022 Villa Gemma Abruzzo Bianco ($24)

This wine is produced from a blend of 50% Trebbiano Abruzzese, 30% Pecorino, and 20% Cococciola from four vineyards. Trebbiano Abruzzese delivers wines that can be simultaneously floral and fruity. Native Cococciola adds lime-like acidity and herbal notes, while Pecorino adds minerality and a fruit/floral balance.

Fermentation of the various grape varieties was conducted separately in low-temperature stainless steel tanks, followed by blending and bottling.

This Villa Gemma Abruzzo Bianco is pale straw in color. On the nose it nice aromas of citrus and pineapple with subtle herbal hints. On the palate, this medium-light-bodied wine is bright, with green apple flavors, good acidity and mineral notes.

2020 Marina Cvetic Trebbiano d’ Abruzzo Reserva ($60)

This wine is produced from 100% Trebbiano Abruzzese from two vineyards.

Fermentation took place in French oak barrels, both initial and malolactic conversion. After aging 12 months on lees, in new French barrels, the wine spent 12 months in the bottle before distribution. 

This Marina Cvetic Trebbiano d’ Abruzzo Reserva is pale gold in color with greenish highlights. On the nose it has very delicate fruit aromas and herbal hints along with notes from the oak influence. On the palate, this medium-light bodied wine has flavors of green apple and lemon along with oaky notes and yeast from the aging on lees. It finishes soft and smooth.

Both of these white wines from Masciarelli winery are delicious examples of the great wines coming from the Abruzzo region of Italy and featured as the Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Media Samples Provided by Masciarelli Winery

Behind the Cork™ - Rockbridge Vineyards V d'Or Dessert Wine

2019 Rockbridge Vineyards V d’Or ($32)

Rockbridge Vineyards is located in Raphine Virginia which is part of the Shenandoah Valley AVA.

Approved in 1982 as Virginia’s first American Viticultural Area, the Shenandoah Valley AVA is located in the Appalachian region of the eastern United States covering the land along the western edge of Virginia and spilling into the easternmost portion of West Virginia.

The Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail (aka the Shenandoah Valley Wine Growers Association) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 2003 to support economic growth and tourism in the Shenandoah Valley by promoting the cultivation of wine grape varieties grown in the Shenandoah Valley AVA.

Rockbridge Vineyards V d’Or dessert wine has won multiple awards including:

  • 2020 Gold Medal-Virginia Governor’s Cup & 1 of 12 in the Governor’s Case

  • 2021 Silver Medal- VA Governor's Cup Competition

  • 2021 Gold Medal - Shenandoah cup Competition

  • 2023 Third Place - Shenandoah cup Competition

This V d’Or dessert wine is made in the style of an Ice Wine where the grapes are picked at their peak of ripeness and then put into freezers to yield frozen grapes. Hydraulic pressure is then used to crush the grapes while still frozen, resulting in a very small amount of very concentrated sugary substance. Because the water is frozen solid, it is not extracted from the grape in the pressing process. This high sugar extract is then put through fermentation to produce this sweet dessert wine.

This V d’Or is a blend of 26% Vidal Blanc, 26% Traminette, 24% Vignoles, 24% Riesling. It is yellow-orange in color with delicate orange and honey aromas. On the palate it is sweet (15% RS by weight) with fruit flavors of mango, pineapple and apricot with some spice notes.


This is a unique Shenandoah Valley V ‘Or dessert wine from Rockbridge Vineyards is this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers to a sweet start to 2024!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Media Sample Provided by Rockbridge Winery via the Shenandoah Valley Wine Growers Association and Donna White Communications

Behind the Cork™ - Briede Family Vineyards Sparkling Winchester

2020 Briedé Family Vineyards Brut Sparkling Winchester ($53)

From the Shenandoah Valley AVA, here is a wonderful sparkling wine!

Briedé Family Vineyards was established in 2013 in the Shenandoah Valley AVA in Winchester Virginia (just west of the Baltimore/Washington D.C. areas)

Approved in 1982, the Shenandoah Valley AVA comprises Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt and Amherst counties in Virginia, and Berkely and Jefferson counties in West Virginia.  Covering 2.4 million acres surrounding the Shenandoah River, it is a major agricultural and viticultural area of Virginia and West Virginia.

Awards for this 2020 Sparkling Winchester include:

  • Silver Medal winner in the 2023 Governor's Cup and the DENVER International Wine Competition 2023 

  • Gold Medal and 2nd in the Shenandoah Cup 2023, and in top 7 wines in the Shenandoah Valley.  

This award-winning 2020 Briedé Sparkling Winchester is made from 100% Cayuga White grapes. Cayuga is a French-American hybrid grape variety, first bred and now found predominantly in the Finger Lakes wine region of New York State and vicinity. It was bred for its cold hardiness and produces both sparkling and still wines with good acidity and clean flavors.

On the nose, this Briedé Sparkling Winchester has notes of green apples, pears, and a bit of yeast. On the palate its bubbles are consistent and small with nice complexity and a lengthy finish,

This is a unique Shenandoah Valley sparkling wine that’s perfect as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Media Sample Provided by Briedé Family Vineyards via Donna White Communications