Green Wine

The City of Hamilton has a downtown shopping district called Jamesville. It has a variety of small, independent stores but the main feature is that this is the heart of Hamilton's Little Portugal, with markets and restaurants in abundance. I stopped in to the Wild Orchid restaurant for dinner, an establishment that has received the "Best Portuguese Restaurant" award for a number of years in a row.

The wine list's "by the glass" offerings are limited to one red and one white, both from Peller Estates. But what interested me was the availability of something I haven't tried before: Portuguese green wine.

The glass I ordered came full to the brim (making swirling impossible) and ice cold. It was difficult to discern any scent, so I was forced to start drinking. The colour is really a pale yellow with a green hue, reminding me of early sour apples. And that's how it tastes, too: sour apples and minerals, with a dry, short tart finish. As I reach the bottom of the glass, I was able to get some nose from it: green apple, minerals, vegetal and especially asparagus. The wine is slightly spritzy, too, which gave it a pleasant, light mouthfeel. Lovely!

For the record, the wine I tried is made by Aveleda in the Fonte DOC region.