Gazela Vinho Verde

On Friday I received a text from a friend asking for the name of the wine we had shared at a restaurant in Ottawa about a month ago. It was a delightful Vinho Verde - and the first time he had tried one. I thought 'hmmm. maybe it's time I start putting up a few wine reviews as well..after all, the blog is called 'Relish and Quaff' and I've been primarily focusing on relishing at this point'!




A year ago I started to take some of the wine courses at George Brown College. I would highly recommend them for anyone even remotely interesting in drinking wine - they opened my eyes to the wonderful differences between all types of wine, and gave me a much better appreciation for what I like. So I'll try my best at putting some of my learnings about seeing, smelling and tasting delicious wines into practice!


The first wine I'll review is a Vinho Verde - as immediately after I replied to the text I thought 'that would be the perfect wine for a sweltering Friday night in Toronto'. I stopped at an LCBO en route to a friends place, and picked up the Gazela Vinho Verde. I tend to have a love affair with Portuguese Vinho Verde in the summer, as it is perfectly light and almost spritzy to the taste - what I would call a 'thirst quenching' wine, which during the summer months in Toronto becomes a staple on my patio.

• Perfect for: A sweltering summer evening aperitif on a patio
• Notes: Very pale straw colour with a hint of green, green apple on the nose, followed by an almost spritzy mouthfeel of summer melon (honeydew). A bit sweeter, but the spritz cuts this. Light on alcohol (less than 9%), but a nice balanced acidity as well.
• Pairings: on its own, or with lightly grilled (and minimally seasoned) fish or shellfish
• Price: $8.95!!!! Great value! General list at the LCBO

Other Vinho Verde reviews are likely to come (and if you're looking for some others, a slightly more elegant one is the Quinta de Aveleda, also general list at the LCBO). 

link to Gazela producer specs