When visiting my own country of Québec for Christmas, I became totally excited to learn that so many vineyards are now in full operations in several parts of the province.

What? I can hear you say..."Vineyards in "cold & snowy" Québec. Apparently so...

Frankly, I was surprised myself. I rushed to ask recommendations from twitter friends and was directed to some pretty interesting producers...

One of them was Vignoble Sainte-Pétronille, located at the tip of L'Ile D'Orléans smack in the middle of the Ste-Lawrence river off Québec city. A lovely vineyard which was fully covered in snow when we visited (I posted some photos on my Facebook Page earlier this month).

Tonight, we opened a bottle, cherishly brought back in my luggage all the way back here in Hong Kong.

The wine is made with "Vandal-Cliche" grape. This is, according to Jancis Robinson's book Wine Grapes, "a hardy & complex hybrid for a wide range of styles". It can sustain temperatures up (or down, depending on your point of view) to -35 degree Celsius! Yes -35!!

And so?

At 1st sight, the color is sustained lemon all the way to the rim. The nose is interesting... Grassy, citrussy, earthy, creamy, and fresh all at once. For sure there are lemon skin and white flower notes. Quite mineral also... A touch of lanolin... The palate is crisp, but also smooth even though it only has 11.5% in alcohol. Even if full, it stays lively and refreshing. The length of medium with a fair intensity.

I can imagine very well enjoying this wine with fresh oysters or "moules marinières".

Frankly, a pretty good wine.