2013 Vine Keeper Hunter Valley Verdelho

I've always thought of Verdelho as autumnal – an in-between season – perhaps because of the onomatopoeia in the words, but perhaps also because Verdelho is usually thought of as thick and rich, like a buttery, wooded Chardonnay. But a Verdelho with an angelic lightness – a soft coconut on the palate – comes from the Hunter Valley (the 'home' of Verdelho, along with Queensland's Granite Belt): Vine Keeper 2013. The label has enough distinction to make it noticeable: the top rough-edged, but the whole in predominantly pea-soup green and white, with grey touches, and a grape vine stretching out into the air. With vine and rose images on the back, the label notes this is a long-term vegetal coupling. If the roses thrive, so will the vines.