A Short History of the Semillon Wine Grape

History and geography

Semillon grows all over the world but its history is difficult to pin down.

It first came to Australia in the early 1800's. The best-known Semillons in Australia come from the Hunter Valley where it's known as Hunter Riesling. France, Portugal, Israel, Tunisia, Australia, South Africa, California and South America (especially Argentina and Chile) grow Semillon and do it very well. By the 1820's Semillon accounted for over 90% of all South African plantings. By 1997, plantings of the 'green grape' as it is known due to its bright green leaves were down to less than 1% of Cape vineyard.

Australia has almost 17,000 acres planted to Semillon (2002 data). The Bordeaux in France has over 30,000 acres of Semillon and California has close to 3,000 acres planted. Semillon was at one time the most widely planted white grape in the world.

Growing Characteristics
The thin-skinned Semillon grape ripens early. It's easy to cultivate, high yielding and relatively disease resistant, except for Botrytis. In areas where sweet Semillons are highly prized, pickers go through the vineyard many times and pick only the Botrytis infected bunches which will yield syrupy sweet wines. Yields up to 8 tonnes per acre ripen well on vigorous Semillon. The ripe Semillon berry is dark yellow and will pick up a pinkish hue in warmer areas. The down side is the thinskinned berries can sunburn in hotter climates.

Wine Characteristics
Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc together form one of the most famous Bordeaux blends but here we'll look at 100% pure Semillons only. Young Semillons have some fig aromas on the nose but are otherwise pretty bland wines with a short finish that is usually the result of high cropping levels. Semillon has a 'Riesling like' ability to develop wonderful characteristics in the bottle. As flat as the young Semillons are, a 10-year-old Semillon develops rich hazelnut aromas with a long finish that lingers for minutes.

Dry styles
The young wines are often lacking in acidity with little aroma and a short finish. As Semillons age they develop rich golden colours with full flavours. Common aromas in older dry Semillons include: fig, lemon, saffron, nectarine, grass and asparagus. Semillons put the Hunter Valley on the map and you'll be amazed at the flavours and colours of the older wines. The older wines develop a nutty, toasty richness with honey flavours and a crisp lemon-citrus finish. They age for very well and often reach their peak after 10 years in the bottle.

Sweeter styles
The Hunter Valley in Australia started producing botrytis affected oaked Semillons and changed the way the world looked at the Hunter Valley. Now the Riverina region is also coming up and producing worldclass botrytis Semillons. Semillon easily picks up botrytis infections. Botrytis infects the grape during autumn causing it to shrivel and dry up. By harvest time the juice is extremely concentrated and honey sweet.

There are only a handful of regions around the world capable of producing Botrytis wines year after year. The sweeter Semillons have delightful, waxy flavours of peaches, apricots, pineapple and honey. Malolactic ferMentation and oak maturation will add butter, cream, vanilla and smoke flavours.

Some more background
The region of Bordeaux in France is made up of five main districts: Medoc, St. Emilion, Pomerol, Graves, and Sauternes. While Medoc and the enTire region are best known for their reds, whites from here are also pretty famous. Graves creates dry whites, and Sauternes is known for its sweet whites. Sauternes, the sweeter whites, are made with Semillon, Sauvignon and a drop of Muscadelle. So now you know where the term Sauterne (as in sweet wines) comes from.

The French blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc produces some of the worlds most expensive sweet white Sauternes in the world. Semillon grapes make up 80% of the blend in the most expensive and famous dessert wine in the world, Château d'Yquem.

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Recipe For a Delicious Apple Dessert - Baked Apples & Cranberries With Crunchy Streusel Topping

Recipe For a Delicious Apple Dessert - Baked Apples & Cranberries With Crunchy Streusel Topping

Apple Pie may be an American tradition but mixing apples and cranberries has become a fall and a holiday tradition for many of us. The combination of the tart cranberries and the sweetness of the apples is irresistable. Here we offer a recipe for Baked Apples and Cranberries with a Crunchy Streusel Topping. The crunchy topping adds the sweet, spicy, and crunchiness of brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Yummy, for sure!

BAKED APPLES & CRANBERRIES WITH CRUNCHY STREUSEL TOPPING
Fruit mixture:
5 medium Granny Smith apples
1 can (16-oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Topping mixture:
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the filling: Peel, core, and slice the apples. Place the slices on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, sugar, and flour; mix until well blended. Pour the cranberry mixture over the apples. Be sure all apples are covered with the cranberry mixture.

For the topping: In a small bowl, combine the chopped pecans, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir to blend together well. Using your fingers, sprinkle the topping mixture over the fruit mixture in the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.

Note: This is delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy!

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Buy Passion Fruit

Whenever you visit the four corners of the world, you'll find that people in Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya and Florida are all eating the same thing: passion fruit. If you want to buy passion fruit, there are some things to keep in mind. Passion fruit is not like any other fruit in the fact that you cannot just go to the local grocery store and buy some. Most likely, you'll have to go online to find only the best and tastiest passion fruit.

There are two types of passion fruit for you to choose from. The Golden passion fruit is a yellowish color and a little bit large than a grapefruit. There is also a purple passion fruit that is smaller than a lemon. It is said that the purple kind has poisonous chemicals in it, but if the passion fruit is going to be boiled into some sort of jam or jelly, then you can greatly reduce the risk of getting sick.

Many people in different countries buy passion fruit different reasons. The Australians buy passion fruit for uses in certain pies. They even have a soda pop that is flavored in passion fruit. Puerto Ricans will buy passion fruit to lower blood pressure. Brazilians use passion fruit in deserts or sometimes just strain the fruit and make a juice from it. People in the Dominican Republic will buy passion fruit in the form of candy or other desserts. In Indonesia, passion fruit is eaten just like any other regular and is even juiced for those who don't like seeds. What are you buying passion fruit for?

If you are in the living in Europe or North America, and you want passion fruit, you will have to import it from other countries. You may have to buy passion fruit in its different forms: juices, candies, sodas, or even medicine. Finding the actual fruit itself online is difficult but not impossible. Because you have not grown up around the purple kind, you should probably avoid it since you may not prepare it correctly. Start off buying the Golden passion fruit, and if you enjoy it, take it out and share it with anyone and everyone. Let everybody know how delicious passion fruit really is.

If you have ever wanted to buy passion fruit, now is your chance. Make sure you are one of the first people on your street that gets a weekly shipMent of this delicious fruit delivered to your home.

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