It was 1967 on a bright crisp; late February afternoon in the Southern California town of Riverside, two starry-eyed, young people fervently joined friends and family in a wine punch toast to everlasting love and a life-time together. That wine punch (two-thirds wine and one-third tropical fruit juice) was my first experience with Sémillon. I can still remember how giddy we were watching the caterer pouring gallon jugs of Almaden Sémillon into the crystal punch bowl. It was a happy day.

While Sémillon may have been a new experience for me, wines made from the sweet white grape of southwestern France have been quaffed for centuries. Sometimes referred to as the “noble prince” of European grapes, Sémillon is the second most widely planted white grape in France. In fact, it is one of only three white wine varieties permitted in Bordeaux.

Sémillon’s nobility stems from the key role the grape plays in the magnificent sweet wines of France – Sauternes. When Sémillon grapes are exposed to Botrytis Cinerea – “noble” rot” – they shrivel and the acid and sugar levels are intensified. When blended with lesser amounts of Sauvignon Blanc, the result is marvelously sweet, honey-like nectar of amazing depth and flavor. One of the world’s most expensive and prized sweet white dessert wines from Chateau d’Yquem is such a wine.

Sonoma’s flamboyant Count Agoston Haraszthy may well have brought the first Sémillon to California from France in 1862. But since none of Haraszthy’s vines survived, J. H. Drummond is credited with importing the first commercially successful Sémillon grapes into the state during the 1870s. California wine pioneer Charles Wetmore, founder of Cresta Blanca Vineyards in the Livermore Valley, was determined to duplicate the famous Sauternes of Chateau d’Yquem. He traveled to France and was permitted to take home and plant Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc root cutting from the famous chateau vineyard. Wetmore sold his vineyards to Carl Wente whose son Herman made a sweet Sauterne he appropriately called “Chateau Wente” from the Yquem offspring.

Sémillon is a vigorous and productive vine capable of six to eight tons of fruit per acre. It flourishes in climates with

warm days and cool nights and thrives in soils that are a yielding mix of clay and gravel. With irrigation, vines can withstand high summer temperatures.

Mature Sémillon grapes have a beautiful pinkish-white color and ripen early. While resistant to downy and powdery mildew, Sémillon’s thin skin makes it particularly susceptible to Botrytis - the “noble rot” that consumes the water content of the berry and concentrates the sugar present in the pulp.

In California the wine terms Sémillon and Sauterne can be confusing and a bit misleading. California Sémillon can be dry or slightly sweet made entirely from Sémillon or blended with Sauvignon Blanc. The dry wines tend to be lower in alcohol (less than 12%) and have flavors and aromas of ripe fig, dried fruit, honey, and damp grass. Occasionally, a true varietal Sémillon will have a “cigar” aroma of charred tobacco leaf. When blended with Sauvignon Blanc, the wine’s grassiness tends to become melon like and gain a certain lemony nuance as it ages in the bottle.

Generic California Sauterne is the popular “jug” white table wines often produced from a variety of lesser grapes including Palomino, Golden Chasselas, and even Thompson Seedless raisin grapes. However the finest California Sauterne (note that in California, the “s” is dropped from the French “Sauternes”) is made from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. These wines can be sweet or dry; medium to full-bodied, exhibiting golden color with flower-like bouquet and rich, full favors.

French style sweet, concentrated nectar-like Sémillon Sauterne is rare in California. The state has few areas where late season moisture is sufficient to foster the development of Botrytis Cinerea. However, modern technology has made it possible to artificially induce the “noble rot” and a few producers across the state are making exquisitely sweet Sémillon dessert wines.

Sadly, those expectant promises made so long ago never quite worked out and those two young people eventually went their separate ways. Still, Sémillon will always remind me of those happy, innocent times so long ago and have a special place in my memory.