Semillon

Semillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC.

The grape is native to the Bordeaux region. It was known as Semillon de Saint-Emilion in 1736, while Semillon also resembles the local pronunciation of the town’s name ([semi’ʎuŋ]). It first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent of South Africa’s vineyards, where it was known as Wyndruif, meaning “wine grape”. It was once considered to be the most planted grape in the world, although this is no longer the case. In the 1950s, Chile’s vineyards were made up of over 75% Sémillon. Today, it accounts for just 1% of South African Cape vines.