Japan Winery Map

Know the grapes

Sémillonセミヨン

Wineries growing it
6
Awards
16
Years with awards
2003–2026

A thin-skinned grape prone to noble rot, behind great sweet wines but also made dry.

The grape behind Sauternes, Bordeaux's great sweet white. Its thin skin invites noble rot, which draws out water and concentrates sugar and aroma, producing intensely sweet wines suggesting honey and dried apricot. It is equally important blended with Sauvignon Blanc for dry whites, and in Australia's Hunter Valley it makes long-lived dry wines on its own. In Japan it is grown mainly in Nagano and Yamanashi, with further producers in Ibaraki and Kagawa; the sweet style pairs classically with blue cheese and chicken-liver dishes.

France (Bordeaux)honeydried apricotlemon

Notes on aroma and taste describe general tendencies for this grape, not claims about any particular wine — the actual character depends on the producer and how it is made.

For this grape we have not yet confirmed a primary source for its origin or growing regions. (Winery entries always carry a source and the date it was checked.)

Sémillon at the Japan Wine Competition

16 awards in the published results carry “Sémillon” in the entry name, across 6 wineries and 11 years. These are read from the entry names, not from declared grape composition, so wines whose names do not mention the grape are not included.

  • Gold 3
  • Silver 3
  • Bronze 9
  • Encouragement 1

Wineries with the most awards

Ordered by how many awards we list. Producers differ in how many wines they entered and in how many years they entered, so this is not a ranking of quality.

By year

Wineries growing Sémillon

6 listed wineries are recorded by their sources as growing this grape.