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A favorite late summer treat in France is the Pêche de Vigne, or ‘peach of the grapevine’.
These fuzzy heirloom peaches have a dull, very fuzzy dusky exterior that gives little clue to the dazzling flesh within.

But slice one open, and…wow!

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The rare Pêche de Vigne appears only for a short time; just during the fleeting, final weeks in August. Their taste is a curious cross between a ripe and juicy white peach and a succulent raspberry. They’re best peeled and simply eaten just as they are, with their pale pink juices running every which way. For dessert, macerate slices in sweetened red wine and served very cold along with a good amount of the delicious liquid.

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6 comments

    • Lil

    curious, very curious… never tried anything like this before… wonder where i can find one in dublin…?

    • Emi

    What an interesting combination. Looks tasty. : ) Ever had a pluot?

    • David

    Lil: There’s perhaps some places that import fruit from France that you could find them. Try searching online as well. If not, Dublin’s pretty close… there’s always the Eurostar!

    Emi: Yes, I’ve had a ‘Pluot’ (and an ‘Aplot’, another cross between a apricot and plum, although no one’s been able to explain the difference between the two to me.)
    I like them, but all-in-all, I prefer plums (Santa Rosa in the US, Reine Claude in France), and Apricots (Royals-Blenheim’s rock!)

    At Chez Panisse in Berkeley, we used to get red peaches in the summer from a local farm. I’m sure they were Peche de Vigne. They called them ‘Indian Peaches’ at first, then I think they changed the name to something more Politically Correct!

    • Emi

    Ahh.. nostalgia! I think my favorite would be the Shimizu peach. They’re in Japan around this time of year; very juicy and sweet. I haven’t had a white peach that tops it yet. : ) Not grainy like the white Sugar Giant I bought from the market last week.

    I’ll check out the market for the Santa Rosa’s and Blenheim’s–thanks for the tip!

    (btw, I’m not at all suprised about the name change);)

    • Fatemeh

    Salivating.

    You say these can be found locally in the Bay Area?? Any chance you might remember the farm? I might have to sic Shuna on it if you don’t…

    • David

    They were from Bob Canard’s farm, which supplied us at Chez Panisse with much of the produce. I’m not sure if they sell to the public or have an outlet for distribution, but best of luck!

    (This has nothing to do with anything, but I just learned that in France, if you want a cube of sugar with your coffee, request a ‘canard de sucre’…a ‘duck’ of sugar.)

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