those shriveled little grapes may not look like much, and i know i never would have tried one before spending time in france, but if you pick grapes with french people, you will notice that when they stop to munch a grape or two, they will always choose the grapes that have just started to shrivel. those grapes have a higher sugar content, a concentrated flavor, and a cooked fruit aroma like raisins that most americans would find aesthetically suspicous. until this year, i, too, would always grab the big plump juicy sweet grapes from the bunch. but this year, the darker, sweeter flavors of just past-their-prime grapes began to appeal to me, and now when i look at a bunch of grapes, i find myself searching for a bit of pucker on the skin.

grape leaf, grapes, and vine tendril

autignac, france