Without a doubt, the most striking thing about this photo of the Winemaker's Cake from Lex Culinaria is the whipped cream. Its astonishing whiteness is evocative of the lightest cloud, but a cloud that will simply melt away to nothing but satisfaction in your mouth. In short, the feelings inspired by the whipped cream almost overshadow the cake, which is lovely in and of itself. The cake is very grapey, made with fresh grapes, and uses both butter and olive oil in the batter. The finished dessert is a bit dense and almost clafoutis-like, although the description notes that it is reminiscent of a very moist coffee cake. If grapes aren't your favorite choice for dessert, berries or cherries can also be used to sweeten up this simple, not-too-sweet cake. And don't forget the whipped cream.

Most grapes are dried on paper trays in the field to make raisins, but researchers at UC Davis have found that there are distinct differences between raisins dried in the traditional way and those dried directly on the vine. Their testing looked at factors that included "fruitiness, chewiness and color" and the tasters were split on which raisins they liked more, though it was clear that there was a big difference between the two types. The vine-dried raisins were said to be softer, plumper and more complex, almost like wine, while the tray-dried raisins were stickier and more caramely. The noticeably different flavor profiles may open the door for gourmet raisins if some growers switch over to the vine-dried variety.

Vine-dried raisins are less labor intensive than tray-dried raisins, but they usually need to be harvested with a machine and take much longer to dry, needing as much as a month on the vine, as opposed to a week on the trays. As a result, they are more expensive to produce and not all of California's growers, who produce almost all of the US's raisins and about 40% of the world's supply, would be willing or able to make the switch.

Anthocyanins, which contribute to the color of red grapes, are a great source of antioxidants and their existence is one of the reasons that red wine is considered to be so heart-healthy. Since red wines use the skin of the grapes in their production, creating a red color, most or all of the antioxidants from the grapes are also found in the wine. For this reason, red wine is thought to be a healthier choice than white wine.

It turns out that the flesh of the grapes is just as heart-healthy as the skin is, as a new study by American and Italian scientists has shown. The results demonstrated that both parts of the grapes reduced the chance of a heart attack and heart attack size when compared to the control group - even though the flesh contains no anthocyanins, but instead has other kinds of polyphenols and organic acids that have antioxidants.

Further study will be needed to isolate the exact chemicals that give these properties to the grapes, but white wine fans can enjoy their favorite drink without having to worry that they're missing out on the heath benefits of red wine.

Raisins are dried grapes, an obvious and simple truth. Despite the fact that getting the grapes to turn into raisins requires only one step, it's safe to say that not many people try this process at home. I decided to give it a shot, taking advantage of the blazing heat that I've been experiencing lately. I covered a wire cooling rack with a paper towel, set freshly washed grapes on top, and covered them with another paper towel. I set the tray outside in the sun and let nature go to work. You may have to weight down your towels, or cover the whole tray with a domed picnic screen to prevent flies from landing on the grapes.

These grapes, pictured, are about two days into the drying process, but they dry up more each day, getting sweeter as time passes. It took about one week to go from grapes to raisins, but this time will vary depending on sunlight and heat. They taste great, especially compared to the majority of pre-packaged raisins, and are a great summer project that only takes a little effort to do.

Zinfandel grapes are one of the first types of the fruit that were grown in California, with some vineyards dating back over 100 years and still producing fruit from the "old growth" vines. Generally, the zin grapes were first used only for blending with other grapes in wine making, but during the 1960s and '70s, pure zinfandels produced in California came into great popularity. The fruity, light flavor of white zinfandel introduced many people to wine, while potent red zinfandels continue to gain in popularity. Celebrating its heritage as the "original" California wine, state senators voted to make zinfandel California's official historic wine. The first draft of the bill actually called to make it the official wine of California, not qualifying the designation with the word "historic," but lawmakers did not want to single one wine (or grape) out over the others that are grown in the state.

The different varieties of grape are not well known to me, despite having spent significant amounts of time in the California wine country, because the grapes offered in stores are most likely to be tagged as either "red grapes" or "green grapes." Occasionally, there will be a variation, when "black" is thrown into the mix. Why all the vagueness when there hundreds of types of grape grown in the world? Perhaps the stores don't want t set the bar too high. Some grapes are definitely better than others.

These grapes are a type of muscat grapes, grown in California. They are known for being exceptionally sweet and are often used to make dessert wines. Despite the fact that they are often considered to be the world's oldest cultivated variety of the fruit, I rarely see them in stores. It's a shame because in addition to being sweet, they are incredibly light and juicy, with a taste and aroma that remind me distinctly of tropical fruits like lychee.

The point of this all is to take a chance on grape varieties that you don't buy that often when you see the in stores or at a farmer's market. You might just be pleasantly surprised!

[Photo by Nicole Weston]