Summer Grape Harvest Is Absolutely De-Vine

Lush fields of dry-farmed Muscat grapevines once lined the Escondido hills. So important was the crop to the local economy that an annual Grape Day celebration took place each Sept. 9, with festivities second only to the Rose Parade’s, according to longtime resident Ben Hillenbrecht.

Although the Muscat crop has all but disappeared, Grape Day Park in Escondido stands as a reminder of its heyday. The park was named after the tradition of farmers bringing huge quantities of grapes there and giving them away, done first in 1908 to celebrate the end of the city’s indebtedness on water bonds. The annual ritual ended in 1951, and attempts since to revive it have not been successful. Meanwhile, North County’s association with grapes has grown in new directions.

California produces 97% of the nation’s table grapes, and accounts for 30% of the state’s total fruit and nut industry. From almost 8,000 known varieties, only 15 to 20 are grown extensively as table crops, 11 of them in California.

As a result of constant experimentation and better packing and storing techniques, consumers can now eat grapes almost year-round. The first bunches are harvested in the Coachella Valley in late spring, while crops in Kern County and the Central Valley are ready in the summer months.

The first fruit to appear at the end of May is the jade-green Perlette seedless, followed by the Superior Seedless and the Red Flame Seedless. The ever-popular Seedless Thompsons, juicy and sweet with their green-gold skin, arrive on the market soon afterward.

Several of these grace Kathy Pandol’s table at the Oceanside Farmer’s Market. Grapes of all colors and sizes overflow from the cardboard boxes Kathy and her daughter, Jennifer, bring in every Thursday morning.

“Sometimes, people are reluctant to buy varieties they don’t know, so we like to give out samples for them to try,” Kathy said. The luscious Black Exotics and the Thompson grapes quickly win over buyers.

Jennifer Pandol, a high school junior, is following a long family tradition by marketing grapes. Pandol & Sons is “probably the top shipper, and the largest importer and exporter of grapes in California,” said Jack Pandol Sr., Jennifer’s grandfather. The senior Pandol, based in Delano, followed in the footsteps of his Croatian father. “We’ve always planted our own grapes. This makes us unique,” he said. They also handle grapes for other producers.

“We try to make our plants healthier than the norm, to fight off insects and fungi, so we don’t have to spray so much for bugs and insects,” Pandol said. Since 1965, every field under the Pandols’ care has been tested by an independent lab before harvest for pesticide residue. The Pandols even manufacture their own compost.

Beginning this week, look for reddish Cardinals and for the unusual Black Seedless at Jennifer and Kathy’s stand, or look for the 3-Brothers label at supermarkets.

Dick Baughman, manager of the Vista Farmer’s Market, grows Concord Grapes “expressly for people who have moved out here from the East and miss them.” Baughman has found the Concord well-suited to the back hills of Vista. The grape grows wild on the East Coast. Here, the sweet, deep-purple grape is so popular with customers that Baughman regularly sells out, so he is thinking about adding more vines.

Baughman produces five other varieties of table grapes, “but the Concord seems to be the ‘in’ thing at this moment,” he said.

A few stands away from the Baughmans at the Vista Farmer’s Market, Ed Wong and his wife, Bertha, sell Red Flames.

Thompson seedless and Black Exotics are as large as plums, and Ed brings them in weekly from Delano. The Wongs and their associates market their fruit under the High Jump label. They harvest in the Coachella Valley in the spring and the San Joaquin Valley in the summer.

Sunworld, the same company that developed the seedless watermelon, also runs the largest laboratory grape-breeding program in the world, with thousands of varieties under consideration, according to spokesman Tim Dayka.

Among the 12 varieties now marketed commercially by Sunworld is the Superior Seedless, a company exclusive. “It’s very large and has very sweet flavor,” Dayka said. Sunworld also produces Red Flame seedless, Thompson seedless, Black Beauties and Perlettes. “The crop is exceptional this year, thanks to good growing conditions,” Dayka said.

As for the Muscat, Escondido grower Hillenbrecht expects to have some available in September. Fifteen years ago, Hillenbrecht got cuttings of Muscat of Alexandria from the last Muscat grower in Escondido. The popularity of the Muscat declined after World War II, probably due to the increased use of refined sugars and the advent of seedless grapes, Hillenbrecht said. “Muscats contain over 30% sugar,” he said. “They can even be too sweet for some people.”

The Farmstand West, 2115 Miller Street, Escondido (California 15 at Felicita exit) 738-9014. The Farmstand, corner of Summit and San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido. 432-8912. Both open noon to 5 p.m. daily. Look for Muscats beginning Sept. 9, Grape Day.

Kathy and Jennifer Pandol, Oceanside Farmer’s Market. Thursdays 9 a.m. to noon, in front of City Hall. Grapes from $1 to $1.50 a pound.

Dick and Margo Baughman, Vista Farmer’s Market, Saturdays 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., corner of Eucalyptus and Escondido avenues. Concord grapes 75 cents a pound, depending on availability.

Ed and Bertha Wong, Vista Farmer’s Market. Saturdays 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., corner of Eucalyptus and Escondido avenues. Red Flames, Thompson seedless, and Exotics about $1 a pound depending on availability.

California Table Grape Commission, P.O. Box 5498, Fresno, Calif. 93755. “Sensible Consumption. Guide to Conservation in the Kitchen,” provided by California’s Fresh Grape farmers, sent free upon request.