The Grapes on Our Tables

* Black Corinth. Old Greek variety, marketed as “Champagne grapes” when fresh, as Zante currants when dried; introduced to California by 1854. Very small spherical berries; very thin and tender, reddish black skin; juicy flesh; neutral to spicy flavor; mostly seedless; early season. Notable chiefly as a novelty; less than 1% of California’s table grape acreage.

* Chasselas Dore. French, from the 16th century; introduced to California by 1853. Small to medium spherical berries; thin, pale amber skin with a golden tinge, tawny gold when fully ripe, with reddish-brown patches; soft, very sweet and juicy flesh; seeded; early season. A classic table grape in Europe; grown in California in the 19th century, but too fragile for modern American commerce.

* Crimson Seedless. Emperor x numbered hybrid; introduced by David Ramming and Ronald Tarailo, USDA, Fresno, 1989. Medium, oval berries; bright red, thick skin; light yellow, crisp flesh; sweet, neutral flavor. A leading late-season variety; 9% of California’s table grape crop.

* Flame Seedless. Complex hybrid including Thompson Seedless, Cardinal and Red Malaga; introduced by John Weinberger, USDA, Fresno, 1973. Medium, spherical berries; pinkish-red to dark red skin; very firm, crunchy flesh; sweet, neutral flavor; early season. The prototypical modern commercial grape; 22% of California’s table grape crop.

* Flame Tokay (Tokay). Ancient variety from North Africa or southern Spain; introduced to California by 1861. Large to very large, oblong berries; thick, pink to dark red skin, with some parts staying green; crisp, juicy, fleshy pulp, with distinctive wine-like flavor; seeded; late midseason. Once California’s leading table grape, the pride of Lodi; now 2% of the state’s acreage and declining; little is actually sold as fruit.

* Italia. Bicane x Muscat Hamburg; originated by Angelo Pirovano, Rome, 1911; introduced to California 1946. Large, oval berries; thick skin, green when unripe, golden-yellow when mature; tender, juicy, fleshy pulp; mild muscat flavor is ephemeral, does not survive storage well; seeded; midseason. Long the only muscat commercially available in America; just 0.2% of California’s table grape acreage.

* Lady Finger (refers to several old varieties such as Rish Baba and Olivette Blanche). Introduced to California by the 1850s. Large, very elongated berries, often with one side nearly straight, the other bulged near the middle; thin, greenish-white, bitter skin; tender, crisp flesh; neutral in flavor, low in acidity; seeded; late-season. Once celebrated for distinctive appearance; only a few small plantings remain.

* Muscat of Alexandria. Of North African origin, possibly dating to the Roman Empire or ancient Egypt; first recorded in 1584; introduced to California by 1852. Large, oblong berries; thin skin, dull greenish when underripe, golden-yellow tinged with copper when ripe; fleshy, juicy pulp; very sweet, strongly aromatic, with a pronounced musk flavor; seeded; late midseason. The standard of high flavor in grapes, famed as a raisin, wine and table grape. Only small amounts are sold as fresh fruit.

* Perlette. Queen of the Vineyard x Sultanina Marble; introduced by Harold Olmo, UC Davis, 1946. Medium-sized, spherical berries; thin, translucent, greenish-white skin; translucent, crisp, juicy pulp; seedless; low in sugar and acidity, with mild muscat flavor when ripe; the earliest commercial seedless grape. Important in Coachella Valley; 4% of California’s table grape acreage.

* Princess (Melissa). Crimson Seedless x complex numbered hybrid, introduced by David Ramming and Ronald Tarailo, USDA, Fresno, 1999. Large, oval berries; thick skin, greenish-white to amber-yellow when ripe; sweet, with slight muscat flavor when ripe; seedless; midseason. Eagerly planted by some growers as a flavorful midseason white grape, though others doubt its productivity; 1% of California’s table grape acreage.

* Redglobe. Complex hybrid including Emperor, introduced by Harold Olmo and Albert Koyama, UC Davis, 1980. Very large, spherical to oval berries; skin dark red; flesh whitish, crisp and meaty, with a neutral flavor; seeded; late season. Similar to the old Emperor, but earlier and more productive; widely grown for export markets; 13% of California’s table grape acreage.

* Ribier (Alphonse Lavalee). From a seed sown in Orleans, France, in 1860; grown in California by the 1920s. Large to very large, spherical berries; thick skin, blue-black; firm flesh; neutral flavor, low in acid, with bitter aftertaste characteristic of “vinous” grapes; seeded; early midseason. European hothouse variety, attractive and stores well; long California’s principal black table grape, has declined to less than 1% of state’s acreage.

* Ruby Seedless. Emperor x Pirovano 75; introduced by Harold Olmo, UC Davis, 1968. Medium-sized, oblong berries; tender, reddish-black to dark red skin; firm, crisp, sweet flesh; sweet; late midseason. One of the best-tasting seedless grapes, but declining, because it’s hard to grow; 6% of California’s table grape acreage.

* Thompson Seedless (Sultanina Bianca). Ancient Asiatic variety, possibly of Afghan origin; named after William Thompson of Yuba City, who obtained cuttings from a Rochester nursery in 1872. Naturally small, oblong berries, but size is increased by girdling and application of gibberellic acid; thin, light-green skin, golden-amber when ripe; tender, juicy flesh; sweet, neutral flavor, low in acid; midseason. Traditional raisin grape, now California’s leading table grape, with 27% of the state’s acreage.