When is Grape Season and Types of Grapes

When is Grape Season and Types of Grapes and When is Grape Ready to Pick
In the U.S., peak season for grapes is August through October. One cup of grapes contains 62 calories, vitamin K, manganese, potassium and vitamin C. Grapes are packed with a variety of antioxidants.

When is Grape Season

TYPES OF GRAPES

RED GRAPES

1. Moon Drop Grape

Characteristics: Finger-like shape with dark purple, almost black skin. The flesh is firm and crunchy, giving this variety a nice snap that also helps it maintain in the refrigerator for days. It’s sweet, but not too sugary, and tastes a little like grape jelly.

Where they grow: Central California

Season: Late July to late September

2. Concord Grape

Characteristics: If you have ever had Welch’s classic grape juice, then you know exactly what the Concord tastes like. Bright, sweet and full of that signature dark grape flavor. In the early fall, you might see these perfect blue-purple orbs popping up in the farmers’ market. They have easy-to-peel skins and large seeds. As an added bonus, they smell fantastic!

Where they grow: The Finger Lakes region in New York, Yakima Valley in Washington, Michigan and Lake Ontario
Season: August to September

3. Pinot Noir Grape

Characteristics: You find this thin-skinned vitis vinifera in tight clumps of deep purple fruits. “Pinot noir has flavors and aromas of ripe cherry, wild strawberry, earthiness and caramel,” says Dreaming Tree winemaker Sean McKenzie. This is the profile you find in both the raw fruit and wine, which is why these grapes have such a following. You may also detect rose, black cherry and currents.

Where they grow: All over the world but mainly in France, Oregon, New Zealand and California

Season: August to September

4. Lemberger Grape

Characteristics: The plump grapes have a dusty blue color with a tannic berry essence. If you peel the skin back, you get more sweet, dark fruit flavors. Notes of pepper tend to come out in the grape, especially when made into wine.

Where they grow: Germany, Austria, Canada and New York

Season: August to September

5. Sweet Jubilee Grape

Characteristics: You will know these grapes by the large black ovals that make up a bunch. They are sweet and firm with a clean grape flavor.

Where they grow: Central California

Season: Mid-August to early September

6. Valiant Grape

Characteristics: These cold-weather beauties taste a lot like Concords, and have an easy-to-remove skin and high-sugar flesh. They’re larger than the average table grape and aren’t as astringent.

Where they grow: Alaska, Canada

Season: Late August to September

7. Champagne Grape

Characteristics: These are some of the smallest berries you can find, roughly the size of a pea, which makes them perfect for decorating a plate, popping in you mouth as a snack or giving to kids. They are tender and sweet, with a pleasing crunch.

Where they grow: California, Europe, Mediterranean

Season: June to September

8. Crimson Seedless Grape

Characteristics: They are firm and sweet with a pleasing tartness and have a long shelf life. The color is usually a pale brick red, sometimes with greenish streaks.

Where they grow: California

Season: August to November

9. Kyoho Grape

Characteristics: Large, dark black-purple berries with a big inedible seed and thick, bitter skin. You will want to peel off the outside to enjoy the sweet fruit underneath, which has a similar taste to the Concord grape.

Where they grow: Japan

Season: July to August

WHITE GRAPES

10. Cotton Candy Grape

Characteristics: Cotton candy in grape form, hands down

Where they grow: Central California

Season: Mid-August to late September

11. Riesling Grape

Characteristics: As a grape, this specimen runs on the sweet side, with floral undertones and high acidity. This fruit also picks up the terroir of the land, meaning if the soil has more minerals in it, the grapes reflect that. All of these traits make it a great grape for winemaking. Becraft, for one, calls Riesling “the best food wine ever invented.”

Where they grow: Austria, New York, Germany, Canada and Alsace

Season: August to September, though Riesling grapes for ice wine are picked at the first frost, usually October.

12. Gewürztraminer Grape

Characteristics: It may surprise you find out these white grapes have a pink-red skin, nothing like the almost clear wine you tend to see in the glass. While the size proves standard for the fruit, the flavor remains less grapey, and instead comes across as soft and clean with a hint of stone fruit.

Where they grow: All over the world

Season: July to September

13. Moon Balls Grape

Characteristics: These round hybrid grapes come out large and green, almost like an edible bouncy ball. They posses a thick skin and supple, sweet flesh that proves a bit more sugary than most table grapes.

Where they grow: South Africa

Season: February to March

14. Sultana Grape

Characteristics: Sultanas are small, light green oval-shaped grapes that pack a wallop of sugar. Once dried, the sugar concentrates and produces that earthy-sweet raisin flavor everyone knows. Even when you see a darker raisin, that’s still a sultana.

Where they grow: Turkey, California and Australia

Season: July to September

15. Fry Muscadine Grape

Characteristics: Coming out about the size of a cherry tomato, these fruits turn a nice gold color when ripe that just adds to their sunny sweetness.

Where they grow: Georgia

Season: September

according to foodrepublic