Asda to sell first edible British grapes
The supermarket has developed two varieties that will be on the shelves later this year.
After three years of trials, Asda has produced the first seedless grapes successfully cultivated on British soil.
Working in partnership with experts from Spain and farmers in Kent, the supermarket giant has stated that at least two varieties of edible grapes are ready to be produced on a commercial scale. These will be harvested in late summer 2016 and be available to buy just as the Spanish grape season ends.
Sweet grape success
Wine grape crops are already abundant in England and Wales. According to the English Wine Producers website there are now around 500 vineyards, covering 4,500 acres. However, the British climate and soil has made growing sweet grapes difficult so the fruit is largely imported from Spain and South America.
Asda grapes category manager Alberto Goldbacher said: “Grapes grown in the UK have previously only been suitable for making wine as they’re typically very small, have a thick skin and have a large seed in the middle.”
He explained that the “main problem has been getting the sweetness of the grape right for our customers, as the climate in the UK means we don’t always get the sunshine and light needed for this to develop within the grape. For the first time ever in the UK, these new table grapes are exactly what you’d expect to see on a supermarket shelf, in both look and taste.”
Grape experiments
Asda, which sells 1.4 million punnets of grapes per week, has previously experimented with flavoured grapes that taste like candy floss and strawberries. Despite sounding artificial these versions are completely natural, and are created by cross-pollinating different varieties.
Will you try British grapes? Let us know in the Comments below.
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