Cotton Candy Grape

If you told someone that a grape could taste like cotton candy you could forgive their dubious expression since it does sound rather farcical. It’s true though, there is a grape that really tastes as if it’s made of spun sugar and air.

The cotton candy grape is the brain-child of Horticulturist David Cain and his team at International Fruit Genetics in Bakersfield, Calif. Cain himself said that he wanted to bring back the natural flavours of grapes, which he feels have been stripped away after decades of breeding fruit to withstand shipping and storage, instead of what they should...

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December there was a steep decline in the yield

The Namibian grape season got off to a good start in late November. The volumes were average and quality was very good. Water was becoming a concern in the Aussenkehr valley where the main grape production is but it was not yet critical.

The season however did not end as well as it started. "In December there was a steep decline in the yield," explained Andre Vermaak from Silverlands. "This resulted in a 30% reduction in the Namibian grape export."

This was due to the warmer winter climate of May and June which affected the later grapes, "We started well with the Early Swee...

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Namibian Grape Season

The Namibian grape season looked fairly promising in late November. Average volume and good quality meant there was no real need for concern other than what was a slight water shortage in the Aussenkehr Valley.

However, December saw things take a turn for the worse. There was a large decrease in yield and Ander Vermaak of our very own Silverlands said that the Namibian grape export was in sharp decline with a reported 30% reduction.

The culprit was the warmer winter climate of May and June which had affected the latter half of the season’s grapes.

“We started well wi...

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