Beauty Grape

Scientific Binomial Name: Vitis labrusca

Selection Information

Usage:

This purple, seedless table grape can be eaten fresh in salads as a snack or as a dessert.

Selection:

Good-quality Black Beauty Grapes grapes are well-colored, plump, firmly attached to the stem and are fairly large. (Some varieties of red grapes are supposed to be small.) Select grapes that are fairly firm, but not rock-hard. Black varieties should be very dark and free of any green tinge. Grapes are always picked ripe, and do not ripen further once off the vine.

Avoid:

Avoid grapes that are soft, wrinkled, shriveled, shattered or that have bleached areas around the stem. Soft or wrinkled grapes means they are getting old or have not been kept cold.

Seasonal Information

Available July and August

Black Beauty Grape Nutritional Information

Grapes are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. They're also a very good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K.

Grape Tips & Trivia

• For a delicious summertime treat, spread individual grapes on a pan and freeze. Transfer to a freezer box to have available for kids to eat as a frosty snack - like little popsicles.
• Grapes are great to pack in lunch boxes. Grapes satisfy your child's sweet tooth without added sugar or fat, and they are an excellent way to get more fruit in a youngster's diet.
• The frosty look on grape varieties is called bloom and is a natural protection produced by grapes.
• There are seedless varieties of grapes in all colors - green, red and black - available throughout the year.

Beauty Grape Cultivars

Several dozen different muscadine cultivars are currently available from various sources with additional ones continuing to be developed. Some of the better known and better quality varieties are described below.

Female (Pistillate) Varieties

Black Beauty Large fruit, 1-1/4 inch in diameter, skin black. Quality very good. Sugar content 24.5%. Ripens mid to late-season. Vine very vigorous. Clusters large. One of the best black muscadines ever developed.

Black Fry Large fruit, up to 1-1/4 inch in diameter, skin black. Quality excellent, comparable with Fry. Sugar content 20%. Ripens uniformly, early to midseason. Vine very productive, disease resistant. Clusters large.

Darlene Large fruit, 1-1/4 inch in diameter, skin bronze. Consistently large size throughout vine. Excellent, melting quality. Sugar content 24%.

Fry Very large fruit, up to 1-3/8 inch in diameter, skin bronze. Quality very good before fully ripe. Sugar content 21%. Ripens midseason. Vine moderately vigorous. Production good. Susceptible to black rot. Clusters very large.

Higgins Fruit very large, skin pink to reddish-bronze, moderately thick yet tender. Quality good when fully ripe. Sugar content 17%. Ripens mid to late-season. Vines moderately vigorous. Production heavy to over-productive. Clusters large, compact.

Jumbo Large fruit, largest of any muscadine cultivar so far introduced, skin black. Quality good. Sugar content 16%. Ripens midseason to late. The fruit ripens irregularly over several weeks, making it an excellent cultivar for home use. Vine productive, disease resistant. Clusters large.

Scuppernong Medium to large fruit, skin bronze, medium to thin. Flesh sweet with excellent and distinctive flavor. Sugar content 17%. Quality excellent. Ripens early. Vines vigorous, production good. Clusters medium.

Sugargate Very large fruit, skin black. Excellent flavor. Sugar content 21%. Fruit ripens earliest of all varieties. Vines very vigorous, production good. Large clusters. One of the best of all dark fruited varieties for home use.

Summit Large fruit, skin bronze. Skin thinnest of any large-fruited cultivar. Quality very good. Sugar content 20%. Ripens midseason. Vine vigorous, very productive. Disease resistant. Clusters large.

Supreme Large fruit, 1-1/4 inch in diameter, skin black. Excellent quality. Sugar content 23%. Very vigorous, very productive. Disease resistant. Large clusters.

Sweet Jenny Very large fruit, up to 1-1/2 inch in diameter, skin bronze. Quality very good. Sugar content 24%. Ripens early to midseason. Vine vigorous, very productive. Disease resistant. Clusters large.

Self-fertile Varieties

Carlos Fruit small, 1/2 in. in diameter, skin bronze. Flavor pleasing, similar to Scuppernong. Sugar content 16 %. Vine vigorous, very productive. Hardy. Clusters intermediate. One of the best bronze muscadines for wine making.

Cowart Fruit very large, skin black. One of the largest self-fertile cultivars. Quality very good. Sugar content 19%. Ripens medium early. Vine vigorous, productive. Disease resistance good. Clusters very large.

Dixieland Fruit large, skin bronze. One of the largest of self-fertile cultivars. Flavor excellent. Sugar content 22%. Ripens midseason. Similar to Fry in flavor, color and size. Vine vigorous, productive.

Dixie Red Large fruit, skin light red. Similar to Cowart in size. Quality very good. Sugar content 18-19%. Ripens in midseason. Vine vigorous, high yielding. Clusters very large, containing 12 to 30 berries.

Fry Seedless Medium-sized fruit similar in color to Redgate. Sugar content 20%. Vigorous vine. Needs to be pollinated by another self-fertile cultivar. Tolerant to disease. Erratic yields.

Magnolia Large fruit, skin white, smooth, attractive. Quality excellent. Sugar content 16%. Ripens in late midseason. Excellent for wine making. Vine vigorous, very productive. Clusters medium to large.

Nesbitt Large fruit, up to 1-1/8 inch in diameter, skin black. Quality very good. Sugar content 20%. Ripens over a period of 4 or 5 weeks beginning in early September. Vine vigor medium, production very good. Clusters medium to large.

Noble Medium-sized fruit, skin black. Quality good. Sugar content 18%. Ripens early to midseason. Vine vigor medium, very productive. Disease resistance good, except for powdery mildew. Clusters large. Excellent for making a red table wine.

Redgate Medium-sized fruit, skin light to dark red. Quality very good. Ripens late to midseason, does not shatter. Uniform ripening of clusters. Clusters very large, up to 40 berries per cluster.

Regale Medium-sized fruit, skin black. Quality good, high acid taste. Ripens early to midseason. Vine vigorous, production good. Clusters medium. Recommended for red wine, juice and jelly.

Sterling Large fruit, skin yellow bronze. Quality good, similar to Scuppernong. Ripens late midseason. Vine moderately vigorous, productive. Disease resistance good. Clusters medium.