Grape Buffalo

Vitis vinifera

Dark purple-black table grapes which are sweet and juicy. These are the first of ours to ripen each year, in January, and they always catch me by surprise! Their main function here seem to be to remind me to net all my other grapes before the birds get them! But when I do manage to harvest some they have a wonderful flavour, texture and a particularly grapey aroma.

Grapes have been cultivated by humans for over 8000 years. The berries grow on deciduous vines and in the right climate, are easy care and can be managed in many different ways. Everyone will be familiar with the wire structures and pruning regime of vineyard grapes which are highly ‘tamed’. Here we use grapes predominantly for shade, having several different varieties growing on our wrap-around verandah, and we just let them ramble. Sometimes we give them a hard prune in winter, sometimes we don’t. We always get great grapes. That’s because grapes always grow on new season’s growth, not on old wood.

Grapes love full sun and well drained soil. Ours get plenty of sun but we’re on a sandy clay soil and they are planted directly around the house into horrible sub soil, and in the rain shadow of the house. They still don’t care! What they hate more is humidity so if you are in a more humid part of the country try to plant them in a spot with plenty of air movement.

Grapes are high in nutrients such as Vitamins B and K, and copper, as well as antioxidants such as resveratrol which may have anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetes, and anticancer properties. The leaves are edible and can be used fresh when young, or preserved by brining. They  can be used to make dishes such as dolmades – rolled leaves stuffed with a herby rice mixture,  common in the Mediterranean, Caucasus, Balkans, and Middle East. The leaves can also be fed to stock.

Buffalo grapes are not seedless (we don’t have any seedless varieties available at present sorry). Note that grapes (fresh or dried) are toxic to dogs.

Certified organic plant in 11cm pot