Grapes

When are grapes in season?

Grapes start to show up in June in some areas, like Texas, with a big harvest in the second half of summer. Other areas see grapes a little later, starting at the end of July with peak harvest in August and September. In mild climates, the season can last into November.

Every state in the US grows grapes, so with some effort you might be able to find a local farmers market that sells them.

See what else is in season at the same time: June, July, August, September, October, November.

Harvest & sweetness

Most farmers pick grapes for grocery stores when they are around 14-17 Brix. Simply put, Brix measures the sugar concentration, the higher the number the sweeter it is. Farmers often pick grapes before they reach their peak sweetness and flavor because they store and ship better.

Wine makers, on the other hand, not only want the extra flavor to develop, but the higher sugar content ferments into more alcohol. Wineries pick grapes between 24 and 27 Brix.

How to pick & store grapes

Look for plump grapes that are firmly attached to the stem. To test this, shake the bag a little and see if a bunch fall off. Also the greener the stem the fresher the grapes (or at least, the better they were stored).

Store them in a perforated plastic bag, or perforated plastic container in the fridge. They should last a week, possibly longer.

Grape varieties

Red grapes:

Concord - these have the characteristic grape juice flavor (which is made from these grapes). Look for these at the end of summer or early fall. They are grown in the Northeast, Midwest, and East Coast.
Champagne grapes - tiny little grapes (not associated with making Champagne though!). They are sweet and crisp. Look for them in Summer where they are grown (West Coast's Mediterranean climates)
Crimson Seedless - the most common grape you'll find in the store. They were bred to show up later in the season and have thick skins to keep the berries from dehydrating when shipped and stored. Slightly tart with a long shelf life (but less flavor in my opinion).
Flame Seedless - another common table grape, similar in flavor to Crimson Seedless, but it has an earlier season, making it one of the first grapes to ripen and show up in stores.
Valiant - these are grown in Alaska and Canada! Their flavor is similar to Concords.

Green / white grapes:

Cotton Candy - Keep an eye out for these, a fun treat that really does resemble cotton candy. Unlike the Crimson Seedless which was grown for shelf life and shipping, this one was bred for flavor. They might be hard to find outside of California, where they ripen between mid-August and late September.
Thompson Seedless - The most popular grape for raisins, and are one of the sweeter table grapes. Look for them from July through September.
Muscat grapes are green with a rosy hue and taste like desert wine. They are hard to find but you might get lucky at a Whole Foods in fall, around September.

Keep an eye out for fun-flavored varieties slowly showing up in a store near you. The Grapery, creator of the Cotton Candy grape, has 12 varieties in commercial production. They have been a huge hit so demand and production should increase. The Sacramento Bee has an interesting feature on the Grapery.

Should I buy organic?

Non-organic grapes have near-organic levels of toxicity, so it's not necessary unless you like to always buy organic.

The EWG produces the Dirty Dozen list of produce to buy organic and grapes is on their list. However, they only look at the number of pesticides found, not taking into account the amount or toxicity. Consumer reports fully analyzes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) testing data and produces their own report.

Consumer Reports takes into account how much of each pesticide is found in each type of produce as well how toxic each one is. Then they assign them into health-risk categories from very low to very high. Very low, and low categories are near organic levels (organic produce CAN use some pesticides, by the way). Grapes fall into the low category.