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It’s peak grape season, and we’ve been blessed with a new and sweeter variety. The “cotton candy grape”, which tastes and smells like fairy floss, is now available in all Australian states except WA.Originating in the US and frequently grown in Spain, cotton candy grapes were brought to Australia by horticulturalist Adrian Caia in 2014. The Mildura-based grower only recently started producing enough of them for bulk retail sale.“It’s been grown in America for the past eight seasons and has gained a big following over there because of its unique flavours,” Caia told the ABC.“We decided to get the rights to grow it in Australia and introduce something new to the market which was a bit more suited to kids”.Social media users of all ages have tried out the trending fruit and recorded their thoughts on Twitter and Instagram. While the reception has been mainly positive, mother and lone activist on the matter, Nona Rose, started a hashtag to express her distaste: “…what’s wrong with grapes tasting like grapes? This is ridiculous #keepfruittastinglikefruit."Given the debate around accessibility of fresh produce, it’s worth noting that cotton candy grapes retail at $4 for 400g. Double the amount of more humble loose seedless green grape varieties will only set you back $3.Fruit wholesaler Mr Greenhalgh acknowledged these concerns to the ABC, attributing the premium “to the fact that there are not huge production numbers”.If you’re into novelty fruit, get in quick—it’s expected that cotton candy grapes will only last on the shelves for around a month.Follow Millie on Twitter
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