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Grapes are always in season somewhere
A narrow harvest window
Grapes don't ripen off the vine, so each vineyard has only a one or two week window to be picked at its best. Global supply is decided years ahead, when growers choose whether to add or remove vines, which means a sudden surge in demand can't be met by ordering more.
California's long season
California's Central Valley carries late summer, with a natural harvest between mid-August and late September. Ultra-early varieties such as Sharada UA push that back into July, and late varieties such as Autumn King extend it into November. That gives the whole country about four months when its grape supply is largely fulfilled by California.
Peru, Chile, and the gap
Peru, with its fairly equatorial climate, starts harvesting in early December, just as California ends, and saturates the market until mid-February. Chile, with a more seasonal climate, then takes over and uses early and late varieties to stretch its harvest all the way to May.
California's Imperial and Coachella valleys and various parts of Mexico come next. Their year-round warm weather allows a growing season in any month, so growers time their vineyards to fill this gap until mid-July, when the Central Valley starts its harvest again.
Why don't grapes ripen after picking?
Grapes are non-climacteric fruit, which means they lack the burst of ethylene and respiration that finishes ripening bananas, tomatoes, and avocados after harvest. Sugar builds in the berries only while the vine is feeding them, so a cut bunch stays at the sweetness it had when it was picked. Growers measure sugar in degrees Brix to decide when a block is ready. Many growing regions set a minimum Brix level that table grapes must reach before they can be sold.
Why does Peru's grape season line up so well?
Peru's coastal growing regions, such as Ica and Piura, are desert with almost no rainfall, so vines depend on irrigation from rivers and wells. Dry air keeps fungal disease pressure low compared with humid regions. Temperatures stay mild through the year, which lets growers pick the pruning date that sets the harvest date. Piura sits about five degrees south of the equator.
How do grapes survive weeks at sea?
Refrigerated containers hold table grapes close to 0 degrees Celsius with high humidity, which slows both water loss and decay. Packers also tuck sulfur dioxide pads into the boxes, and the pads release the gas slowly during the voyage. The gas holds back Botrytis cinerea, the gray mold that is the main decay problem for stored grapes.
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