Last year I had the pleasure of trying out this sweet and crisp new variety of grape, the Sweet Sapphire grape, developed in California and now grown here in Australia and around the world. They were just so sweet and delicious.

The Sweet Sapphire grape is a new variety, naturally crossbred and GMO free, and grown in farms around Mildura in Victoria and in the Carnarvon region of Western Australia.

They have a lovely sweetness and a natural crunch. Their their texture, and firmness and elongated size makes them a great snack or for the lunchbox or you can serve the Sweet Sapphire grapes with other varieties on your cheese platter.

They may be hard to source in Australia at the moment as the grape season is coming to an end and they have been so popular for the export market into Asia. If you live in the northern hemisphere look out for them in the coming August. In the U.S. they come under the name Moon Drops.

Here is an image showing how large the elongated Sweet Sapphire grapes are.

Update February 2019:

Some visitors to this site have asked if Sweet Sapphire grapevines are available to the home gardener.

I have made some enquiries yesterday to Yulumba Nursery, a supplier and specialist varietal, clonal and rootstock provider to Australian growers. They advise that, as was the case last year, these vines are produced under contract only for licensed table grape growers.

So no, you cannot grow Sweet Sapphire grapes in your backyard but do look out for these sweet grapes at your produce market or fruiterer in February and March if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, or August in the Northern Hemisphere.