Summer Royal is a mid-season black seedless grape. The berries are medium to large in size and round in shape. The colour is blue-black, often with a pale green area near the stem attachment. The skin is of medium thickness, offering some resistance on biting and crunch on chewing, with some astringency. To eat, the berries are quite firm and crisp in texture. There is good sweetness and often a slight acidic tang, though flavour tends to be neutral.
Summer Royal is often regarded as one of the first black seedless grapes of the season from a production region.
Good Fruit Guide Rating: ***
Summer Royal is a decent seedless black grape with good texture and sweetness, often with an acid tang.
Slight crisp, sweet
Names: Summer Royal; USDA selection B74-99
Origin: Summer Royal or USDA selection B74-99, was bred by David Ramming & Ron Tarailo at USDA-ARS, Fresno, California. The variety was the result of a cross between seeded cultivar A69-190 and seedless cultivar C20-149 made in 1985. The variety was released for commercial production in 1999.
Grown in: Brazil, Mexico, California, Spain, Italy, South Africa
Harvest & Availability: Harvest in California is from early July. Supplies to UK tend to be as follows:
- January: South Africa
- February: South Africa
- March:
- April:
- May: Mexico
- June: Mexico
- July: Mexico, Italy, Spain
- August: Italy, Spain
- September:
- October:
- November: Brazil
- December: Brazil
Websites:
Cultural Practices of Summer Royal – Jennifer Hashim-Buckley, UCCE Viticulture (pdf)
