A bunch for 12,000 dollars. What makes the most expensive grapes in the world so special?

Roman ruby ​​grapes grow only in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, where they are grown in greenhouses so that farmers can better control their growth process. Each grape is monitored and cared for so that all the berries in the bunch look identical. A special grape thinning device and scissors are used to grow the grapes to the right size.

Another important factor is light, which is controlled by adding or removing leaves from the vines. But that’s just one of the tools farmers use to make sure enough light is getting into the greenhouse. Farmers can also calculate the amount of light needed for grapes using a program developed together with a private IT company.

Another element that makes Roman ruby ​​grapes so special is their growing temperature, which growers regulate by opening the sides and ceiling of the greenhouse to keep it as cool and ventilated as possible.

In 2020, there were only 25 thousand bunches of Roman ruby ​​grapes for sale. That’s a tiny fraction of Japan’s total annual grape production, which was about 163,000 tons that year.

The first Roman ruby ​​grapes went on sale in 2008, but efforts to create this variety began as early as 1995.

Why Japanese Ruby Roman grapes are so expensive pic.twitter.com/PxDDP3u4zf

— Insider Business (@BusinessInsider) September 17, 2021