Grape expectations as estate fruit is sold on Oxford Street

GRAPES which have been grown and hand picked on a country estate are to be transported to London’s Oxford Street, where discerning shoppers will be able to buy them for a limited time only.

The fruit, which has been grown in heated glasshouse on the Chatsworth Estate, was launched at the John Lewis Foodhall yesterday, and the company said it expected demand from customers to be high.

According to Waitrose, which runs the foodhall, it is the first time grapes grown in England have gone on sale in a national supermarket, because they are usually so difficult to find.

The grapes are the Muscat of Alexandria variety more usually grown in Spain, France, Chile and South Africa. They were cultivated in a glasshouse where vines were first planted back in 1921.

Chatsworth’s head of gardens and park Steve Porter said the sweet fruit had to be tended very carefully throughout the year.

He added: “Growing these grapes is a very labour-intensive process. We have up to three gardeners at a time tending to them.

“Chatsworth produces around 500 bunches annually so we are pleased that the grapes will now reach a wider audience.”

Mr Porter said the vines must be painstakingly hand-pruned and to help them stay healthy..

Waitrose fruit buying manager Jocelyn Clarke said: “The English climate is not really suited to growing table grapes so it’s a glorious surprise that these delicious fruit are a little piece of England.

“The Muscat of Alexandria is a beautiful variety of dessert grape and the fact that we have a supply lovingly cultivated in Derbyshire is the icing on the cake.”