When it comes to grapes, I have to choose carefully what varieties I plant because we don’t have the best growing conditions for most of the commonly sold wine and table grapes.  At the time, based on the Sunset Western Garden Book’s grape varieties that are supposed to be good in zone 22, I planted Flame grape in 2001 or 2002, but had been having problems with mildew plaguing it almost every year since.  I wanted to find a different red grape that would be less fussy.  When I decided to buy the Canadice Grape, I knew very little about it or the flavor. “Canadice” was reported to do well around the Puget Sound area, so I thought it would not mind the mild weather we usually have.  This is its third summer on our narrow driveway strip of planting space.  It gets sun after about 11 AM since it is in a West facing location. We have had one of our very cool, foggy springs and  “June Gloom”  until last week.  It is trellised on a an 8 ft arbor and helps to shade my new Anne Raspberries.

This is our first year we have had much of a crop on this grape, and it has about 15 clusters.  The  grape clusters are small, similar in lenghth to my concord grape’s clusters, with the individual grapes at about the size of a dime.  “Canadice” is a sweet red seedless variety, and I would compare it to “Flame” in flavor, which ripens around the same time of year or within a week or two.   I would give it a 7 or 8 out of 10 for flavor.  It tastes as good as most grocery store red variety of grapes, just a lot smaller berry.

Here is a what I can tell you about Canadice:

• It is red
• early ripening
• small berries in tight clusters
• Seedless table or raisin grape
• sweet with good flavor
• I have read it is fine for juice, jellies, wines, but we use it as a table grape
• Ripens late June to early July here along the Southern California Coast
• Good in Sunset climate zones 2b-9, 11-21.  I am in zone 22 and it does great.
• Should be spur pruned