Did you know that Bangalore Blue are purple colour 'foxy flavoured' table grapes, particuarly grown in the mild tropical region of rural and urban Bengaluru, and has been part of the city's horticultural heritage for more than 150 years, harvested twice a year?
Bangalore Blue are table grapes, also known as Isabella and Aurangabad grape, with the scientific name 'Vitis labrusca'. They are a variety of foxty flavoured blue or purple coloured soft skinned grapes grown in the sub-tropical regions of rural and urban districts around Bengaluru (erstwhile Bangalore).There are two other prominent varities of grapes grown in Karnataka which are the Thomson seedless and the Anab-E-Shahi Dilkush).
Bangalore Blue, characterized by its 'foxy flavour', is also grown in Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts. Its cultivation has been recorded for the past 150 years in about 5,000 hectares. It is said that vineyards were found around the city's fringes 150 years back when Bangalore was still a leafy, sleepy town. Even now it is not uncommon to find a grape vine or two along with other fruit trees in big and small homes gardens. as a sweet-tart reminder of a true-blue Bangalore characteristic. Growing this type of grape is hard on the farmers due its succesptibilty to insect and bug infection and consequently needing huge amount of pest control measures.
Bangalore Blue, which is a deliciously sweet and falvourful grape, is so named as the soil and weather conditions of Bengaluru districts of red sandy loam soil with day temperature of about 35-37 degrees Celsius and night temperature of 12-15 degree Celsius are unique to Bangalore and its surrounding areas, mainly in the Nandi Valley. Botanists claim that these grapes develop their typical colour and slip skin nature (thin skin) due to the prevalent temperature range in Bengaluru.
Bangalore Blue is closely related to the American Concord variety which has a strong natural resistance against phylloxera bugs (these bugs once destroyed almost all the vineyards in France, the Vine country). Nearly 90 % of Bangalore Grapes are used for table purposes by making grape juice or consumed as raw as it contains 15% sugar by weight. The rest are used to make resins and wine. It is rich in nutritional values and with many established medicinal benefits for consumers. They are a dense sources of Vitamin C and A. It has significant amount of potassium and a small amount of calcium and phospohrous. Small amount of baron in it helps in bone growth. Its purple colour is due to flavioids. It is low in fats, cholesterol and sodum and high in caffeic acid it is said to be a strong cancer fighting agent and with anti-ageing properties
Annual yield of Bangalore Grapes is estimated to be around 4.5 lakh tonnes and, most of it is used for table purposes – raw consumption (consumed in large quantities as 'beautiful balloons' of sweetness), making jams and jellies, etc. Only about 4,000 tonnes are used for making Fortified wine by the wine industry.
In order to make Bangalore Blue exclusive to the farmers in the region and increase its brand value, Governemnt of India has granted the Geographical indication (GI tag) status in 2013. This has allowed the Bangalore Blue Grapes Growers' Association headquartered in Chikkaballapur to get patent rights to cultivation of the variety.
A keen gardner can grow Bangalore Blue in a humungous pot, at least 2.5 ft high, filled with well drained natural red soil and mixed witg some neemcake and vermi, and exposed to 4 to 6 hours of sunlight. Till it matures and yields fruits in couple of years, its leafy foliage is sight to enjoy.
Narasipur Char
