Kyoho is a
tetraploid grape variety, as its breeding parents, ‘Ishiharawase’ and ‘Centennial’, are tetraploid bud sports of ‘
Campbell Early’ (
V. labruscana) and ‘Rosaki’ (
V. vinifera), respectively. Like the Concord, Kyoho is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. The seeds are bitter and the skin is traditionally not eaten. The grape maintains some of the flavor qualities of the Concord, known to consumers from the flavor of most grape jellies and Concord grape juice. Kyoho grapes were first produced in 1937 in
Shizuoka Prefecture. They were given their present name in 1946. They are popular in
Japan,
Taiwan,
China, and
Korea for their size and very sweet flesh. They are traditionally served peeled as a dessert, and the juice is used in making
chūhai cocktails. Areas of production include
Nagano Prefecture and
Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan,
California's Central Valley,
Changhua County in
Taiwan, and
Chile. In 2015, Kyoho was the world's most cultivated grape variety by land area, at 365,000 ha. More than 90% of the vines are in China. ==References==