New premium grapes auctioned for $910 in Japan

A new variety of premium grapes debuted in Japan on Monday, with a single bunch fetching as much as $910.

A Japanese hotel manager paid that amount, or about $26 per grape, for a 1 1/2 pound (700-gram) bunch of the Ruby Roman grapes to serve guests at an upscale hotel.

"We believe the price was probably a record high," said local agricultural official Hirofumi Isu. "They're delicious — sweet but fresh at the same time, very well-balanced."



The tomato-colored grapes made their debut at an auction in Japan's northwestern Ishikawa prefecture, where they have been under development since 1994 in a state-led project.

The bunch that fetched the top price had about 35 grapes, each slightly smaller than a pingpong ball, Isu said.

The average price for the Ruby Roman grapes at Monday's auction was about $245 a bunch. Isu said local farmers hope to sell 1,500 bunches, or 1 ton, of the grapes by mid-September.