Grapes

Makes 6-8 servings 2 pounds red seedless    grapes, stems removed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper    (optional) 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss the grapes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, if using. 2. Arrange the grapes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until the grapes have wilted and given off much of their juices, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

The ship Bizen Reefer unloaded its cargo of Chilean grapes yesterday at Holt Marine Terminal in Gloucester City. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in efforts to protect California grape growers, has ruled that no more Chilean grapes will be allowed through Philadelphia's ports this season. For the Port of Philadelphia, it's the end of a key part of the year. About two-thirds of all grapes exported to the United States from Chile arrive at the region's ports.

Philadelphia officials are mounting a lobbying campaign to make fruit salad out of a federal proposal that would limit local winter imports of grapes from Chile. The lobbying is aimed at stopping a U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to restrict duty-free imports of grapes, one small salvo in a growing international trade battle. Chilean fruit imports in the past four years have become one of the biggest money-making imports on the Delaware River waterfront, with grapes accounting for about 70 percent of the growing winter fruit and vegetable imports, according to Philadelphia Port Corp.

Fall table grapes are abundant in local stores now, and it's hard to resist buying a bunch. These days, any flame-colored grapes that make it past afternoon snack time at my house go into a dessert that's cool to look at and cooling to eat: a tangy ice or a grape tart. A long-ago issue of Sunset magazine inspired my idea for a lightened grape tart. A cook had mounded the crimson-hued grapes in a golden tart shell, topping them with a layer of creamy filling, then glazing with homemade port wine jelly.

An unusual growing season has produced a 1986 California wine-grape crop smaller than last year's, but one pronounced by vintners as superior in quality. The annual harvest and crush weighed in at 2.7 million tons, about 4 percent below last year's, the California trade's Wine Institute reported Wednesday. Growers said they were enthusiastic over prospects for the vintage. At Zaca Mesa Winery near Santa Barbara, assistant winemaker Chuck Carlson called the new grapes "one of the most well-rounded, balanced harvests we've had. " The growing season got off to a midwinter start, thanks to an unseasonal warm spell.

Two card games in a dark, grimy, longshoremen's hiring hall in South Philadelphia was where the only money could be found for about a dozen dockworkers yesterday. Normally, they'd be making about $18-an-hour unloading cases of imported Chilean fruit. But those jobs came to a sudden halt Monday night, when the federal Food and Drug Administration impounded Chilean fruit following the discovery of two poisoned grapes. As a result, 110 dockworkers left the hiring hall at International Longshoremen's Association Local 1291 without work yesterday morning.

U.S. District Court Judge John P. Fullam yesterday rejected a bid by Chilean grape growers and American fruit importers for an injunction to halt the imposition of tough quality standards on table grapes imported from Chile. Lawyers for the Chilean interests had said the standards would cut the volume of grapes imported to the United States, most of which move through the port of Philadelphia. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sets the standards, is planning to make them effective on April 20, rather than May 1 - the date they are normally imposed each year.

For years, the wine that Tony Valenzano Sr. and sons Anthony and Mark made from the grapes they grew was only a hobby. The real crops on the family farm in this Burlington County community were alfalfa and hay, not to mention the pigs, cows, steers, quail and pheasant they raised to sell. These days, the farm has a new look - and a new name to go with it. The Valenzano farm is now Valenzano Winery, one of 17 commercial wineries in New Jersey. More and more farmers are turning to the profitable production of wine grapes, while trying to overcome a perception that Jersey wines are not as good as those from other regions.

The Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday that it would not permit table grapes to be shipped or imported in 1988 if they contain detectable residues of sulfite compounds. The compounds, which help prevent spoilage, can cause deadly allergic reactions in some people. EPA spokesman Dave Cohen said the new rule, which goes into effect Friday, requires growers to test their grapes and certify that the amount of sulfites on them is less than 10 parts per million. Although that is considered the level of detectability, no safe level has been found for the compounds, according to an officer of a consumer group that has fought the EPA for 18 months over the sulfite rules for grapes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tomorrow will issue a new regulation that will restrict the import of Chilean grapes to the United States, most of which are shipped through the Port of Philadelphia. The rule, a compromise between restrictions sought by California grape growers and the unrestrained trade endorsed by Chilean growers, means there could be about 18 million fewer pounds of Chilean grapes available to consumers this year. The grapes have a retail value of $54 million.

Buz z: Hey, Marnie. My wife sent me to the store to stock up on white zin for Mother's Day. How can people drink that stuff? Marnie: What's wrong with white zinfandel, Buzz? It may not be a "serious" wine, but there's nothing wrong with wines that are more fun than fancy. White zin is one of the top-selling wine styles, so a lot of people obviously like it. It's perfect for when you want something affordable that's lightly sweet and not too strong, such as at brunches and picnics.

'Wine Simplified' e-book As the publishing industry heads toward more e-books, a few genres may benefit from the shift. Drink education books are a good example because of their multimedia features and easily updated content. That's especially true when, as with Wine Simplified (Betterbook), a project benefits from the clear-palate advice of an expert like local sommelier Marnie Old, who partnered with Anthony Giglio. Available on iPad and iPhone, Wine Simplified is essentially a textbook with far more information than it first appears, from the basics of tasting and different grapes, to advice on reading labels and ordering in a restaurant (including recordings of Old pronouncing the grapes)

A million years passed, or so it seemed. "Never in a million years would Jack do that," Linda Bunyan, 56, of Harleysville, insisted as she watched her bare-footed friends stomp grapes at the Wine Room of Cherry Hill. It happened so quickly that Bunyan never saw her husband, Jack, 57, remove his shoes and socks and roll up his cuffs. He stepped into the 3-foot-wide, 18-inch-high vat and waited, his arms spread wide. His wife hopped in and the two embraced. They stomped and giggled like children.

Buzz: Marnie, do they ever sell wine grapes for eating? I'd love to buy some of those green pinot grigio grapes. Marnie: Very few wine grapes make good eating; they have thick skins and big seeds. But you wouldn't find green pinot grigio anyway. It's a red-skinned grape. Buzz: That's impossible. Even I know pinot grigio is a white wine. Marnie: You're right about that, Buzz, but it's perfectly possible to make white wines from red grapes. Buzz: I think you're pulling my leg. What will you tell me next, that chardonnay grapes are red?

Bonterra Chardonnay Mendocino County, Calif. $10.99* PLCB Item No. 7395 Bonterra was an early adopter of sustainable and organic farming in California wine country, certifying its grapes as organic but not its wine. This chardonnay is richly textured, thanks to barrel-fermentation and aging. Its oaky flavors are not overwhelming because 30 percent of the grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain bright, fresh orchard fruit flavors and snappy, refreshing acidity.

HERMANN, Mo. - Most of the grapes in Glenn Warnebold's vineyard in Missouri's picturesque wine country are about two-thirds their usual size. Others have been reduced to raisins by the drought that burned many crops across the Midwest this summer. Yet Warnebold figures it could be a good year with the drought concentrating the fruit's flavors and sugar, which turn to alcohol during fermentation. His red Norton and white Chardonel grapes, while small, hold the promise of standout wine from a region better known for corn and soybeans.

Let's just say it. The Jersey Shore has never been known for its imaginative gardens. But you can kind of understand why: It's the ocean, stupid. Still, it gets pretty boring, those endless loops of hydrangeas and hedges, evergreens and petunias, and no one's more bored than Cyrus Gordon. Yet he's dumbfounded every time someone stops to stare at his garden, which is nothing like your typical beach-town flower bed. Two weeks after 120 visitors came to see it on the Ventnor City Garden Tour, he still doesn't get why he was even included.

As I drove down the winding country road in the Demone Valley of northeastern Sicily, passing through small towns and villages with old rustic farmhouses in the distance, there was a feeling of growing anticipation and excitement. Even though I had made this trip only once before almost 10 years earlier with my wife, everything looked very familiar. With Mount Etna, the active volcano known as a muntagna by the Sicilians, looming in the distance, Uncle Tony and I made our way along the last leg of our trip from Fiumafreddo to Linguaglossa.

Tempranillo, the venerable star of Spanish reds from Rioja and Ribera del Duero, is rising steadily on the West Coast as a hopeful in the American wine industry's continual search for the next big grape. Given syrah's slow climb into the mainstream, and the nonfactors of Californian Sangiovese and malbec, "big" is an unlikely destiny for domestic tempranillo. Most New World renditions have been pretty fruity but thin and woody, with none of the earthiness and guts that give Spanish vino its swagger.