Magical Grapes Delights

Made of 2021 “vintage” Shinano Smile and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown by Magical Grapes, cold-steeped with muddled ginger and crushed pink peppercorn. Infused with LitHouse Modified Grapes Flower Rosin (Hybrid). Magical Grapes have garnered a cult following for their work farming and selling unique Japanese grape varietals at farmer’s markets around Los Angeles. It’s next to impossible to find juice from Shinano Smile grapes, because the process of growing grapes in this style is so labor intensive, juicing them can feel injudicious. With this in mind, we wanted to make sure the grapes are given the focus they deserve in this recipe. Each bunch of Magical Grapes are individually cared for throughout the summer to grow visually perfect bunches which taste, in the words of the farmers, “So sweet and so juicy."

We presented the fruit to Chef Virgilio Martinez of Restaurant Central in Lima Peru. Virgilio gave the idea to cold-steep the grapes with muddled ginger and crushed pink peppercorn to add some light ‘n frisky aromatics to the juice and flower, without distracting from the characteristics of the fruit. We loved this recipe so much we had to make it a second time.