THE first Victorian table grapes of the season have begun appearing on greengrocers' shelves a week later than usual.
Yelta table and wine grape grower Darren Argiro said the cooler-than-expected start to summer meant fruit was slower to ripen but the berries had coloured up nicely.
Mr Argiro visited the Sydney markets this week to check how his grapes compared with other growers' consignments.
He described the price of $30-$50 for a 10kg box as fairly good and said he hoped returns from the table grapes would help offset expected declines in wine-grape prices.
Mr Argiro, who has grown grapes for more than 20 years, said he had converted to newer varieties in recent years and now had 32ha of red-flame seedless, crimson seedless, menindee seedless and midnight beauty.
He also has 8ha of cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and gordo wine grapes, which are grown under contract.
Australian Table Grape Association president Nick Muraca said conditions had been ideal for table grapes, even with the warm temperatures forecast for northwest Victoria this week.
"To date, the quality looks magnificent," he said. "So we're all excited and hoping for a good season."
Mr Muraca said the only potential cloud on the horizon was the possibility of rain during harvest, with some long-range forecasters tipping above-average rain for Robinvale and Mildura in February and March.
"That would be disastrous, as much as we need rain," he said.
"We want it to hold off until Anzac Day now.
"We don't want the rain here. We want it in the catchments, so I'm hoping the forecasts will be wrong."
