Crash course on Concord grapes: A look inside Welch’s process in Washington State
Douglas J. Peckenpaugh, group editorial director for Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, recently toured a Welch's Concord grape farm and processing facility in the Yakima Valley in Washington State. Follow his path from farm to fork.
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Welch’s works with family farmers throughout the Yakima Valley in Washington State to grow Concord and Niagara grapes, which are perfectly suited to that area’s climate. Juice processing facilities are never far from the farms.
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Harvesting grapes in Washington State’s Yakima Valley.
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The sun sets on the Yakima Valley, which is home to around 22,000 acres of Concord grapes, including this vineyard owned and operated by the vineyard of Tim Grow, one of Welch’s farmer-owners, in Grandview, WA.
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The National Grape Cooperative Association, which owns Welch’s, processes over 10,000 of the Concord grape acreage in Washington’s Yakima Valley. The area is a prime location for Concords due to the low humidity, long growing season, plentiful sunshine, warm days and cool nights.
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Welch’s processes its Concord grapes into a wide variety of ingredients, including single-strength juice, concentrates and purées, as well as FruitWorx pieces and juice powders.
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Welch’s regularly experiments with new culinary creations featuring its Concord and Niagara grapes, including a White Peach Niagara Bread Pudding to close the dinner during our tour (to review a recipe for Concord Pesto Pizza, click here).