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When mentioning the word grape, many people wander into a good glass of wine. Hmm tasty. But let's talk about eating grapes as the traditional way in Spain to ring in the New Year. A grape must be consumed at every stroke. That way we consume 12 grapes in one minute. According to popular belief, that means happiness for the next 12 months.
This tradition can be traced back to 1909 when the village of Vinalopo in the province of Alicante had an exceptionally good vintage. To celebrate, all villagers received free grapes for good luck.
Although I love traditions, I struggle with this habit. In all those years in Spain, I have never once managed to eat the dozen grapes in the allotted time frame. Practice makes perfect and so I now have an average of ten grapes annually. It's those annoying seeds that kill me. So every time I catch a flu in November, I know why. If only I should have stuffed those last two grapes.
With or without grapes, the Van Dam Estates team wishes you a very happy New Year.
