The Lush Vines of La Union: Our Grape Picking Adventure

Hello Hiver friends!

How are you? I hope you are all having a wonderful day!

Today I will be sharing with you all our grape picking experience during our trip to La Union with my family and friends. Grape plants are not something that is very common in the Philippines. I have only seen grape farms through movies, where they were often set in spacious vineyards in other countries, mostly in Europe or countries that produce wines. So, when I learned we'd be visiting a grape farm, I was thrilled.

My youngest, a true grape lover since he was little, was just as excited. It was truly amazing to witness how Filipino farmers had studied, cultivated, and successfully planted a variety that thrives in our tropical climate. As we all know, grapes naturally prefer cooler regions.

Several people with signs offering grape picking lined the roads in the area, but our tour guide directed us to Lighthouse Grape Farm, a short detour from the main road. We were delighted with his choice. While other farms were bustling with visitors, we enjoyed the tranquility of having Lighthouse Grape Farm almost exclusively to ourselves.

You know how kids are when they are excited—the second our van stopped, they practically exploded out the doors! It was so cute to see them running excitedly. Inside the farm, we walked under a natural canopy of grapevines, their leaves and fruit forming a shaded roof. Sunlight peeked through the leaves, making pretty little patterns on the ground.

The grapes were hanging everywhere, just begging to be picked. They gave us little baskets and scissors so we could go grape picking, with the picked grapes to be weighed for purchase later. We were also allowed to sample the grapes for free, provided none were wasted.

These are some of the grapes my son and I picked—though, admittedly, a good portion went straight to our stomachs! Ripe grapes were wonderfully sweet, while the unripe ones were slightly sour. This variety, which has seeds, is larger than the seedless kind. The staff explained that it’s the only variety that can reliably withstand the hot weather here.

In addition to free grape samples, they also offered free tastings of various fruit wines, including blueberry, grape, guyabano, and mangosteen. We tried every flavor, and the guyabano was our favorite.

We were having a wonderful time picking fruit, taking photos, and enjoying the free wine tastings that we almost completely forgot about the time. We bought a few bottles of wine to bring back home, along with kilos of fresh grapes and some other delightful local products like chips and vinegar.

As we were leaving the grape farm, I grabbed a quick shot of this tag our tour guide gave us. It looked a bit faded, but I figured it was just the design. Later, I realized it had a protective plastic film! Peeling it away was like magic – the colors popped and it became so much brighter! A funny little discovery to end our trip.

Have you ever gone grape picking? What was your experience like? Did you eat as many as we did? 😂

Thank you for reading, and see you on my next blog!

❤️❤️❤️

All photos are my own, unless stated otherwise.
The lead image was edited using Canva.