Which US city calls itself the "Grape Pie Capital of the World"?

For many, fall flavors mean apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice, but in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region, mid-September through mid-October is grape pie season. Many are likely familiar with the Finger Lakes of New York for its wine, but local farmers have been growing table grapes, such as the Concord variety, for generations.

Grape season in the area spans a short six week period, from mid-September to late October, and in Naples, New York, the harvest kicks off with an annual grape festival that was established in 1961.

Tens of thousands of visitors flock to Naples, a tiny village of 2,500 near Canandaigua Lake, in late September to celebrate all things purple at the “Naples Grape Festival”: bread, cookies, cakes, ice cream, licorice, gummies, wine from a dozen local producers, and (for non-tipplers) fresh-squeezed grape juice. Concord grapes are the most commonly used to make grape juice; in fact, Welch’s gets many of their grapes from the Finger Lakes region.

The locals’ favorite way to consume grapes? It’s pie. Even though it’s undeniably tasty, grape pie is not simple to make; in fact, it’s labor intensive. The grapes must be peeled, boiled, deseeded, and strained; and that’s before you even start working on the crust. But the payoff is clearly worth it: Naples bills itself as the “Grape Pie Capital of the World” and estimates that they sell 60,000 pies each year. Not bad for a town of 2,500.