Fig Enthusiasts Delight; and Ischia Black Disappoints. ...Again.

[Bluemalibu]

Thanks so much, to all of those that attended the wonderful fig-tasting at Gary's in Santa Rosa on Saturday and shared with all, the vast bounty of your gardens! The sweet offerings could only be upstaged by the warm banter of such great friends reuniting. And there was such a tremendous outpouring of generosity manifest, with dozens of incredible cultivars freely shared... some of them as large as 15 gal specimens!

It is so nice to be able to compare and contrast the many figs that are held in high esteem, and thereby get an insight into which ones we each find are desirable to our own tastes. This prevents us from spending hundreds of dollars in purchases and years of effort, only to discover that a highly touted fig is nothing close to the hype that surrounds it.

Such has been the case with Ischia Black, UCD.





This cultivar was among the figs offered up at the Wolfskill tasting three weeks ago, and then again this weekend. And on both occasions, the consensus of seasoned growers that tried it was that there are far, far better figs available; and those other figs are found on robust, productive trees; whereas the Ischia/B is reported to be extremely difficult to propagate and a balky grower. Certainly one might carefully weigh the effort and expense that it demands. (For instance, my lowly Brown Turkey produces a fig that readily equals the I/B in flavor to my taste.)

We tried to keep our rankings to ourselves until most in attendance had had a chance to sample the offerings present... but we also tried to get the attendee's critique before the Scotch tasting commenced. LOL!!!

Almost to a person, the ranking placed Emalyn's Purple in the top position. Emalyn's was followed in order by CdD-Blanc, Fico Preto, Black Madeira, and Bourjassotte Grise. The number six spot then seemed to be equally divided between Zidi and GM 172. Following them, the rankings were really mixed among the balance... but Rob's Genovese Nero, Black Jack, CdD- Noir, Panache, Lampeira (Prusch) and VdB placed high among many others present. The Ischia Black and Maltese Beauty often failed to place higher than the honey figs in rankings.

Our get-together was easily worth every bit of my seven-hour drive, and I am already looking forward to next year's event being hosted by Scott in San Ramon!

Blue

[jmaler]

Sounds like it was a great time. Wish I lived closer or had the wherewithal to fly in for the event.

[Bluemalibu]

We would have loved to have had you here with us, Jerry!

[Tonycm]

I'm surprised about Black Ischia. With all the hype of how hard it is to grow but worth the effort. : ( I should probably take it off my wish list.

[Sas]

That is some great info. Don't have Emalyn's Purple, but even in Texas where the wasp is absent, I already ranked Col De Dame Blanc as one of, if not the top tasting fig in my collection for four years in a row, They other rankings also confirm what I always believed.

[don_sanders]

Thanks for the info Blue. Very intriguing. Can we assume that they are all caprified?

I wonder how Emalyn's Purple will taste uncaprified. The only review I've seen uncaprified lists it as pretty good but not the best. I hope to test that one myself someday.

Black Ischia/Ischia Black is a confusing one for me with ratings all over the place. Some say it is great, more seem to say not so much. With all of the different versions (USDA /UCD, Jon's, Jason's, AD, FMV Free), it's hard to say which one might be the great one. Throw in caprification and the desire to want it to be great after over it so much hassle with it...Geez.

[Bluemalibu]

Don, due to our 100*+ temps here, the vast majority of my trees were spent... having given up their bounty over six weeks ago. So my contributions to the tasting were limited to the CdD-Blanc, Black Jack, Panache, and VdB. But each of these were caprified. Likewise, Harvey's figs... the Emalyn's Purple, Zidi, Maltese Beauty, Ischia Black, GM 172, and Rob's G/N are in wasp territory but they enjoy a bit milder temps.

The honey figs, Lampeira (Prusch), Lampeira Branca, and many many others were supplied by Gary. He doesn't believe that the wasp is present there in Santa Rosa at this time, but he is beginning the process of getting it introduced.

[newnandawg]

Here is my description of an uncaprified Emalyns Purple in Southwest Georgia

https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/100745-emalyns-purple-2016-main

[Bluemalibu]

Thanks Mike, that will be helpful to the majority of our members that aren't blessed with the wasp!

[Bluemalibu]

I've been thinking that we should maybe do some long-term planning to hold a multi-day event next year that would draw our wonderful forum members together that are spread out from coast to coast. With a year to plan and prepare the event, we would have plenty of time to sock a dollar or two away and lock in the discount airfares. And our members have proven their incredible generosity, so a couple of airfare raffles might be in the cards to assist several dedicated members that so generously share their cuttings for merely postage costs and contribute so very many hours mentoring we newbies, but may find themselves a bit cash-strapped.

If we decide to hold it here in Calif, perhaps the weekend of August 10-13 would work... as there are many of the cultivars that ripen about that time, and it also coincides with other activities that are available here. One morning could be spent at Wolfskill, as we have received an invitation to accompany researchers there as they inspect the fig orchard. The afternoon could then be spent enjoying slow-grilled barbecue around our pool, or cooling off on the water toys at the lake (California's top bass fishery) that is ten minutes from us.




Another day might be spent with Scott for his fig-tasting that I mentioned earlier, and visiting the trees at Prusch Park that is nearby. And then we might dash over the hill into Reno visiting the members there, as Hot August Nights is being held that weekend, with literally thousands of the country's most beautiful collector cars on display...

[Sarahkt]

Another year, another fun gathering! Thanks again for hosting (again), Gary. The two breakfasts following have been well supplemented with Gary's excellent apples and Blue's amazing fig + blackberry jam. I only wish I could have taken home one of the cats, but alas, Gary counted them all before he let me drive off. lol.

I was one of the later people in attendance if not the last, since the drive took twice as long as expected given the number of accidents and traffic on the freeways. Even having missed the first 2 hours, it was a great time.

I didn't think that Ischia Black was so very bad, but it wasn't that memorable among the rest. Dean liked Emalyn's Purple best like most of the others. My favorite was the Socorro Black, about tied with Zidi and Figo Preto. In fact, Harvey let me sneak the leftover few Socorro fig fruits home! Emalyn's Purple, CdDB, and CdDN were amazing, and during the scotch tasting, it turned out CdDN pairs very well with scotch. Who knew?

Lampeira (Prusch) had an edge over Lampeira Branca for most. I actually didn't find Rob's Genovese Nero (main crop) or Black Jack to be too flavorful compared with the rest of the richer figs on the table, but Black Jack is very, very good in jam. A million thanks to Blue.

[danw]

Great to see everyone. Some for the first time, and some again! I almost did not make it, because the six minute drive was so daunting, but I am glad I braved the road It was a great time for sure. In addition to all the great talk, and awesome figs, I came away with some coveted trees. Thanks Sarah and Gary! I also got some taste time with some super apples! I will definitely be busy next grafting season!

And Emalyn's Purple rules! I hope the wasp is not required for that flavor, It is like nothing else.

Thanks to all who spent hours and hours on the road. But wasn't the weather great? Don't you want to do it here again next year?

[Sarahkt]

Thanks to all who spent hours and hours on the road. But wasn't the weather great? Don't you want to do it here again next year?

Yep. If there would be less traffic, I would do it again next weekend!

My main takeaways were: great to see new and old friends in person again, gotta graft more apples this winter, and must get Blue's recipe for fig berry jam. Also, what was the name of Scotch #3 aka Winner #1?

[danw]

That would be "Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 47" Being a single malt there is considerable variation between batches so YMMV. I have read 48 and 50 are not as good. #55 is getting excellent reviews and is what you are likely to find available right now so it might be a good time to buy.

[Sarahkt]

Done. Now don't tell me about any others, I can't afford to collect scotch as rabidly as figs!

[Sarahkt]

How is Batch #54? I picked up the very last one available near me.

[Bluemalibu]

Dan and Sarah, thanks again! It was so nice to spend the afternoon with you... and I appreciate your additional assessments of the different cultivars. (I'm going to just have to trust your critique of the Scotch... )