Sorry, Sun-Maid: Wine Grapes Make Much Better Raisins
For as long as anyone can remember, there have been two types of raisins: dark raisins and golden raisins. And it's not like golden raisins are made with different grapes; they're actually treated with sulfur to remove the purple color (and oddly enough, most commercial raisins are made with the Thompson Seedless variety, which is actually white). So we were pretty excited to learn about the new raisins on the block: They're called RayZyns, and they're actually made with wine grapes.
RayZyns are made with California-grown wine grapes, and are available in cabernet, merlot, and chardonnay varietals (chocolate-covered CabernayZyns are also available). The flavor of these raisins is definitely a lot more intriguing than their more generic counterparts, as you can actually taste differences between them (it's also interesting to compare the dried grape to the resulting wine).
But the big difference between these grapes and traditional ones is the fact that they still contain their seeds, and the way that they're dried also toasts the seed, allowing it to be eaten as well. Not only does the seed give the grape an unexpected crunch (it takes some getting used to, but once you do it's not unwelcome), it's also loaded with antioxidants. RayZyns contain 93.91 milligrams of antioxidants per 100 grams (each pack contains 18 grams), versus common seedless raisins' 0.1 milligrams; 100 grams of wine contains 3.79 milligrams of antioxidants.
We didn't even realize that the raisin industry was one that needed disrupting, but here we are, and as usual, wine makes it better.