A new variety of premium grapes debuted in Japan recently, with a single bunch fetching as much as 100,000 yen ($910).

A Japanese hotel manager paid that amount, or about 2,860 yen ($26) per grape, for a 1 1/2 pound (700-gram) bunch of the Ruby Roman grapes to serve guests at an upscale hotel, officials said.

"We believe the price was probably a record high," said local agricultural official Hirofumi Isu. "They're delicious — sweet but fresh at the same time, very well balanced."

The tomato-colored grapes made their debut at an auction in Japan's northwestern Ishikawa prefecture, where they have been under development since 1994 in a state-led project.

The bunch that fetched the top price had about 35 grapes, each slightly smaller than a pingpong ball, Isu said.