EDISON, CA - Giumarra Vineyards is in the midst of another busy season with overall volume up over last year. While there is talk that the total table grape industry will not hit the 115 million box number which analysts originally estimated, Giumarra Vineyards is expected to finish with more boxes than last year. The grower attributes this success mostly due to new plantings and higher-yielding varieties.
“Each year our product mix is changing with more varieties filling shorter windows,” Randy Giumarra, Vice President of Sales, shared with me. “The goal is to provide consumers with beautiful grapes that were recently harvested so they are fresh and really flavorful, and that will last when they take them home. We want them to have a great experience every time so that grapes remain a staple on their shopping list.”
Replacing a significant amount of Thompsons with the new Sweeties variety has been a big win for Giumarra Vineyards. One reason Sweeties have been such a big hit with retailers and their customers is because the grape has a wonderful sugar-to-acid balance, giving consumers the sweetness they crave but with exceptional flavor and crispiness, too.
“It seems so simple, but that combination isn’t easy to achieve in a table grape,” Randy continued.
Growers from around the world have realized this is a special variety and Sweeties have now been planted globally, with the first Peruvian and Chilean production set to arrive to Giumarra this November through January.
Last month, Giumarra hosted over 300 growers from around the world to come see the Sweeties and other varieties in the ARRA breeding program.
“In addition to the Sweeties, the overwhelming response has been for the ARRA 29, a beautiful early red variety that comes at the same time as Flames,” he said.
The ARRA 28, a late red, the ARRA 32, a mid-late black, and some of the high-flavor varieties also received high marks. These new varieties are changing the complexion of what is being offered from Giumarra Vineyards in California and from the Giumarra International import program.
“We are well on our way to supplying our retail partners with a continuous program of these varieties from California, Peru, Chile and Mexico,” Randy said. “It’s an exciting time to be in our business.”
Giumarra Vineyards will have these varieties on display at Booth #683 for visitors to see and taste.
