Giumarra Vineyards is presenting one of its newest proprietary varieties, the Sweeties brand grapes. These heavy producing grapes with very large size and extraordinary length on the larger fruit presents an awesome crunch and wonderful sweet flavor, hence the name. The variety needs to be picked with a minimum of 18 brix of sugar and can get up to 22 brix quite easily. Randy Giumarra, Vice President of Sales, tells AndNowUKnow, "The American palate seems to crave sweetness with flavor that does not overpower. Sweeties hit it right on the mark because they have a perfect sugar to acid ratio that gives you both. We are looking forward to bringing this grape to market this week and are excited for both the retail and consumer response."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Ozone International is making strides for cold storage users. Simply put, ozone gas consumes ethylene and oxidizes fungi, which staves off fruit and vegetable decay. For example, organic table grapes traditionally can only be stored for 3 to 4 weeks; however , when ozone is pumped into the storage room, they last anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks, with better quality. Ozone is also a boon for organic producers, as it can be infused into water to cleanse and disinfect produce non-chemically. For a monthly fee, packers can lease an ozone machine that is meticulously tracked remotely by Ozone International’s service team. President, Jon Brandt, tells AndNowUKnow, “As the machines are owned and operated by our company, there’s no risk of ending up with an expensive piece of machinery that won’t do its job.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
