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in at that time. They are normally done with their green seedless by the time we get started in Coachella.”
One California grower-shipper who does not source out of Coachella or Mexico said overlap with the San Joaquin Valley grape harvest that starts in July varies from year to year but is generally brief.
“We are looking at a late April start out of Mexico for Early Sweet, our early- season green seedless variety,” says Tom “TW” Wilson, grape sales manager for the Giumarra Companies, Seattle.
“Summer Royal and Flame Seedless should arrive the first of May. We expect the season to conclude in late June/early July, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday.”
The harvest from the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County east of Los Angeles, represents the first grapes of the season that benefit from being from California.
“The latest research shows 86 percent of consumers prefer California grapes more than other origins when prices are the same, and 68 percent prefer California grapes when priced higher than imported grapes,” says Jeff Cardinale, vice president of communications for the California Table Grape Commission, Fresno, CA.
The start of May kicks off the season of fresh grapes harvested just a couple days from most U.S. markets, but the end of the month often signals the beginning in the minds of consumers.
“Memorial Day is when most families kick off their picnic plans for the summer, and California grapes are the perfect picnic partner: grapes are portable, great right off the bunch, and provide a burst of juicy taste and nutrition in every bite,” says Cardinale. “California grapes from the Coachella Valley are available starting in May, with more than 20 varieties in red, green and black.”
White and black varieties are the first of the fresh spring grapes from Sonora or Coachella, and the reds follow.
“The market wants fresh desert whites and blacks as soon as they are available and transitions red seedless anywhere from mid-May to early June,” says Pandol. “Chile’s back end is loaded with red seed- less grapes. It remains to be seen to which market they are shipped.”
ARE GRAPES THE NEW APPLES?
Table grapes are traditionally sold by color not the variety, with green and red predominant and black and globe also represented. But a few larger grower-shippers are working to develop
names for specific varieties they hope will even- tually earn followings.
“The trend is toward new varieties with a focus on flavor, texture and shelf life,” says Wilson. “Some of our notable new varieties include Early Sweet, Arra Sugar Drop (Arra 30) and Arra Passion Fire (Arra 29).”
Giumarra is a marketing company with the resources to ship grapes, stone fruit, melons and vegetables over a long season and avocados, asparagus, blueberries and blackberries 52 weeks of the year.
“Early Sweet is a very sweet, low-acid variety and one of the earliest commercially available green seedless varieties,” says Wilson. “Sugar Drop, which comes right after Early Sweet, is an additional early green seedless offering with very large, elongated berries, loose bunches and a sweet flavor. Both varieties have excellent eating quality and a long shelf life.”
All three of the new Giumarra varieties will be available during this spring Mexi- co-Coachella season.
“Early Sweet will start shipping the end of April and run through mid-June, with promotable volumes mid-May through the first week of June,” says Wilson. “Sugar Drop will be available from about the third week of May through the end of June. Passion Fire is a red seedless variety with exceptional eating quality. Flavor is aromatic and sweet with a crunchy texture. Passion Fire should start about the third week of May and go through the end of June.”
Anthony Vineyards also has new propri- etary varieties of all colors that will be available this spring.
“We have lots of new varieties for the 2019 grape season, such as the Valley Pearl green seedless as well as Sweet Globe, Sweet Sapphire (black seedless), Gemma Rose (red seedless), Timco (red seedless) and many more to come,” says Harley. “All of this is being farmed as organic as well as conventional.”
Pacific Trellis will be bringing two new proprietary varieties, Ivory and Great Green, out of Mexico this spring with more to come the next few years.
“We’ll try to get a premium for these; that’s the game plan,” says McMenamin. “They’re a new, clean, large piece of fruit.”
This year, Pacific Trellis planted Sweet Cele- bration and Sweet Globe in Mexico, and that fruit will be available next year.
The company has an aggressive specialty variety program that will later also include Candy Snaps, Candy Drops, Candy Hearts, Krissy and Timtson grapes out of its vineyards in Mexico.
In addition to a seemingly endless string of new varieties, Pacific Trellis also has extended its organic season.
“Of our grapes from Mexico, about 100,000 cartons will be organic,” says Pacific Trellis Fruit’s McMenamin. “This is the third year of our organic program in Mexico, and it’s going great.”
THE COLORFUL TIME OF YEAR
The arrival of spring grapes marks the festive beginning of the delightful long season of fresh fruits.
“Place a bunch of grapes in all three colors as a beautiful and delicious appetizer, along with cheese on the picnic table for families, to munch on before the main courses are served,” suggests Cardinale. “California grapes are also the perfect add-on for a refreshing spring salad. The spring backyard barbecue also can include frozen grapes dropped into a favorite drink to add a boost of color and taste.”
As shippers move beyond the three basic colors to also include named specialty varieties, it may make sense to give the category a little more space.
“I recommend as large a display as possible,” says Anthony Vineyards’ Harley. “With the increase in varieties there is a good opportunity to promote the new varieties.”
Bigger may be better, but retailers do well to keep in mind what they can keep well stocked and clean looking when deciding the size and complexity of the display.
“You want as big a display as the store can properly maintain,” advises Pandol. “There is debate on how retail will merchandise varieties
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