Richard Bagdasarian Inc., based in Mecca, CA, is one of the more established Coachella Valley grape shippers and on its 2,000 acres of grapes President Nick Bozick said it has the largest collection of proprietary grape varieties in the valley.

The longtime Coachella Valley veteran said currently it has four varieties in commercial production, two more that will begin commercial shipments next year, “and two dozen other varieties in the testing phase.”President of Richard Bagdasarian Inc., Nick Bozick with Vice President of Marketing, Franz DeKlotz.

He added: “Our goal is to build a better flavor profile” on the grapes being shipped from Coachella, which are the earliest grapes in the California deal each year.

A few years ago, Bagdasarian, who also grows and packs citrus under the Sunkist label, signed a licensing agreement with the well-known citrus co-op giving the shipper the ability to pack and market Sunkist labeled grapes. “We are in the infancy of building the Sunkist grape program,” he said.

Bozick is also one of the growers featured on the Sunkist Family Stories site.

Along with a San Joaquin Valley grape grower and shipper who has a similar agreement, a buyer interested in selling the brand can do so from early May through the summer. Bozick said there has been buyer interest in the brand and the program but like any new venture it takes time to lay the foundation and get the project off the ground.

All four Bagdasrian varieties — Flame Seedless, Sugraones, Summer Royals and Magenta — are available in the Sunkist label as well as the familiar Bagdasarian labels: Mr. Grape, Pasha and Bagdad. The varieties are also available in both conventional and organic packs.

Bozick said that is the first year Magenta has been available as a conventional grape. It was originally launched as an organic variety. “It’s a great piece of fruit,” he said. “It produces a big berry and has eye-popping color.”

Bozick is excited about its future but he said like all new varieties, it takes time to see if it has staying power. He said it is also being grown in the San Joaquin Valley. “It’s too early to tell (what kind of future it has). Like all new varieties, some years it does really well and other years not so well. We just have to wait and see,” he said.

Like others in the valley, Bozick said perfect winter and spring weather has produced a very nice looking crop of average size that appears to be about two weeks early. He said an early start typically means an early finish as the next growing area — Southern San Joaquin Valley — has also experienced the great California weather and probably will also be early. Coachella Valley grapes are usually marketed in about an eight week period in May and June. Because of the late April, early May start, shippers may be hard pressed to last through June.

“We will just have to see how it plays out,” said Bozick on April 18.