Dulcich family grows, markets grapes with love and dedication
Dulcich family grows, markets grapes with love and dedication
Sunlight International Sales, the marketing arm of Dulcich & Sons, has not lost sight of the historic family focus placed upon growing the finest table grapes possible. After Jakov and Antoinette Dulcich immigrated to the United States, they set about the task of saving enough money to acquire farmland and tend their own grapes. Their sons, Peter and Nick, followed in their parents footsteps.
Today, Peter Dulcich leads the growing and operations of 6,000 acres of vineyards and a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art storage and distribution center, while Nick Dulcich manages Sunlight’s sales and marketing division to ensure consumers worldwide can enjoy grapes fresh from the farm.
Sunlight markets a variety of green, red and black grapes. Nick Dulcich said 2015 will be a “vintage year as far as quality is concerned. Vines are strong due to the mild winter.” New varieties available this season are Early Sweet Green, Sweet 16 Green and Lucky Red.
“This spring we have been upgrading our in-house packing abilities for more efficiencies,” Dulcich said.
Grapes are marketed under the popular “Pretty Lady” brand, available during the summer; “Hobgoblin,” available in the fall; and “Sunlight” labels. Grapes are also sold under another successful label, “Pretty Lady for the Holidays.”
“We service retail and wholesale distributors throughout the U.S.,” Dulcich said. Product is also moved to Canada and Mexico as well as Australia, China, Asia and the Middle East.
While water restrictions have not affected table grape production, Dulcich said, “Water challenges are facing everyone in the San Joaquin Valley. Costs are up as we are having to use groundwater exclusively [as] no canal water is available. Pumping equals more power costs. Drilling new wells is very expensive.”