This year is shaping up to be a good one for California table grapes according to Sunview Marketing International. Sunview, headquartered in Delano, CA, has been growing premium quality table grapes in the central valley for more than seventy years.

“In our expert opinion, this year’s grape season outlook is looking very strong –– we are excited about supplying our fresh grapes to our retail partners and consumers worldwide,” said Mitch Wetzel, vice president of sales and Marketing.

There’s a lot of energy and excitement this time of year as table grape season ramps up in California. In 2021 California grape growers harvested more than 97 million boxes of table grapes — an estimated crop value of $2.1 billion — per the California Table Grape Commission. Furthermore, those numbers represent 99 percent of all commercially grown grapes in the United States.

The SF Market, a wholesale produce market that is home to 26 merchant businesses in the heart of San Francisco, welcomed California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross on May 20. She took a tour that showcased the critical fresh food infrastructure that The SF Market has provided for San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California businesses since 1963.

Ten years ago the California Avocado Commission first observed June officially as California Avocado Month, and it is enthusiastically promoting this long-standing tradition. As an ode to the past 10 years, the commission has enlisted the culinary talents of Southern California native Chef Nyesha Arrington to create two delicious and seasonal recipes that prominently feature California avocados, which are grown by about 3,000 California avocado growers with groves from San Diego to Monterey.

On Saturday, May 14, the California Avocado Commission hosted an open house — or rather open grove — at Rancho Santo Thomas, owned and farmed by Mike Sanders and his son-in-law Chris Ambuul in Valley Center, CA. Attendees were educated on various aspects of avocado farming, including the grafting of avocado cultivars on various rootstocks, sustainable cultural practices, canopy management and avocado picking, as well as tips and tricks for avocado preparation.

McDaniel Fruit Co. is a third generation, family-owned produce business, specializing in avocado production. “You know, we’ve been at it for a while,” said Rankin McDaniel, president of the seventy-five-year-old company.

Purchasing its first acreage in 1944 in Vista, CA, the Southern California grower takes pride in its legacy. From that first parcel purchase to helping establish the global avocado market, McDaniel Fruit Co. has developed partnerships with growers in Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru giving it a year-round portfolio of premium avocados.