Grapeman Farms has been in the table grape business for well over 40 years. The Bakersfield, CA-based vertically integrated grower-shipper is known for its exceptional offerings. The company’s cumulative experience, knowledge and high-quality fruit set it apart as a first-class operation. “The biggest thing Grapeman wants retailers to know is we are a year-round supplier of table grapes,” said Jared Lane, vice president of sales and marketing. “We are stocked all 52 weeks of the year.”

Lane said it’s all about geographical diversification of growing operations. Grapeman has vineyards located in some of the most ideal climates for table grapes — Hermosillo and Caborca in Sonora, Mexico, Peru and Chile. He said producing high-quality grapes is all about selecting the most fertile land with the best weather conditions and selecting the highest quality vines. “Our partners are pros at growing grapes,” said Lane. “They are constantly developing the strongest vines — for many they’ve been farming their whole lives.”

Entering the first few weeks of the new year, Grapeman will be promoting its Chilean and Peruvian varieties. “Quality looks really good,” said Lane, speaking of the Chilean volumes. “We’re going to be moving a lot of grapes.” With the volume and quality he is seeing, Lane said, “It should make for a good price point,” a relief no doubt to retailers and consumers, with February and March being the peak promotional period for imports.

Chile has vineyards spanning 500 miles, north to south, enabling production availability throughout North American markets from the first week of December through the first week in May. Lane again praised Grapeman’s Chilean partners, “they’re some of the finest growers in the world,” while noting the combination of their vinicultural expertise and extraordinary soil and climate, which has positioned them to become the premier source of table grapes out of the Southern Hemisphere. The company’s commitment to providing a premium-quality grape to customers year-round was the primary impetus for developing a Chilean table grape program.

Weather thus far has been good for the crop, Lane noted: “Last year we had a big unforeseen weather problem with rain in Chile, that really put a damper on that year’s fruit.” Fingers crossed, this year looks to be a different story.

“Everything looks like it will land on-time,” Lane said, but noted there could be some delays at the Western U.S. ports. “There are currently a lot of container ships that are waiting to unload. If it looks like the West will have a shortage of supply we will have to truck fruit over from the East.”

This year’s import offerings coming out of Chile are headlined by Grapeman’s Prime, SugraOne, Sweeties, Ivory, Timpson, Sweet Globe, Great Green, Red Flame, Passion Fire, Sweet Celebration, Krissy, Jack Salute, Timco, Allison, Inia, Melody and Sweet Favor. Regarding promotability, Lane said, “With our expected volumes we should be able to go through May 10, when we will switch over to our operation in Nogales.”

Within the table grape industry, traditional volumes are being edged out,” said Lane, who continues to see buyer movement go toward newer varieties. “Newer varieties are more in demand, they’re bigger in size, more resource efficient and taste better. Taste is the primary attribute consumers are looking for, in the past it was size and shape — currently it is flavor profile."