Columbine Vineyards, producer of the popular Holiday table grapes in California’s San Joaquin Valley, has now become the first Sustainably Grown Certified table grapes producer in the U.S.

Notwithstanding the issues with “pallets and people,” Jared Lane, vice president of marketing at Grapeman Farms DBA Stevco, is optimistic that the California summer grape deal will be a solid one for the grower-shipper community.

“Right now, the grapes look extremely good,” he said. “I’d say we have an average to large crop.”

Sun World International LLC, a global fruit genetics and licensing company, has added Fresh Produce Group of Australia as a licensed grape grower-marketer in Australia.

This move expands Sun World’s roster of table grape marketers in Australia, with FPG joining longstanding Sun World licensees Costa Group, Perfection Fresh/Fruit Master and Fruitico.

Fruit World, a family-owned, flavor-focused grower-shipper of organic and conventional fruit and one of the largest California growers of organic Thomcord grapes, expects to begin shipping this popular variety by the end of July, with strong, promotable volumes available from mid-August through early-October. Thomcord seedless grapes are a hybrid of Concord and Thompson Seedless grapes, with the rich, full Concord flavor and the tender skin and seedless qualities of the Thompson.

Though 2020 required a much different approach because of the protocols surrounding COVID-19,  Sunview Marketing was able to navigate those changes and the end result was a very successful grape season. Now that the 2021 California Central Valley season has begun, the sales team is ready to welcome back a more normal path to success.

Columbine Vineyards, producer of the popular Holiday table grapes in California’s San Joaquin Valley, has now become the first Sustainably Grown Certified table grapes producer in the U.S. The new certification represents the significant impacts Columbine Vineyards has made over the past few years, including water conservation (843 million gallons saved), styrofoam reduction (54 percent reduction) and carbon sequestration (5,200 metric tons), the equivalent to 1140 cars off the roads annually.