In the San Joaquin Valley this summer, “the early part of the grape deal is not going to be early,” Rick Paul, category manager at Sun World international LLC in Bakersfield, CA, said June 2.

He expects that there will be “somewhat” of a gap between the end of the grape harvest in the Coachella Valley in California’s southern desert and the start of the harvest for Sun World’s earliest varieties in the San Joaquin Valley. “We think we will be finished [harvesting in Coachella] and still have about two weeks to go before we get any fruit out of the San Joaquin Valley,” he said.

In a normal year, Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, CA, will begin its organic table grape program around mid-July with production out of the Delano and Richgrove areas in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

But the 2010 growing season, like the one the year before, has not been normal. The weather has been unusually cool and wet, and grapes, like just about every other commodity in the valley, are running behind schedule this year — again — as they did last year.

The Chuck Olsen Co. Inc. in Visalia, CA, expects about a 30 percent increase in volume across all fresh table grape varieties through the season in the San Joaquin Valley this year over last year, according to Jeff Olsen, vice president.

The exceptions are the Scarlet Royal and Sweet Scarlet varieties, which will probably double in volume, he said.

“We are hoping to get started by the first week of July, but realistically right now it looks like probably around the second week of July,” Mr. Olsen said June 2.

Consistent with its steady, ongoing process of expanding table grape production, Anthony Vineyards in Bakersfield, CA, will have some modest increases in some of its early-season varieties in the San Joaquin Valley this year.

“We are always developing new acreage,” said John Harley, vice president of sales and marketing. “So it is just a consistent increase that is going to happen year to year. Some of this is in organic, some is in conventional.”

Bravante Produce in Reedley, CA, has been a Sunkist packer and shipper “for a couple of years now,” packing citrus from its own ranches in the “Sunkist” label, according to George Bravante, managing partner, who also sits on the Sunkist board of directors.

Now, starting this summer, Bravante’s premium table grapes will also carry the “Sunkist” brand.

FRESNO, CA — Crown Jewels Produce Co., here, which markets an assortment of California fruit through the spring, summer and fall periods, will have fresh California grapes available from the San Joaquin Valley throughout the season.