“This year has been off to a good start,” said Mitch Wetzel, vice president of sales and marketing for the Delano, CA-based company. “The whole industry has had to deal with some unusual heat, which has made things move a little bit faster, but I think everyone is off to the races and the whole industry is putting up a good crop of grapes.” “We have a handful of mid- and late-season whites that are in our breeding program that will be unique to us that we will be releasing over the next few years,” Wetzel said. “We also have some more reds that will expand the Sparkle brand line mid-season and late-season reds.”
As one of the largest organic table grape growers and shippers in the country, Sunview will also have a variety of green, red and black organic grapes available through the end of the organic season in December.
The company places a strong emphasis on sustainable farming practices, implementing water conservation techniques, integrated pest management and other environmentally friendly practices to ensure long-term sustainability.
One of the biggest challenges right now is the weather, with a hot June well over the normal average, followed by more extreme temperatures in July and early August.
“That brings challenges, but our industry is very resilient and I think everyone is dealing with it very well,” Wetzel said.
Sunview ships to every region domestically in the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico and overseas to more than 40 countries.
“Sunview has been in business going on over 70 years, so our message is more about stability, so we keep a very constant and consistent program from early July through early January,” Wetzel said.
The Aug. 19 issue of The Produce News incorrectly reported the varieties of grapes Sunview Marketing offers. We apologize for the error.
