Jim Llano, sales manager at Castle Rock Vineyards in Richgrove, CA, told The Produce News on July 9 that the company will have more Castle Rock Reds this year, as well as increases in several other varieties.

Castle Rock Red is a late-season red seedless variety that, as its name suggests, is proprietary to Castle Rock. The company has been increasing its volume of the variety steadily in recent years. Jim Llano

“Those were planted a few years ago, and it has really been the past couple of years that we have seen the increase in volume” as the vines mature, Mr. Llano said.

Other varieties that Castle Rock will have increased production of this year are Autumn Royal, a late season black seedless variety and Scarlet Royal, a late season red seedless variety. Also, “we will probably have a few more Red Globes,” he said.

In the Red Globes, “we made some changes with some of our ranches,” Mr. Llano said. “We removed some, and we have some other younger vineyards that will be producing more this year.” In balance, “we will probably see a few more Red Globes this year.”

All of the grapes marketed by Castle Rock are from company vineyards, he said.

“We want to emphasize all of our production is Castle Rock. We do not represent other growers. We do not market for other growers. We do not farm for other growers. This is all our own acreage. We control the planting. We control all of the viticultural operations. We control all of the packing and receiving, and cold storage and shipping as well. So we are completely integrated.”

By controlling all areas of production, harvesting, packing, cold storage and shipping, he said, “that allows us to really maximize the quality of the fruit that we grow, all the way through.”

When The Produce News talked to Mr. Llano July 9, the company was just wrapping up its desert grape production in the Coachella Valley of California and had started its San Joaquin Valley harvest.

“We are finishing with the last of our shipments” out of Coachella “with a few Scarlets and Thompsons,” he said. “Simultaneously we have started our flames out of the Arvin area” in the southern San Joaquin Valley, “and we will be starting our Sugraones also out of the Arvin area, and probably by the end of the week we will have started our Summer Royals out of the Arvin area.”

Early quality is exceptional, he said. “We are very pleased” with the consistency of size, color and condition of the grapes harvested so far, “and we expect that to continue through the month of July.”

With regard to Sugraones, for example, “talking to our field staff, they are claiming this will be one of the best years we have seen in a long time in terms of condition and size and eating quality,” he said.

“Now how does that set up for the varieties that we will go into for August and September, and as we transition out of Arvin to the main Delano region?” he asked. “We are seeing those varieties begin to set up just as nicely as we saw the June and July varieties set up. The crop should come off very uniformly” with respect to size and color.

Castle Rock expected to start Red Globes in mid-August and Autumn Royals in late August, he said.

Castle Rock Red and Thompson seedless should also start the end of August.