Fall fruit delights growers and consumers alike with its warm colors and crisp flavors of the season.
With its unique climate and fertile soils, California produces a bounty of fall fruits — apples, persimmons, citrus, grapes and pomegranates among them — and these seasonal fruits are a vital part of the state’s agricultural identity.
“California growers farm over 400 crops and provide just over 50% of the nation’s produce, including about two-thirds of U.S. fruits and nuts,” said Cherie Watte, executive director of California Grown. “And while every season in the Golden State brings incredible crops, fall harvest includes many of the fresh fruits in which California leads national production, including artichokes, berries, figs, kiwifruit, lemons, melons, nectarines, oranges, peaches, persimmons, plums, pomegranates and table grapes. In addition to the fresh fruits (and the vegetables) that are harvested now, it’s also time for the harvest of several always-in-season shelf-stable crops, like prunes, raisins, olives for canning and olive oil, winegrapes and our nut products. In short, fall is a big deal.”
California grown
Watte says California Grown exists to connect consumers with the people who produce their food and to help the public recognize the state’s role in national food production.
“We do that through marketing programs including digital and social media, retail partnerships, nutrition education and foodservice programs in restaurants and schools. We also work with partners like Visit California to help people think of food and wine when they think of the Golden State,” Watte said. “Our methods range from things that might seem pretty simple, like providing Eat the Season posters that call out when crops are in season, delivering digital ads surrounding a grocer that stocks California produce while an in-store promotion is occurring or delivering agritourism content to someone looking for travel information online. The goal is to help our farmers and farmworkers thrive and to have consumers recognize them for their incredible — and delicious — contributions.”
The California Grown website offers a mix of recipes, farmer and farmworker stories, and information about what grows in California and how those products are produced.
California grapes
Among the fall harvests, California grapes are a top choice for consumers, ranking as one of California’s top 10 valued agricultural commodities, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The U.S. grape season typically begins in June in the Coachella Valley and concludes in the San Joaquin Valley around November, depending on the year’s conditions, says Jen Sanchez, vice president of marketing at Sun World International.
“Several of Sun World’s grape varieties are available during the fall including Midnight Beauty, Autumcrisp, Scarlotta Seedless, Adora Seedless and Sun World’s newly launched brands, Epic Crisp and Applause,” she said.
California’s warm, sunny days and crisp cool nights in its Coachella and San Joaquin valleys provide the optimal conditions for growing the perfect grape — crunchy and sweet, Sanchez said.
“The long growing season and limited rainfall in the summer months also contribute to ideal growing conditions. The size of the berries is naturally larger, which is preferred by some markets,” Sanchez said. “Since most of the fruit is grown and sold locally in the U.S. it also enables extended freshness with the reduced travel time to its final destination. California is also one of the first places in the world to grow new Sun World varieties and bring them to market.”
Fresh Farms sales representative Shaun Ricks says the company is concentrating on a select range of varieties this season, including Sweet Globe, Great Green, Allison, Krissy and Candy Hearts, estimating a total pack out of 94 million. The final figures are expected to be confirmed in December.
“At Fresh Farms we are especially pleased with the Sweet Globe variety, which is an extra-large berry green grape that naturally produces very well,” Ricks said. “It begins harvesting in July and finishes in late August, and it is heavily exported to the Pacific Rim.”
Regarding fall varieties, Fresh Farms has actively planted the Allison variety, which is naturally an extra-large, berry-red grape with great flavor that cooperates well in gaining full red color, Ricks said. The Allison harvests in late August and can continue well into October, depending on cultural practices and soil type.
Sunview Marketing International Vice President Mitch Wetzel said the company is in the middle of a stellar season on its proprietary brands and varieties, most notably Sparkle, which is a red seedless grape, and Stella Bella, a green seedless grape.
“We’re seeing a fantastic following and a lot of demand for those two grapes,” Wetzel said. “They seem to be stepping up to the top of the class.”
Grape consumption
Grapes are prevalent among consumers during fall at tailgating events, outdoor entertaining or hosting parties, Sanchez said.
“Grapes provide a refreshing, sweet and crisp crunch to consumers’ activities while still being healthy and hydrating,” she said. “They are the perfect addition to charcuterie boards, creating candied grapes for Halloween, packing them in kids’ lunch boxes or simply enjoying them as a healthy snack.”
At Fresh Farms, the Candy Heart variety of specialty grape is a feature attraction. Ricks says it is unique in its exceptionally sweet flavor, and the extra-large size of Candy Hearts make them special and a favorite with both domestic and export customers.
The organics program at Sunview Marketing International is getting more and longer interest from consumers.
“Another thing that’s exciting for us as we continue to build the October and November organic programming, it seems to be generating incremental sales as well,” Wetzel said. “That’s sort of new as it used to be that organics would start wrapping up in October for most folks, but it has done very well the last few years in October and November.”
Although the company’s grapes are organic from start to finish, Wetzel said, “it didn’t seem like the retail trade was as enthusiastic in late stages, but now it’s incremental and consumers are a lot more enthusiastic, especially in the November time period, and even into December.
“Another trend is the dynamic of red seedless versus green seedless has shifted to where those are much more in balance,” Wetzel added. “We see a lot more promotions for both colors at the same time.”
Insights into the 2024 fall season
“This year’s heatwave has influenced the harvest,” Ricks said in a news release about Fresh Farms’ California grape crop. “The intense heat has had a pronounced effect, especially on colored grapes like Flames and Summer Royals, which were very slow to gain color and have only begun to color up in the past week. The green grapes were delayed only slightly but resumed maturation when the heat broke and are now about two weeks ahead of last year. Colored grapes are running about the same as last year.”
Fresh Farms has been able to overcome the challenges that face it at present and positions itself for future success as consumer preferences shift, adjusting its strategies to ensure that its grapes cover all aspects such as flavor, appearance and attractive packaging, he said.
“Staying aligned to these preferences allows us to deliver the best possible grapes to the market,” Ricks said.
Wetzel said there’s been a lot of talk about the heat and its effect on the back half of the fall grape season.
“I think the lesson we learned last year is that no matter the crop size, the California grape industry focuses on putting a superior product in the box,” he said. “We proved last year with the hurricanes, even with a 77 million box crop — just shy of 20% off as a whole — and we made it into December when folks thought we wouldn’t make it to Thanksgiving. I think the same holds true in any season, no matter what the climate constraints are. The California grape industry is committed to shipping product into December.”
