This week, we are thrilled to report on some of the ARRA™ harvests currently underway in the Mediterranean region and bring you a taste of the upcoming mid and late ARRA virtual field day webinars.

We bring the latest news from the ARRA vineyards in Italy, courtesy of AVI, the exclusive territorial representative for the ARRA varieties in Europe.

ARRA Passion Glow™ (ARRA 19)

In Grottaglie, in the Taranto area of southern Italy, the company Giacovelli s.r.l. has started their harvest of the beautiful ARRA Passion Glow grapes. Due to the microclimatic soil conditions of the area, the ARRA 19 ripens already at the beginning of August with a Brix of 18+ and size of 22+mm.

ARRA Vineyards in Italy
Local growers and commercial operators have remarked on the outstanding sweetness and crunchiness of the ARRA Passion Glow grapes
ARRA Vineyards in Italy

ARRA Sweeties™ (ARRA 15)

AVI agronomists, Maurizio Simone and Marco Tempesta remark on the ARRA Sweeties season so far, “During this year ARRA 15, in general, has an outstanding berry size with a diameter of 24+mm and a length of berry exceeding 3.5 cm. We will soon harvest ARRA 15 in Puglia and we are looking forward to seeing it in the European market.”

As can be seen in the photographs below of ARRA vineyards, Azienda Agricola Terrana Vito in Campobella di Licata, Sicily, have produced a beautiful crop of ARRA 15 this season; crunchy and sweet, with Brix of 22+. 

ARRA Passion Star™ (ARRA 13)

Italian company, Lilla & Giuliani have had a satisfying ARRA 13 harvest this year, reporting as follows, “We have already had the opportunity in the past to test ARRA 13 and work with it in the company. It was harvested in the Grottaglie area by a producer affiliated with us. The excellent ripening period (first week of July), goes together with an optimal red colour!”

ARRA Vineyards, bunch
close up of ARRA Vineyards

ARRA Sugar Drop™ (ARRA 30)

Reaping the fruits of their labour in the ARRA vineyards, Lilla & Giuliani company has brought in a very promising harvest of ARRA 30 this season. As their team relates, “Considering that for us it was the first year in which we had the opportunity to collect and work with ARRA Sugar Drop, it is hardly possible to find a comparable taste in the range of early white varieties present nowadays in the market. All our production was harvested in the Grottaglie area, an area south-east of Taranto, which allowed us to better express the characteristics of the variety; the outstanding yellow colour, sweet taste and crunchy skin. We have noticed that in the vineyards where the vine load was too high and not properly managed agronomically speaking and the production protocol was not followed, we observed post-harvest issues.”

Fruit of ARRA Vineyards

HaciendasBio - Spanish organic

We are delighted to share with you this update on this season’s organic ARRA production in Spain from several farms of ARRA Vineyards of Haciendas Bio. This was quite a challenging year for the growers weather-wise, as Haciendas Bio’s Innovation and Development Manager Alberto Samperio explains, “We come from a year with a very rainy spring, where the rains coincided with the flowering. Due to this we have had a strong attack of mildew (Plasmopara viticola) which has considerably reduced the production of table grapes.”

Cantillana Farm

The harvest of ARRA 19 is currently underway, having started a month earlier than in 2019. 50% of the production is being harvested now, with good size and colour and Brix of 18. The remaining 50% will be harvested around the second week of September. The grapes that have already started to arrive to the markets are being well received.

ARRA Vineyards of ARRA 19
ARRA Passion Glow™ (ARRA 19) at harvest. Second-year production, 15 tons per hectare
ARRA Vineyards of ARRA 32
ARRA Mystic Dream™ (ARRA 32). Two weeks before harvest. Second production year, 15 tons/hectare

Rincon de Caya Farm

So far 70% of the ARRA Passion Star™ (ARRA 13) grapes have been harvested. The grapes have good colour, size 20+mm and Brix 17-18 and have reached the market well.

ARRA Passion Star™ (ARRA 13); third production year, 20 tons per hectare
ARRA Sweeties™ (ARRA 15); one week before harvest, third-year production, 25 tons per hectare. The quality is good, size 20+mm, Brix 18.5+ and acidity of 0.85.
ARRA Vineyards of ARRA 32
ARRA Passion Glow™ (ARRA 19); Four weeks before harvest. Third-year production, 20 tons per hectare

Good Enough to Eat

Below is a selection of Haciendas Bio’s beautiful organic ARRA grapes already on the shelves.

ARRA Sugar Drop™ (ARRA 30)

In Israel, this season, at the Tali Grapes cooperative in Moshav Lachish, ARRA Sugar Drop grapes were harvested, from both first-year and second-year plots. The harvest has gone according to plan, with the first year plot yielding approximately 25 tons per hectare and the second year plot producing 38 tons per hectare.

As the first year production produced very good quality grapes and the second year achieved even better quality, our impression is that the quality improves as the vine matures. The bulk of the ARRA 30 harvest was sold as premium quality in the wholesale markets. Similar to other high-quality fruit, the prices for ARRA Sugar Drop grapes were high at the beginning of the season. The prices then stabilized as the volume of produce in the markets rose.

ARRA Sugar Drop; cream of the crop

The advantage of ARRA 30 over other varieties is mainly that the fruit on the vines maintained good quality throughout the harvest compared to other white varieties, especially in post-harvest.  ARRA 30’s post-harvest results were good, the harvest was relaxed throughout the season and the produce that was sent to the customers was sold at good prices. 

Don’t miss out on these other newsletters: