
From Italy, Spain and Israel in the Mediterranean, all the way to Far North Queensland, Australia, the ARRA™ harvest is bringing to the growers the good fruit of their commitment, passion and hard work. Keep reading to discover more.


The harvest of ARRA Sugar Drop™ in the region of Sicily is now in full swing. The production looks very promising, thanks to the synergy and professionalism between the agronomists of AVI, the exclusive territorial representative for the ARRA varieties in Europe and Barbera International, ARRA licensee.
Sicily has the advantage of an early microclimate, which gives the opportunity to harvest the ARRA varieties produced here before those produced in mainland Italy, thus opening the European season of early ARRA varieties.

The bunches are attractive with elongated berries and a well-balanced sweetness with an exceptional crunchy texture. Notable for their light-creamy coloration, ARRA Sugar Drop holds up incredibly on the vine, it is perfect for mass production and is a great solution for a very early white variety.


Pavone Group, ARRA sub-licensee, is producing ARRA Sugar Drop™ in Sicily, as well as in the region of Puglia, and Vito Pavone, the company’s General Manager, reports: “This Sicilian season had its own challenges, as usually happens in the fresh produce industry, but we are happy with our ARRA Sugar Drop quality. The harvest left us satisfied and gave us a considerable positive hope for the near future”.

Vito continues: “A quality product stands out in the market and is a big reward to know that the consumer is buying a product of excellence, will come back for more. Our relationship with AVI and Grapa, is intensifying not only in Sicily, but also in all other Italian regions and this is due to the fact that at the base there are high quality cultivars. Growing ARRA Varieties like ARRA Sweeties™, ARRA Sugar Drop™, ARRA Passion Star™ and ARRA Mystic Dream™, guarantee us to be present in the market with such a varietal excellence and to stand out on the supermarkets’ shelves”.
Vito concludes:” We are looking forward to increasing both, our varietal ARRA portfolio and the production surface as well as to further raising the quality of our grape in order to supply excellent ARRA Varieties to the consumer”.

Carlo Lingua, CEO of AVI says: “The Sicilian producers mastered their skills in producing great quality ARRA Sugar Drop and I can confirm that this variety is a very grower-friendly variety to grow”. Carlo adds: “In order to offer high-quality products, producers must follow the growing protocols set out by the breeder and the AVI Agronomists. This will secure a great crop season after season”.
Carlo concludes: “ARRA Sugar Drop is particularly loved by the European market and of course, it is the shining ARRA star in Italy”.



We are delighted to share with you a sneak peek of this season’s ARRA Sweeties™ production in Spain from Raimsa SAT farms, located in the center of the Valle Del Vinalopó, between the mountains and the sea. This location is excellent for cultivating grapes due to its mild climate throughout the year that compliments the rich land. The harvest is forecasted to start towards the end of July, beginning of August. Stay tuned as we will report about the ARRA varieties Spanish harvest in our future newsletters.



This 2022 season is looking very promising for Romeo’s Best in Australia. Despite the challenging weather, the harvest of ARRA Sugar Drop™ and ARRA Sweeties™ in Far North Queensland, started and the crop looks great.
Tony Romeo, owner of Romeo’s Best reports: “We are very happy with the production volume this year. We are proud that we are able to deliver to the market a great quality product”.
Last week, Romeo’s Best started harvesting ARRA Sweeties and the crop performed well even under heavy rain. ARRA Sweeties is well known for its resistance to rain, among other great characteristics, and the results obtained in Far North Queensland proved it once again.

The eating quality of the ARRA Sweeties harvested by Romeo’s Best is second to none and due to the harvest time in Far North Queensland, Romeo’s Best’s Australian customers are very pleased to be able to source locally grown ARRA grape during times that were before considered off-season.

Romeo’s Best has great confidence in the future of ARRA Table Grapes in the Australian marketplace. Australia’s geographical spread of production enabled Romeo’s Best to extraordinarily extend the growing season, aiming to grow and supply fresh grapes all year round.

Last week, Grapa Varieties held an ARRA Field Day at the farm of Uzi Yaron, Grapa R&D Director. Located in Moshav Lachish, Southern Israel, the event focused on three early varieties: ARRA Passion Fire™, ARRA Sugar Drop™ and ARRA Honey Pop™. Growers from all over Israel participated in the ARRA Field Day that provided a great opportunity to see and taste the varieties.
Many Israeli growers are second, third and up to fifth-generation young farmers, who continue their parents’ passion for farming and are enhancing their future with the ARRA varieties.

The producers in Israel are pleased with the results obtained and they particularly appreciate the early selections that allow the earliest supply of quality fresh grapes in the market.


Don’t miss out on these other newsletters: