A small taste of the JULY ARRA FIELD DAY
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This week, we are thrilled to report on some of the ARRA™ harvests currently underway in Spain, France and Italy as well as Grapa’s recent visits to introduce the new very early ARRA varieties to the UK supermarkets.
ITALY
Orchidea Frutta s.r.l., has been a Grapa licensed producer for over 10 years, producing ARRA Sugar Drop™, ARRA Passion Star™ and ARRA Sweeties™.
Located in the region of Puglia, Southern Italy, Orchidea Frutta and its affiliated farms are enjoying the fruit of their committed work.
The company’s managers reported that, despite the high temperatures in the area, that did not allow the berries to grow as usual, the quality of the ARRA Sugar Drop remains excellent.
The berries maintain their crunchiness, their sweetness and the bunches without any shattering, thus boasting firm and resistant berries.
The company management reports: “The ARRA varieties are considered by our market to be of premium quality and are highly appreciated by consumers, that is why they stand out”.
Orchidea Frutta is now planning to expand their ARRA varieties selections and to increase the plantation area.
Valle del Cauca is on the western side of the country, abutting the Pacific Ocean. The existing conditions allow the cultivation of fruit in several regions of the country where a dry climate with strong winds and soils with a high content of organic components predominate.
SPAIN
RAIMSA S.A.T, located in La Romana, in the province of Alicante, Spain, produced a very good crop. The results are due to the exceptional vine management by following the guidelines with precision.
Tomás Rosatto, Commercial Manager and Technician of new varieties at Raimsa reports: “RAIMSA SAT’s commitment to early seedless white table grape varieties has achieved further success with the introduction of ARRA Sugar Drop™. This variety adapted to the peculiarities of the microclimate of Valle del Medio Vinalopó in Alicante exceptionally well and we have achieved a magnificent season so far”.
Tomás concludes by saying: “The result has been a high-quality white grape, with an excellent and natural balance between sweetness and acidity, as well as a very attractive appearance with elongated berries that are so crisp and tasty that they make you want to eat them non-stop. ARRA Sugar Drop received excellent feedback among the European consumers”.
Last week Sahyadri Farms held a field day for all the ARRA producers. Events like these provide the growers with even more tools, knowledge and support to continue to improve the production quality.
FRANCE
Mesfruits, a big French apple producing company is located in Cavaillon, France and they started planting the ARRA varieties three years ago. Since 2019, they have developed commercial plots and they continue to extend every year.
Hugo Mestre, Mesfruit Technician, reports: “The grapes are now ready. We started the harvest on the 20th of July with ARRA Sugar Drop™ and ARRA Passion Fire™ and the crop looks very good. ARRA Passion Glow™ is reaching the right color and we start harvesting this week, while ARRA Sweeties™ and ARRA Mystic Dream™ are currently in veraison”.
Mesfruit production also includes organic crops and of course, grapes are part of it.
Hugo explains: “Regarding our organic production, ARRA Sugar Drop is showing very nice fruit. The bunches are generous, with crunchy, sweet and tasty berries with a very attractive creamy color, a highly important characteristic for the French market”.
Hugo concludes: “We are happy with the production and fertility of ARRA Sweeties, ARRA Sugar Drop and ARRA Mystic Dream. The late black ARRA Mystic Dream has a very high fertility and the size of the bunches and the color of the berries is simply amazing, without any color agents. We trim all bunches in half and they are still very full and nice. The color is coming slowly but it is a late variety and I am not afraid about coloration. Here in Provence, ARRA Mystic Dream will be harvested in the second week of September”.
Nomi Karniel Padan, Grapa Commercial Director, just returned from a trip to the UK where she met with major supermarket chains and service providers in order to introduce the newest very early ARRA selections.
The retailers attending the tasting panels were really excited about the very early red ARD 42 and the black ARD 41.
ARD 42 ripens before Flame making it a good replacement for it.
Among the promising newest released selections, there are some that especially stood out and received great feedback: ARD 35, a new early-mid red ARRA considered a natural continuation after ARRA Passion Fire. This beautiful selection received the most compliments thanks to a unique full red color, bunch shape and, of course, incomparable crispness and flavor.
No doubt that ARRA Honey Pop continues to be the star among the early varieties. It was particularly appreciated and received most of the attention due to its excellent taste, good berry size, crunchy texture and bright creamy color with a melting skin. ARRA Honey Pop is indeed a great addition for the grape producers that wish to cultivate a very early white seedless variety, as it ripens at the same time as Early Sweet.
Nomi summarizes the visit: “It is always a great experience to be able to meet with supermarkets and service providers. It is really important for Grapa to receive their professional and valuable feedback in regard to the commercial varieties, as well as the new ones to come”.
Nomi adds: “It was of great value to be able to discuss about the general concerns caused by the worldwide challenges related to longer shipping times and weather uncertainty. Grapa believes that the ARRA varieties recently introduced, thanks to their long shelf life and great adaptability to weather changes, will play a big role in overcoming the challenges that the industry will be facing in the next years to come.”
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We have a crush on this intense cherry-colour variety with its large, elongated, berries. This mid-late variety that boasts excellent sugar-acid balance, cherry flavour and sensational crunch, delights in appearance, taste and eating experience. Proven to be fully rain resistant, the variety also has excellent fertility and exceptional storage ability. It is the ultimate long shipping variety with the best shelf life in the industry.
ARRA CHERRY CRUSH™ literally has it all!
In short: THE ULTIMATE RED.
This established early red variety boasts a beautiful, natural, full red colour. It’s large, crunchy berries offer a fantastic eating quality. Good productivity, extraordinary hanging ability, shipping durability and shelf life, make it a choice early red.
The earliest existing red variety in the market ripens naturally 4-5 days before Flame. The advantageous short cycle, natural full red colour, together with large, sweet, crunchy berries make this a perfect Flame replacement. ARRA Fire Kiss has proven to be very fertile and grower friendly, as well as bearing great post-harvest and shipping qualities.