Capturing ARRA™: Early California Field Day Highlights

We are full of excitement after having one of the peak events in the ARRA calendar: The Early ARRA Field Days, held at the ARRA breeding site in Bakersfield, California. From all around the world, ARRA guests gathered to experience the ARRA wonders firsthand. Despite blazing temperatures reaching 46-47 degrees Celsius, it was the ARRA passion and buzz that set the atmosphere. It was an exclusive opportunity to open our gates and display the special varieties.

The enthusiastic feedback and excitement surrounding ARRA were truly heartening. It was delightful to see new and returning ARRA growers, as well as representatives from across the globe, joining us.

Following last year’s successful concept of private tours, we continued hosting our guests in designated groups according to their region, and needs, mostly accompanied by their local ARRA agent. This way we ensured each guest would see varieties that are best suitable to their specific growing conditions, development plans and market destinations. The tours included a visit to the breeding site, followed by a tour of the commercial ARRA blocks of Giumarra Vineyards, some already at the peak of harvest.

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The ARRA Honey Pop™ was without a doubt the star of the show, living up to its slogan “Pop your World” – it certainly popped! The visitors visited its ongoing harvest, occurring simultaneously with Early Sweet™. The guests watched the live field packing, demonstrating how a bunch on the vine is a bunch in the bag, proving the high quality and uniformity of the yield.

Amongst our many global guests, we had the great pleasure of hosting Taiwanese buyers who immediately as they arrived at the commercial vineyards, asked Mimi Corsaro, Giumarra Vineyards VP Marketing & Director Export Sales, to buy a fair number of containers. Mimi hopes to be able to accommodate such requests, as local consumption is high as are the prices, thanks to the grapes’ early arrival to the shelves.

The sightly later yet still early ARRA Sugar Drop™ variety stood out for its elongated berry, fine taste, and melting skin. Its harvest started on the last day of the field day, so the visitors had a chance to see the harvest at its organic block, where the fertile crop showed beautiful large bunches, with outstanding results even compared to the non-organic yield.

At the end of the tour, the guests gathered around the presentation table so they could taste all the very early and early varieties. These varieties provide added value due to their early ripening and short cycle in addition to having exceptional eating quality. The guests also enjoyed new red and white ARRA selections from cold storage that are even earlier than very early, as they were harvested two weeks before the field day! How early can we go? Wait and see.

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Moreover, at the presentation table, guests could also compare the ARRA Fire Kiss™ variety to Flame, which ripens at the same time, thereby optimally understanding the exceptional features it serves as a replacement.

But the summer isn’t over yet: attendees of the August Field Day will also have the exclusive opportunity to experience and further learn about these early varieties as they will be presented from cold storage alongside the fresh mid and late-harvest ARRA varieties. The tour was complemented by gathering around the coffee stations where the ARRA community members from around the world were happily exchanging ideas and impressions. We were delighted to host our guests at the ARRA Gala dinner at the Bakersfield Country Club, where our partners could enjoy ARRA discussions over fine food and wine. There’s nothing like good grapes, good wine, and above all, good company. We hope to see everyone again soon at the August field days and then at the upcoming exhibitions in Hong Kong, Madrid, and the PMA.