Ten years ago, the South African company In2Fruit founded its farm, Lac du Soleil, near Piketberg in the Western Cape. They grow table grapes under nets and are the only grape growers in the Cape to package the varieties right in the field. The company is, thus, the only field BRC-certified grower in the Western Cape.
"When the grapes are ripe, we want to get them on the boat to the customer as quickly as possible with as little handling as possible," begins manager Gerhard Olivier. The decision by the shareholders of the company was to invest in a cold store facility on the farm rather than a packhouse. "Grapes are containerized at the farm and with that we are more in control of the cold chain from harvest to customer arrival."
Young block competition
Lac du Soleil's current established variety portfolio includes Arra15, Sweet Celebration, Sweet Globe, Scarlotta Seedless, Sweet Sapphire, Adora Seedless, and Autumncrisp. The farm is fully committed to testing new varieties and has, among other things, a test block where 18 new varieties are being tested, all of which are one to three years old.
Taste, shelf life, production, and size are all considered when choosing a grape. Lac du Soleil has a good grasp of cultivation. Winning first prize with its Autumncrisp variety in last year's Young Block Competition - growers compete among themselves, judging cultivation on several factors - proves that. "I'm sure we'll do good this year as well. We are among the top with most of our varieties in the annual Frudata study," says Gerhard proudly.
Annually, they harvest around 6,000 - 7500 boxes per hectare, of which 22% was XXL and 75% was Xlarge the previous season. The vineyard on the former ski resort covers 60 hectares. All the grapes are under nets, mainly to prevent wind and bird damage.
"A few new up-and-coming varieties have plenty of potential, such as the Sugra54, which has big grapes and great flavor. I first saw this in Bakersfield, California, and was eager to try it. The ARD 35 - Arra Fire Crunch is another promising variety, and we have it in the test block for the second year. Its available planting material is still very limited, though, and we will start planting our first commercial block this coming winter."
These varieties' royalties are expensive, but according to Gerhard, working with them is the way of the future. "Growers with the oldest varieties face the biggest problems. After all, you want to offer grapes that the market demands," he says, adding that consumers' proper awareness of the different varieties varies considerably. "Some people specifically want a certain variety and flavor; others lump white or red grape varieties together and don't even know that all grapes start out green."
Each market has its preferences
The United Kingdom has always been an important sales market for Lac du Soleil grapes. "We serve almost all their retailers but also operate in places like the Middle East, Ireland, and Israel. In Germany, we supply the major supermarkets with grapes, including premium grapes in a premium paper bag. Each market has its preferences. The European market, for instance, doesn't want Sweet Sapphire, so we export much more of those to markets such as the Middle East, Malaysia, and Vietnam," says Olivier. He explains they can also send the grapes via air freight, but that is costly. "That costs around $2.00/kg, making the flight more expensive than the product."
Per the packing station, a pallet of 120 boxes is packed daily in the field. Each table is numbered and can be traced back to the packaging. They also pack mixed punnets, and in the cold room, the grapes are cooled to 0°C. The cold room has a capacity of 105 pallets per 24-hour cycle, which is good for a throughput of five containers per day. Grape prices are agreed upon per container with clients.
Gerhard reckons the current season began well. "The last three years were good, but every season is different. Climate change means the season starts later and later. This year we only started harvesting in week 2, whereas we always started in week 1."
Solar panels
What is their biggest challenge? "Last year, South Africa had huge logistics problems at the port. That was disastrous for grapes because you don't want them to have to wait weeks at port. Fortunately, things are going well this year, and the load-shedding problems are also over. We anticipate that by investing in solar panels, we'll be self-sufficient in electricity for ten months of the year. We only need additional power from Eskom, the national provider, during our two-month harvest," Gerhard answers in conclusion.
For more information:
Gerhard Olivier
Lac du Soleil / In2fruit
Tel: +27 21 874 1055
[email protected]
https://in2fruit.co.za/lac-du-soleil/