California's grape season looks as though it's returning to a more historical start time in 2025. "The majority of the crop will start to pick in the San Joaquin Valley between July 7-14. We're running a bit earlier this year due to the warmer weather, though that's a more normal start time compared to the last two or three years," Philippe Markarian of Mirabella Farms says. Some growers in Arvin, California, could start picking as early as next week, and some in the South Valley will also start around July 4-5th.
© Mirabella Farms
The company's Ivory grapes.
Growers and shippers are heading into a season they say looks very good. "Actually, it's been one of the better growing years this year than I've seen in quite some time in terms of weather and growing conditions," says Markarian. "The growing conditions are consistent. We had good temperatures during our bloom, and that allowed the plants to grow at a steady rate without the highs and lows. Shatter was very uniform across all varieties."
Red Malibu Seedless promotions
As for the size of the crop, Markarian says it's not heavy, though a better-than-normal crop year is expected. For Mirabella Farms, it also expects good volumes of the variety it's had in development for several years, the Red Malibu Seedless grape. "This year looks very promising and we'll be promoting it pretty heavily," says Markarian.
© Mirabella Farms
The Red Malibu Seedless grapes.
Meanwhile, on demand, he says retailers and wholesalers are looking to make the switch sooner rather than later to fruit from Mexico to California. That said, an overlap between growing regions is expected.
How about pricing? "We're hoping to have better pricing. Our costs have gone up drastically, more so with the labor, which is a major factor," says Markarian. "We would like to be in the mid-$20s as an average price. From what I understand, pricing is going to start off average. The norm now is going to be between the $20-$24.00 range."
For more information:
Philippe Markarian
Mirabella Farms
Tel: +1 (559) 237-4495
[email protected]
www.mirabellafarmsinc.com
