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David Posner, founder of Santa Cruz, CA-based Awe Sum Organics has two organic table grape farms in Peru that provide Awe Sum with organic grapes for the US market from mid-December well into March.
“We don’t compete with California as our shipments start as California is finishing up,” he said on December 11, noting that his first arrivals landed a couple of days earlier at the Port of Philadelphia. “There are some [organic grapes] from South Africa, but they mostly go to Europe. I’ve heard there might be limited volume of South African organic grapes in the States this season.”
David Posner, Founder, Awe Sum Organics
He added that Awe Sum’s Peruvian organic grape program is the largest in that country and the most advanced. He said that there will be a limited amount of Peruvian organic grapes sent to the United States that are not imported by his company, but they will not be voluminous. “It is not easy to grow organic table grapes in Peru,” he said. “We started this project to grow grapes organically in Peru over 15 years ago. We saw that there was a [winter] window [for organic grapes] and created an organic method to grow them successfully.”
Awe Sum Organics Sweet Globe grape variety
He said the main challenge of growing table grapes organically in Peru is the tropical climate in the grape-growing regions combined with the fact that there is no natural dormancy. Table grapes need to go into dormancy, come out of dormancy, and then achieve a solid and even bud break. Conventional grape growers have growth regulators that they can use to push the vines into bud break after dormancy. Organic growers cannot use those tools. “We had to develop a method for improving bud break,” Posner said, noting that he holds United States and Canadian patents protecting his methods.
David Posner with Awe Sum's Peruvian grapes
“It is not easy to grow organic table grapes in Peru. We started this project to grow grapes organically in Peru over 15 years ago. We saw that there was a [winter] window [for organic grapes] and created an organic method to grow them successfully.” -David Posner
“We started trials in 2005, and this is the eighth year that we have production,” he said.
That production has increased every year, and currently, Awe Sum has the makings of its best crop ever of organic table grapes from Peru. Over the years, Posner and his growers have experimented with several different varieties and will be shipping one main red and green seedless variety this season. These two varieties are from the California-based IFG breeding program and are the stars of Awe Sum’s winter lineup. Sweet Globe is a very popular green seedless variety, while Sweet Celebration is Awe Sum’s top red seedless variety. Targeting value-oriented shoppers, the company will also offer seeded Red Globes, which have been in production the longest, as well as another green seedless variety.
Awe Sum Organics Sweet Celebration grapes
Posnersaid said both the Sweet Globe and the Sweet Celebration are “amazing varieties” that are sweet and crunchy with excellent size berries and fantastic color. He said the seeded Red Globes and their secondary green seedless variety are both great value-oriented options. While the seeded nature of the Red Globe is not ideal for some consumers, Posner said it is a delicious variety, and each berry is very large with only three seeds, so consumers tend to adapt fairly easily.
Organic Sweet Globe clamshells
The main challenge of growing table grapes organically in Peru is the tropical climate in the grape-growing regions combined with the fact that there is no natural dormancy. Table grapes need to go into dormancy, come out of dormancy, and then achieve a solid and even bud break.
Awe Sum’s green seedless Sweet Globes will be available from mid-December through mid-March, and its value-oriented green seedless variety will be available from late December to late-January. The company's red seedless Sweet Celebration will also be available for the length of the full season. Awe Sum is able to have a three-month growing season because it has organic grape farms in both the northern and southern growing regions of Peru. Posner said that the company’s Peruvian growers are continuing to improve their organic cultural practices, and his long-term goal is to extend the Peruvian deal through April so that there will be organic table grapes on the US market for 12 months of the year. Currently, once the Peruvian deal ends there is a gap until Mexico and California’s Coachella Valley deals get started, which usually occurs in early May.
Awe Sum Organics Sweet Globe grapes, grown in Peru
All of Awe Sum’s Peruvian organic grapes will be available in two retail-ready packs: a random-weight pouch bag that contains approximately 1.5 pounds of product, and a one-pound clamshell. Posner advised customers and potential customers to plan ahead because demand does exceed supply on organic table grapes during the winter. But he said if a retailer discusses their needs early enough with the Awe Sum sales crew, there should be some promotional options for this winter period.
Awe Sum's organic Sweet Globe grapes in 1.5lb bag
Posner added that all Awe Sum's grapes are Fair Trade Certified and packed indoors in state-of-the-art facilities with food safety and worker safety top of mind.
Posner remarked that Awe Sum’s organic blueberry deal from Southern Chile will start in late December and run through February. He said the company only offers the best varieties from Chile’s districts with the optimum climate for organic blueberries. He said Awe Sum's blueberries are a perfect mixed-load companion with its Peruvian grapes. The company loads both of these fruits at its California and Philadelphia facilities.
