Awe Sum Organics, a grower sales agent and importer based in Santa Cruz, CA, will soon begin its Peruvian organic seedless table grape season, with product expected to be available starting in the second half of December.

Awe Sum's organic Sweet Celebration grapes

“It is a true innovation to grow grapes organically where there is either no natural dormancy or very limited dormancy for the vines without using Dormex,” said Awe Sum Organics Founder, President, and CEO David Posner. (Dormex is a chemical plant growth regulator for grapevines and orchards that stimulates bud break; it is not allowed in organic production.)

David Posner, Founder, President, and CEO, Awe Sum Organics

Posner said that when he first began his company’s Peruvian organic grape program over a decade ago, there were no organic table grapes available in the US during the winter. “Our goal was and still is to complement the supply of organic grapes from California by bringing our organic grapes in just as California organic grapes are finishing in the market and thereby allowing our customers and organic shoppers to continue to have organic grapes available for many months after California organic grapes have finished in the market,” Posner said.

“Today we have good volumes, high quality, and are by far the largest supplier of organic table grapes for the US during the winter months,” said Posner, noting that Awe Sum’s Peruvian organic grape growers currently farm over 150 hectares.

Posner said that when he first began his company’s Peruvian organic grape program over a decade ago, there were no organic table grapes available in the US during the winter.

Awe Sum Organics’ Peruvian table grapes are available from mid-late December through March and are shipped via refrigerated ocean containers. The company offers a “consistent supply of both red and green seedless (all IFG varieties, mainly Sweet Celebration and Sweet Globe) and … a smaller program of Red Globe for value-oriented organic shoppers,” Posner said.

Awe Sum's organic Sweet Globe vines

Awe Sum’s Peruvian red and green organic grapes are available in catch weight pouch bags that average about 1.5 pounds as well as fixed-weight 1-pound clamshells with UPC.

“We have been told by our customers that our organic Peruvian grapes grown with our patented proprietary method are truly Awe Sum and that we have by far the best quality, condition, flavor, and crunch of any organic grapes available during the same time frame as ours,” Posner said.

“Today we have good volumes, high quality, and are by far the largest supplier of organic table grapes for the US during the winter months.” – David Posner

In addition to being organic, most of Awe Sum’s Peruvian grapes are also Fair Trade Certified. “Over the years, we have contributed over $700,000 US dollars to the small community in Peru where our largest organic grape farm and pack house is located through the Fair Trade USA (and before that, Fair for Life) social premiums that we have collected from the sale of our organic Peruvian grapes,” said Posner. The fair trade funds have been used for many projects, including building roads, a church, and multiple schools as well as installing important infrastructure like running water and electricity.

Awe Sum's Sweet Globe and Sweet Celebration organic grapes

Founded in 1985, Awe Sum Organics specializes in organic grapes, kiwis, apples, pears, blueberries, and avocados imported from the Southern Hemisphere; organic kiwis imported from Italy and Greece; and organic citrus and kiwis from California.

“Over the years, we have contributed over $700,000 US dollars to the small community in Peru where our largest organic grape farm and pack house is located through the Fair Trade USA (and before that, Fair for Life) social premiums that we have collected from the sale of our organic Peruvian grapes.” – David Posner

The company has always focused on organics because Posner believes “that growing organically creates healthy, nutrient-rich, live, and flavorful food that is healthy for the environment [and] for everyone who grows and eats it.”

Awe Sum's organic Sweet Globe grapes

“It is so rewarding to realize that what we started on our mission so long ago, pioneering the organic produce movement over the last 36 years, has evolved into such a large and important part of the overall produce trade,” Posner said.