Scattaglia Growers & Shippers LLC in Traver, CA, grows, packs and ships a full line-up of table grape varieties in the central San Joaquin Valley, from early season Flames to late season Autumn Kings, but proprietary varieties exclusive to SGS are an increasingly important part of the company’s grape program.

“We continue to get great response [from customers] with our fall lineup of red and black seedless, and we continue to increase our acreage, especially with the SGS Red variety,” said Louis Scattaglia, managing partner.

Don Johnston, a longtime leader in the California potato industry, died Tuesday, July 16, after several difficult years, including the death of his wife, Gail Johnston, last fall. He was 80.

The Leafy Greens Council appointed Beth Brown to the role of executive director July 1 following the death of former executive director Ray Clark on June 6.

In addition to the “normal mix of varieties” that most grape shippers carry, Pandol Associates Marketing Inc. in Selma, CA, has a line of niche market products that run counter to the traditional wisdom that “bigger is better.”

It consists of “grapes that are grown for sweetness and flavor, rather than berry size,” and they are called “Sweet Babies,” according to President James (Jim) Pandol.

Rather than apply cultural practices designed to increase berry size, “we let them stay small” and develop “very beautiful colors and very intense flavors,” Pandol said.

Eagle Eye Grape Guys LLC in Visalia, CA, a subsidiary of Eagle Eye Produce Inc. in Idaho Falls, ID, is in the midst of its first California grape season since becoming an Eagle Eye company.

“Our program this year is going to land between two [million] and 2.5 million boxes,” said Shaun Ricks, co-founder of The Grape Guys and vice president of the present entity. “I’m talking just California, now. And it is heavy to reds.”

The stand-up bag (a.k.a. pouch bag, gusset bag, handle bag, etc.) has become a big phenomenon in the table grape industry. Nearly every shipper is doing some, and some are going exclusively with it in their bagging programs. Shippers who once dismissed the stand-up bag as a fad or a gimmick now say they have retail customers who demand it. Some large retailers, it is said, will now accept grapes in no other pack style.