Giumarra Vineyards Corporation, part of the Giumarra group of companies, has announced that John Giumarra has been elected president and CEO of the company by the company’s shareholders.
Giumarra Vineyards is one of California’s leading producers of California table grapes, one of the largest employers in Kern County, California, and a major breeder of new patented table grape varieties.
“I am honoured to hold the position of president and CEO of Giumarra Vineyards and trust that I can do as well in leading the company as my retiring predecessor, Sal Giumarra,' said John Giumarra. 'My job will be made much easier by an outstanding group of next-generation family members who will hold all the major positions in the company, namely, George Giumarra, executive vice-president, Randy Giumarra, vice-president of sales, Jeff Giumarra, CFO, Joe Giumarra, David Stanley, LeRoy Kuntz, vice-presidents of field operations, Mimi Corsaro Dorsey, vice-president of marketing, and Gina Giumarra McArthur, new board member.
“I am very excited about the company’s future,' he continued. 'We will be introducing a number of new table grape varieties in 2015 and will be licensing other table grape growers to produce these new patented varieties.'
Giumarra explained that the new varieties included the Arra 29, an early red seedless which the group believes will replace the Flame Seedless because of its bright red colour, large yield per acre and crunchy sweet flavour; the Arra 16 (“Sweet 16”), a replacement for late Sugraones and Thompson Seedless, and is an elongated, crunchy white seedless variety; the Arra 30 (“Supreme Seedless”), a creamy coloured pleasant flavored large white seedless which will compete against the Sugraone; the Arra 28, an easy colouring bright red seedless that is much easier to grow than the Crimson and which will compete directly against the Crimson; the Arra 15 (“Sweeties”) which is an exceptionally large elongated white seedless with extremely high sugar/flavour and maximum crunchiness, producing in mid-August through September and later out of the cold storage; and the Arra 27, a large uniformly coloured black seedless which is early and prolific.
'These varieties, and others which are in the developmental stage, will propel the company’s growth in the future and enable it to provide new varieties of table grapes which are high in flavour, are good eating and have the unique taste experiences that retailers and wholesalers are seeking for their customers,' he added. “The future looks very bright at Giumarra Vineyards.”
