Welcome

Thanks for visiting our site. Here you can learn more about our Company, our history, and our family.

what we do

Giumarra Vineyards Corporation is a family-owned and operated grower, packer and shipper of premium California Table Grapes, headquartered  in Edison, California, just east of Bakersfield. Our vineyards stretch from the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley to Ducor in Tulare County. Our California season starts in late June, and continues through November. Off season, we supply our retail and wholesale partners with quality grapes from our suppliers in Peru and Chile through our New Jersey office, and from Mexico through the Giumarra Companies office in Nogales. Our breeding program creates and licenses the popular ARRA line of proprietary grape varieties, which are currently being planted and grown around the world.

Our History

Born into a family that cultivated grapes in the town of Ragusa, Sicily, Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Giumarra came to the United States with his father in the early 1900's. Like many of America’s early immigrants Joe and his father came to this country seeking a new life and a better opportunity.

After his start selling fruit off of a pushcart in Toronto, Papa Joe finally settled in 1920 in Los Angeles, Calif., where he began buying produce in the San Joaquin Valley and Orange County and selling it from a small stall in the wholesale produce market on 7th Street. It wasn’t long before Joe asked his brothers John and George to immigrate to the U.S. to join him on the market. Soon thereafter their brother-in-law Dominick Corsaro joined the business. While the wholesale business prospered, Joe held onto his dream of growing grapes.

In 1939, the Giumarras purchased a small acreage of fertile farmland north of Bakersfield, California. Shortly thereafter Joe moved from the L.A. market to oversee farming on the new ranches. As the vineyard operation began to grow in size, Joe convinced his brothers to join him on the ranch and Giumarra Vineyards Corporation was born; the parent company of all of the Giumarra companies to follow. The brothers established the GrapeKing and ARRA table grape labels which soon became a leading mark of premium quality fruit in markets around the world.

In the 60’s and 70’s the second generation of the Giumarra family joined the business. Under the leadership of Joe’s son, Sal, the company moved in progressive and innovative directions, pioneering many new techniques in table grape growing, harvesting, packing and handling. What began as a simple 40 acre vineyard has now grown into one of the largest table grape growers in the U.S. and one of the largest private employers in the area. In the 1990’s, a new era began with the addition of a partnership with the Karniel family to breed new table grape varieties.

OUR FAMILY

Today, the Giumarra family continues to manage the company and now includes members of the 3rd and 4th generations. Together we continue to push in new and exciting directions, embracing innovations in sustainable farming techniques, worker safety, new grape varieties and packaging. As our company continues to grow well into the 21st century, we stay true to our roots. The founding principles of family, quality, reliability and innovation continue to be our guide.