Michael Napoleone ‐ Red Rich Fruits
Established in 1948, Red Rich Fruits has been in the Napoleone family for three generations. Currently operated by brothers Joe & Michael Napoleone, the business comprises over 280 hectares of apple, pear and stone fruit orchards and a state of the art fruit packing facility located at Wandin in Victoria's Yarra Valley. From its modest beginnings selling in the Melbourne Markets, Red Rich Fruits has now grown to be one of the largest producers of pome and stone fruit in Australia.
Joe and Michael were born and raised on the farm. Their grandfather and father before them were fruit growers so it was a natural progression to become involved in growing. Today, they hope that their kids will one day take over the farms from them. They feel the Yarra Valley is a beautiful place to live and work and producing great quality fruit that people want to eat is a very satisfying way to make a living.
"Our father placed a great emphasis on quality fruit. There is a sign above our packing line 'If you wouldn't buy it, don't pack it'. We pride ourselves on the quality of the fruit we produce and strive to produce an excellent product that rewards our customer with a memorable eating experience. We live buy the motto 'Committed to quality, reliability and customer satisfaction'." ‐ Michael Napoleone
Red Rich Fruit's main produce consists of apples, pears and stone fruit. They grow Royal Gala, Jonathon, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Pink Lady and Sundowner apples. Their pear varieties include Packham, Beurre Bosc & Williams and they also have various peaches, nectarines and cherries. The apples and pears have been a fixture on the farm for 65 years now, while the cherries and stone fruit have only been grown for the past 25 years.
The company has been working with Woolworths for 37 years and credit the relationship with much of their spectacular growth. These days they produce about 7 million kilograms of apples a year, 500,000 kilos of pears, 200,000 kilos of stone fruit, and 75,000 kilos of cherries. They also source 200,000 kilos of strawberries and 500,000 kilos of mangoes.
As growers they face numerous challenges every day including continually rising costs, challenging weather conditions and maintaining and retaining a reliable, efficient staff. The farm's policy is to manage increasing costs by removing inefficiencies wherever possible and curtailing overheads. Nobody can control the weather but the Napoleones have put in place measures to minimise its impact, such as hail netting our orchards, securing our water sources from a mixture of dams and irrigation and putting in place frost control strategies.
"The soil quality in the Yarra Valley is exceptional, resulting in thriving orchards. We have a temperate climate with cool winters, mild springs and warm summers that produce great quality fruit. We usually enjoy plentiful rainfall, which, even during periods of extended drought has ensured an adequate water supply." ‐ Michael Napoleone
Apples & Pears (pome fruit) start blossoming in early spring with fruit growing throughout the spring and summer months. The harvest starts in February for early maturing varieties through to mid‐May for later maturing varieties. Apples and pears are picked by hand and transported to our Wandin packing complex. After packing they are dispatched for sale within five days. The brothers recommend you look for firm apples with a good colour when you are purchasing, and consider storing them in the fridge to make them last longer. Joe loves a good apple crumble, but of course they are fantastic just as they come off the tree.
Stone fruit trees are pruned and the orchards mown and weeded throughout the autumn and winter seasons. Growing happens in spring, and the harvest begins at Christmas time for the early varieties and then continues throughout the summer. Picking is conducted by hand into wooden bins where it is quickly transported to the pack‐house. Fruit is picked and packed and delivered to store within two days of harvest throughout the summer. When selecting stone fruit, the brothers urge you to avoid blemishes or fuzzy skin. Stone fruit can be stored at room temperature for up to a week until it ripens.
With so much marvelous produce on offer, the Napoleone's are eager to get parents to pass the passion on to their kids. As Joe says 'Fruit tastes great and isn't a hard sell to get the kids to eat. Keep a bowl of fruit on the kitchen bench or in the fridge ‐ nothing looks better and then it's always on hand when the kids are after a snack'.