Bella Viva Orchards

Great quality and fast free shipping on my organic mango slices, salted pistachios and spring crate!

I discovered Bella Viva’s dried fruits at Dean and DeLuca in Napa Valley and kept thinking about how delicious they were. I decided that rather than buy through Dean and DeLuca I would go to the source of the fruit — and found Bella Viva Orchards on line. I ordered over 40 gifts from them this year — the California assortment of dried fruits, lightly salted almonds and pistachios. I had them send one to me so I could see what it looked like and tasted myself. They did a beautiful job with the packaging and the printing of our gift message on a vibrantly-​colored card. It was important that the packaging not be Christmas themed, since many of our clients are Jewish. I sent all the holiday gifts in time for Hanukkah, which is early this year. The fruits are generously-​sized and lucious as I had remembered. The nuts are robust and flavorful. Mathias, the manager to whom I spoke on the phone and then emailed our client list to, was extremely helpful in selecting the right gift. We heard from a lot of happy clients.

Gift baskets are easy at Bella Viva because they offer a great selection of dried fruits, nuts and chocolate-​covered fruit. As a farmer, I like the fact that they use variety names on their labels. Instead of buying «dried pluots,» I can choose «Flavor Grenade» or «Dapple Dandy» each of which has a unique flavor. My favorite Bella Viva products are the dried Ranier cherries and the Livermore Red walnuts (yes, they really are red).

Had this dried fruit in San Fran at the Terminal Ferry farmer’s market. We live in FL, told the guy where we lived, and he gave us website
, and I just ordered enough for us and my mother-​in-​law for the holidays. The fruit was GREAT! We can’t get this in FL.

Bella Viva is yet another amazing fruit stand at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. They provide endless dried fruit choices. Apples, nectarines, peaches, raisins, figs, apricots, pluots… all free to taste! My favorites are the white nectarines. They are soft & chewy & I can barely get back to my office without eating the whole bag. They are perfect for baking (scones are a favorite weekend treat of mine) or just plain snacking. You could mix & match & make a yummy trail mix too.
I’m not sure which days they are at the Ferry Building, but they were there last Tuesday. I’ll be checking back in with them regularly so maybe some of my purchases will actually make their way home with me some day.

I’ve ordered from them twice to deliver to my mother, recently for mother’s day and once previously for her birthday. Besides money, it’s very difficult to send my parents anything because they live in a remote town with no access for UPS. So this is one of the few places that allow you to send via USPS. Their service has been fantastic and they always respond quickly to my e-​mail inquiries. My mother loves their dried fruit, especially the persimmons and mangoes. I haven’t personally tried their fruit but if my mom likes their stuff then it’s good by me. They saved my bacon this year, by getting a order sent on time for Mothers day.

During the summer and fall months, this is one of my favorite stands at the Ferry Farmer’s Market. For the summer, white peaches and white nectarines are in season. They had a special a week or two ago $ 10.00 per flat (16 to 21 peaches), a great deal considering that they normally charge $ 3.00/lb. The trick with their white nectarines and white peaches are to handle them according to how you like it. For crunchy and crispy texture with slight sweetness, you can eat them right away or wait a day or two after placing them in the fridge. For sweet like sugar goodness, leave them out in the kitchen (away from sunlight) and wait until there is a little give when you squeeze them… no sexual connotations here. Their plums (red meat) and dried fruits are quite good too. During the fall months, I look forward to their persimmons (Hachiya — soft and Fuyu — firm). They are at the Ferry Building Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Check out their samples and you’ll know what you’re getting.