Merbein’s Cos Dichiera prides himself on producing top-quality dried grapes.
His father would say “If you’re going to do something, do it properly”.
It’s that work ethic that saw him awarded the top honour in the 2023 Dried Fruits Australia Quality Awards.
Presented at Mildura Field Days, Cos’s sunmuscats took out the overall prize – the third time he’s won the award.
He previously took out awards in 2013 and 2014 for best sultanas and best overall grapes and said he was “chuffed to be recognised”.
Cos was born into the dried grape industry as one of 10 children to his Italian migrant parents.
His father Larry established the family’s Merbein block in the early 1950s.
It was here that Cos had his “apprenticeship” in the industry.
“It was a big family – there were 10 kids,” he said.
“Seven were born back in the old country and the last three were born here.
“I’m the ninth.
“We had our own cricket team, so we also had our own labour force.
“As a kid, at this time of year there was no such thing as the contractors coming in. I had my allocated rows and that was our contribution to survival.”
In a season characterised by challenging weather and disease pressure, which greatly impacted tonnages, Cos was proud to have still produced good-quality fruit in 2023.
His property’s total yield was down by about half its usual crop, but he said he made the most of what was harvested.
Cos rack dries his fruit to maximise the potential of light, high-quality fruit, and dries on the trellis when there isn’t enough rack room.
“To get good-quality fruit you need that nice dappled sunlight that can help the bunch and berries form properly,” he said.
“I was happy with what we harvested.
“My quality has been pretty good.
“The only reason I’ve survived is that there’s no shortcuts where quality is concerned.”
Cos is passionate about dried fruit as both a lifestyle and a product.
He said the block had been a “wonderful place” to raise his two children with his wife Lina and he hoped fruit prices would improve to encourage the next generation of growers to continue on in the industry or for new growers to enter.
“It’d be lovely to have young people encouraged because they are really good at adapting to technologies,” he said.
“It’s a wonderful product.
“We’ve been here a long time and it’s a primary production that can give you time to market it because it’s a dried product.
“Quality produce sells itself.”
Cos attended FOODEX Japan in 2016 and said he strongly encouraged other producers to attend the annual exhibition.
“It was a wonderful eye-opener and every producer should try to get there so they can get excited about the potential for dried fruit,” he said.
“You’ve got to put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
“Everyone wants to buy for the cheapest they can, but if you can show them what they’re buying is beyond the norm, half the job is done.”
Cos is hopeful the coming year will be a brighter one than the last two for the industry.
“Hopefully the industry can rise a bit,” he said.
“I think there are a lot of challenges now but we need to be positive.
“I love this industry and I’m glad to be recognised for doing it right.”
DFA Quality Award winners:
Sultana: Lucet Giselle Pty Ltd
Sunglo: Stephen and Jinky Nicholls, Nicholls Mildura Trust, Coomealla
Raisins: Stephen and Jinky Nicholls, Nicholls Mildura Trust, Coomealla
Carina: Andrew and Roslyn Hudson
Sunmuscat: Cos and Lina Dichiera, Merbein
Best Fruit of the Season: Cos and Lina Dichiera, Merbein
First published in Vine magazine, a joint publication of the Australian Table Grape Association and Dried Fruits Australia.
