In South Tyrol, Europe’s largest apple-growing region, high-yielding varieties dominate. Thomas Kohl takes a different approach and relies on older varieties.
About one million tonnes of apples are produced in South Tyrol each year. Photo: Mario Wezel/laif
Now, in early autumn, apple trees can be seen everywhere in South Tyrol. Small, lush apple trees grow in rows in the wide valleys and sometimes on quite steep mountain slopes. Apple cultivation in this region goes back a long time. The first trees are believed to have been planted in the 13th century. Today, about a tenth of the apples eaten in Germany are produced in South Tyrol. In northern Italy, about 900,000 tons are harvested each year, which is equivalent to the amount harvested in all of Germany.
But even at around 1,000 metres above sea level, it is an exception in the mountainous regions of South Tyrol. “We always say this: Our trees grow with a view,” says Sophie Pichler, smiling. She works for Thomas Kohl, a mountain apple farmer who cultivates eight hectares of apples in the small village of Unterinn am Ritten. From here, you can see the long Schlern mountain, South Tyrol’s stone landmark, in the distance, and next to it the impressive three-part rock formation of the Vajolet tower.
There is a reason for the unusual location. The high position brings a lot of sun and therefore sweetness. “At night, the temperature drops, sometimes up to 15 degrees,” explains Sophie Pichler. “This reduces acid breakdown and means that the more acid, the better the taste. In addition to the taste, there is another, very ordinary explanation.” Up here is Thomas Kohl’s parents’ farm, which their son took over in the early 1990s. But he had no interest in animal husbandry, his passion was fruit growing. So Kohl planted his first apple trees in 1994. “Let’s see what happens here,” he said to himself, and his boldness paid off.
To stand out from the competition, Thomas Kohl focused on quality and rare varietals from the beginning. He “wanted to look at the product from a different perspective.” The idea was that instead of wine, people could drink one of his single-origin juices with their meal. A revolutionary idea in the mid-1990s that many found strange. When Kohl changed the design of the bottle from a small green glass bottle to a clear wine bottle in 2004, many in the area “laughed at him.”
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Increase in sales of alcoholic beverages
Non-alcoholic beverage accompaniments have long been standard in fine dining restaurants. While global wine consumption has been declining for years, the non-alcoholic wine market is growing. In Germany, food retail sales are expected to increase by 18% in 2022. Some restaurants serve their guests tea, while others use homemade lemonade or single-origin juice. Colsa is also feeling the trend. You can taste ‘mountain apple juice’ in a rustic inn in a neighboring village as well as in star restaurants abroad. The first orders have recently gone to the United States, and Scandinavian countries are also very interested, says Sophie Pichler. Of course, a large part of the exports are to German-speaking countries.
Treating apple juice like wine means that it was intended to be paired with food right from the start. Unlike industrially produced juices, which usually taste simply “sweet,” Unterinn’s juices are sometimes sour, sometimes floral. Some taste like citrus, others like red berries and rhubarb.
The juice, called “Rouge,” is her bestseller, says Sophie Pichler, who heads to the tree at the edge of the old farmhouse’s front yard. The berries are still small, like blueberries, and, as the name suggests, are deep red. The flesh of the fully grown fruit is purple-red, and the flowers are pink. “It’s beautiful,” Pichler enthuses. The squeezed juice is also reddish and slightly sour, making it ideal as an aperitif.
The official name of the genus, Weirouge, was bred in the early 20th century but never really caught on in the increasingly commercial apple market. Thomas Kohl prefers to deal with older varieties that are more difficult to export because they are slightly misshapen, less productive and less durable.
Golden Delicious: Sweet, fragrant, and popular
The same goes for Gravensteiner. “Even 40 to 50 years ago, it covered about a third of the cultivated land in South Tyrol,” says Sophie Pichler. Today, Golden Delicious is the most important apple variety in the region and the world. It is sweet and aromatic, and is popular with the public. Above all, it is consistently high yielding, so it has been used as a genetic donor for many other varieties.
Many of the newly bred specimens are so-called club varieties, sold as premium apples under protected brand names. The best-known example is the “Pink Lady” apple, which has its own website, where it is described as having “crisp, juicy flesh” and “unparalleled color.” Club varieties are protected plant varieties. This means that growers must sign a contract and pay royalties to become part of the “club” they grow. The fruits must also meet strict criteria, such as perfect size, shiny skin, and red cheeks. This practice has been repeatedly criticized because of the resulting dependency. There are also concerns that new varieties, often grown in monocultures, will replace existing varieties.
There are an estimated 30,000 apple varieties worldwide. Fewer than 100 are grown commercially. At least eight grow on Thomas Kohl’s slopes. Finding older, lesser-known varieties is not easy, as they are not readily available in nurseries. If you want to grow them, you need to find a suitable graft, a young shoot that can be planted on a suitable rootstock.
Kohl’s newest additions are Wintercalville and Ananasrenette. Wintercalville, with its honey and peach flavor, was once called the “king’s apple.” Sophie Pichler says one apple cost as much as 6kg of potatoes. “They were wrapped in paper and brought to the palace.” Pineapple Renette, originally from the Benelux countries, is said to smell like ripe pineapple. “When it came out in the early 19th century, everyone wanted it,” says Pichler. However, the pineapple rennet also fell into disrepair due to its poor durability and weak growth.
Hand management
In Ritten, Pineapple Renette and Winter Calville are processed into Grand Cru and bottled in 1.5-liter magnums, which are in no way inferior to the alcoholic products. Neither the design (simple apple leaf on a white label) nor the aroma profile (spicy fruity, ideal for asparagus and risotto) nor the price, at €21 per bottle. The local cultivation is mostly done by hand. With slopes of up to 60%, this is unavoidable, but above all, the hand-picked apples are important for the taste.
Over the course of a week and a half, the harvesters gradually pick the fully ripe apples in up to four rows. The product is processed in the former barn, which now houses the press and bottling plant. On the day of your visit, the air is filled with the sweet smell of ripe fruit in the sun. In addition to pure juice, Kohl also produces cuvees: apple juice mixed with elderflower, carrot, vinsugar apple mint or apricot.
As we leave the farm, the sun is already setting behind the peaks. It’s aperitivo time! Today, with a sweet and sour rhubarb-flavored bright red apple juice.
