In the Sign of the Apple

The day was entirely dedicated to the apple. We booked an apple tour through the tourism association, which happened to be conducted by a farmer with whom Michael and I had stayed in a vacation apartment a long, long time ago. It must have been around 1997! The tour was led by his son, who didn't exist back then, but has since fully joined the family business.

First, we watched a film about apple cultivation in South Tyrol before heading out to the apple fields. It was super interesting to hear how much work goes into an apple. The harvest is currently in full swing, lasting several weeks depending on the variety. Each tree is harvested about three times, depending on the ripeness of the apples. However, the timing is set by the fruit cooperative, at least the timeframe (within about 2 weeks). All apples that are not 100% beautiful are turned into industrial apples and processed into juice, concentrate (a highly demanded sweetener), compote, etc., which obviously yields less money.

The Pink Lady apples are the most productive and least demanding to cultivate, but the trees are limited in number and are the most expensive. We were shown how harvesting is done (by hand!) and how the trees are cared for in the orchard. Really very interesting!

Afterward, we returned to the farm and tasted various apples and apple juices. Unfortunately, there were only fairly well-known varieties available; I had hoped we could try some more exotic ones. It was exciting that even the apples from last year's harvest were still crisp fresh!

After the tour, we could peek into the farm shop, where we stocked up on delicious apple juice. Attached to that is a tiny café where house guests can have breakfast served if they wish. We might stay in one of their vacation apartments during a future visit to South Tyrol! Unfortunately, they were ridiculously noisy back then, and we've become even more sensitive since...

Later, Daniel and I drove to the fruit cooperative, but there were only the standard varieties there as well, and we quickly found ourselves outside and back on our terrace at home. It's getting a bit chilly; we even had to put on a jacket. For the aperitif, we were upstairs on Daniel's balcony before strolling into the village for pizza. The pizzeria looked good as we passed by and with the promise of