Monterey Bay CRFG - Apple tasting 2022 (73 varieties)

californicus · October 10, 2022, 1:04am

We attended our first Apple tasting event this weekend in Santa Cruz.

This is continuation of the 2019 version of it here, posted by @Richard

The event started at 2:00PM and we were there by 2:30 and there was a long line and it probably took us 45 min wait to get near the apples. But it was a beautiful day and the event itself was quite well organized. Most of the apples were from Freddy & Ellen’s orchard and Rider & Sons farms. Some pics below

Clipboard for each person with stickers for final vote

Final votes

californicus · October 10, 2022, 1:20am

I didn’t make detailed notes, as we were managing two kids in a long line and they were getting bored at the end My overall favorites were

C-13-140 - I heard its a seedling of Rider farm’s red-fleshed apple breeding program. It doesn’t have any red flesh, so it was supposed to be culled but the high sugar made them retain it. It was a sugar bomb. Wish I had my brix meter with me. Sweetest by a mile compared to others with more interesting background flavors. I even asked them to cut me a slice to confirm if I accidentally found a random sweet spot. The whole apple was indeed very sweet. Now, I need to find where I can get some scions
King David - Interestingly, they arranged the whole tasting low-acid to high-acid. This is the best for me from the high acid group. Slightly better than others in the group like Belle de Boskoop, Ashmead Kernel and Newtown Pippin
Hudson’s Golden Gem - Finally, I found a good one of this variety! At its best, it has a combination of nutty (due to russeted skin) and honey (mild but delicious) flavor
Cornerstone - Freddy Menge seedling. Very balanced flavor.
Pink Parfait - Best among the reds, although its more of a faint pink

oh yea, my daughter’s favorites were Pink Lady (familiar flavor) and Rubaiyat (red flesh)

Richard · October 10, 2022, 1:56am

Thank you!

fruitkismet · October 10, 2022, 2:47am

I really like the voting chart. I’m surprised at some of them (spitzenberg and pinova), but a friend of mine (with 150 varieties in his orchard) reminded me that it’s not a fair fight since they won’t all be optimally ripe at the same time…

Richard · October 10, 2022, 3:13am

Also, the flavor of ripe apple varies by region.

murky · October 10, 2022, 3:15am

Yeah, my favorites didn’t fare well. But I suspect Golden Russet may not be ripe yet.

californicus · October 10, 2022, 3:25am

One of those two votes is my wife’s To me, Golden Russet was too tannic and probably needed to mellow down more. Under-ripened?

ramv · October 10, 2022, 3:41am

Hudson’s golden gem is also one of my favorites among the russetted types.
I like Wickson crab as a different intense flavored apple. What did you think?

californicus · October 10, 2022, 4:23am

I was looking forward to Wickson’s crab and Pineapple candy (which is a seedling of WC). Both of them didn’t have much going on this time. I have tasted WC before and it had rich flavor

AaronN · October 10, 2022, 4:49am

I appreciate that chart as my son is looking to graft a few apples this coming Spring and we’re looking for suggestions.
But no Goldrush at the tasting?!? I think that’s a really great apple

opelecky · October 11, 2022, 2:18pm

Thank you for the post. We also went to the tasting and had a great time. It was very well organized and helped me make some of my grafting decisions. Somehow I thought that I really liked Cortland after living in MA for 8 years. Now I’m discovering that this is probably not the case.

murky · October 11, 2022, 2:20pm

I wouldn’t rule out an apple from one tasting, unless people who tried the same piece of fruit were raving about it, and I still didn’t like it.

opelecky · October 11, 2022, 3:46pm

Good idea. I had it when I lived in MA and liked it. However, Macoun tasted much better. I will graft Cortland if I happen to get a scion but I won’t hunt for it as I originally planned.