Mela Alto Adige

Appearance & taste

The name applies to 17 apple varieties and their mutants and clones: Braeburn, Elstar, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Idared, Jonagold, Morgenduft, Red Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Pinova, Topaz, Ipador, CIVM49, Bonita and SQ159. For each variety the specification sets the ground colour and overcolour of the skin, the class, the minimum size, the sugar content and the firmness. A Braeburn, for instance, has a green to light green ground colour and is striped orange-red to deep red over more than a third of its surface; a Granny Smith is deep green, at most with a slight pink blush. The apples must be at least 55 to 65 mm in size, have more than 10 to 12.5 °Brix of sugar depending on the variety and reach a firmness of at least 5 to 6.5 kg/cm², measured within two months of the harvest.

According to the specification, the apples are known for their pronounced colouring, their strong flavour, their firm flesh and their very long shelf life. The packaging or the sticker on the fruit bears “Mela Alto Adige” or “Südtiroler Apfel”.

Production

Growing and harvesting take place in the production area. Sorting and packing must also take place there, so that the fruit does not get skin damage or bruises, under which the flesh turns brown; the specification bases this on the experience of the fruit growers in the area in handling the fruit after the harvest.

Production uses environmentally friendly techniques and methods. Fertilising is balanced and based on a soil analysis, which according to the specification raises the quality of the fruit and prevents physiological disorders. Apples intended only for processing may bear the name but are not sold as such to consumers.

Origin & history

The area comprises 72 municipalities in part of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. South Tyrol has more than 300 sunny days a year. In late summer and autumn, temperatures vary widely: up to 30 °C by day, and at times only 8 to 10 °C at night. The orchards lie between 200 and 1,100 m above sea level, and most of the production comes from farms above 500 m. The soils are loose, well drained and rich in oxygen, with a medium to high humus content. According to the specification, sun, cool nights and little rain produce tasty fruit with strong colours.

As early as the Middle Ages, the mountain farms of South Tyrol had various apple and pear varieties for the farming families. From the middle of the 19th century, fruit growing became a source of income, with buyers in Vienna, Innsbruck, Munich, Warsaw and Saint Petersburg. In 1831 the school director Johann Jakob Pöll published a first textbook on fruit growing, and in 1872 fruit growing became a subject at the newly founded agricultural institute of Sankt Michael an der Etsch. The 1856 catalogue of the Bolzano agricultural association lists 193 fruit varieties; Karl Mader names around 40 apple varieties common in South Tyrol in his work of 1894 and 1904. Today there are about 8,000 apple farms in the area, most of them organised in cooperatives.