New Apple Variety to Turn Into Ice Wine Gold…

A very interesting article from the CBC that can be a game charger for apple growers trying to find new ways for value added businesses…

A new apple variety in the province now may turn Nova Scotia orchards into the supply chain for some very high-end ice wines made from apples.

The variety is called Eden, and it is special for two reasons.

The fruit doesn’t turn brown and it can be left on trees well past the normal harvest season.

“We could harvest them during the wintertime, when the sugar content is high, and then use them directly for producing ice wine,” said Vasantha Rupasinghe, a food scientist at Nova Scotia Agricultural College.

The development of the Eden apple as a commercial crop is still a work-in-progress. But Dave Parish, vice-president of marketing at Scotia Gold, said his company likes the idea of using any variety that expands the use of apples in high-end finished products.

“There are certain varieties that are high in sugar that I think work well for the ice wine industry,” Parish said. “And we have growers that are willing to grow apples, so if there is a market there, then we would certainly like to supply it.”

The Nova Scotia agricultural industry supports the concept of specialty apples that have a niche market in the creation of unique high-value wines that don’t compete with products from vineyards, where wine is a big volume, low-cost export. Ice wine is also made in Nova Scotia although normally just with grapes.

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