Kohl Cuvée

Kohl Cuvées are mountain apple juices to which Thomas Kohl adds a second voice: a fruit, a berry, a blossom, an herb, or a vegetable. The apples for these grow on the Ritten in South Tyrol at an altitude of just over 900 to nearly 1,000 meters—high enough to retain the acidity that holds every cuvée together.

The Art of Affining

Both partners should benefit—that is the rule by which Thomas Kohl composes each of his cuvées. For elderflower, a thimbleful of extract suffices, while wild blueberry requires a fifth of the bottle. Finding the right balance took him years for some varieties and earned him a title that no one else holds: Italy's first apple juice affineur.

Twelve cuvées are ready, and each tells a different story. The apple juice with apple mint is cooling, the apricot glows orange, and the elderflower achieved the top score of 20 points at the 2019 Mostbarkeiten awards. The wild blueberry was named Italy's best fruit juice in 2020, the hop is the most distinctive of the bunch—and the carrot shows that even vegetables belong in a juice glass.

By the way: if you still know these juices as Kohl Essence, you are looking in the right place. That used to be the name of the line; today, it simply says Cuvée on the label—the art behind it remains the same. Serve the cuvées well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees in a stemmed glass. If you prefer single-varietal juices, you can find them in the Kohl Gourmet collection, made from a single apple variety.