Pinova Mountain Apple Juice

Kohl Gourmet Mountain Apple Juice Pinova from the Ritten in South Tyrol

The Kohl Gourmet Mountain Apple Juice Pinova is a single-variety, naturally cloudy, direct-pressed juice made from hand-picked mountain apples grown at an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters on the Ritten in South Tyrol. A single apple variety in the glass, 100% direct juice – named Italy's best fruit juice in 2019.

Mountain Apple Juice Pinova is Thomas Kohl's answer to the question of how much character a single apple variety can hold: a single-varietal direct juice, naturally cloudy and gently pasteurized, pressed on the Ritten high above Bolzano. The Pinova apples for this juice grow in the Kohl family's own orchards at just under a thousand meters – and you can taste that altitude in every sip.

In the glass, the Pinova mountain apple juice glows a light straw yellow. It has an intense aroma of white, ripe peach and crisp table grapes, accompanied by floral nuances and a hint of honey. On the palate, it is full-bodied, velvety, and harmonious – the interplay of fruit and acidity is finely balanced, with a mild finish. Among the single-varietal gourmet juices from Kohl, the Pinova is the charmer – slightly sweeter than its neighbor Gravensteiner, a juice that pleases immediately.

Pairs with fine pasta, light roasts, and mountain cheese

Pinova mountain apple juice accompanies delicately seasoned pasta dishes, roasted light meat, and aged mountain cheese – wherever a glass of wine is not an option and water falls short.

It pairs well with bold, salty, or sweet flavors. Served well-chilled with a cheese board, aged mountain cheese finds in it the fruity counterpart it demands. As a non-alcoholic start to a meal, it looks so natural in a stem glass that some guests might take a second look. For Sunday breakfast, it is a lovely alternative to orange juice.

A variety from Pillnitz, pressed on the Ritten

The Pinova apple variety was bred in 1965 at the Institute for Fruit Research in Dresden-Pillnitz, a cross between Clivia and Golden Delicious, and has been under EU varietal protection since 1996. The bright yellow fruits with their glowing red cheeks provide firm, aromatically sweet fruit flesh – the best conditions for a juice with substance.

The apples grow around the Kohl family's Troidner Hof farm. Thomas has them picked by hand in several passes so that only fully ripe fruit enters the press – because the riper the fruit, the fuller the aroma in the glass later on. Gently pressed as a single variety, heated only briefly, and filled directly into the clear bottle: nothing else happens here, and that is exactly what you taste.

Thomas Kohl and the best fruit juice in Italy

“The taste and quality of an apple juice are created while the fruit is still hanging on the tree,” emphasizes Thomas Kohl. His father once trusted the idea of growing apples high on the Ritten instead of raising cattle – today, Thomas presses juices in Unterinn that collect awards throughout the Alpine region.

At the "Mostbarkeiten" in Carinthia, the major competition of the Alps-Adriatic region, nearly 1,600 products from 300 producers were evaluated by a 25-member expert jury in 2019. The Pinova mountain apple juice scored 19 out of 20 points, winning gold – and on top of that, the national victory. Since then, it has been listed as Italy's best fruit juice on the official winners list of the Mostbarkeiten, and the point allocation has been documented by Kohl in their own review.

The sister varieties from Rouge to Sonnenglanz can be found in the Kohl Gourmet Collection, and in the 12-bottle Mountain Apple Juice pack, the Pinova sets the tone.

Serve in a stem glass at 8 to 10 degrees

Well-chilled at 8 to 10 degrees, the Pinova belongs in a stem glass, just like a white wine. This allows the scent of peach and the note of honey to unfold most freely. Once opened, it should be kept in the refrigerator, where it stays fresh for about 6 days.