Mountain Apple Juice Rouge

Kohl Gourmet Mountain Apple Juice Rouge, red through and through

Kohl Gourmet Mountain Apple Juice Rouge is a red, direct-pressed juice made from the red-fleshed Weirouge apple variety, pressed as a single-varietal juice on the Ritten in South Tyrol. Its cherry-red color develops on the tree, within the apple's own flesh – thanks to anthocyanins, the same pigments that color cherries and red currants.

Mountain Apple Juice Rouge is the red sibling among Thomas Kohl’s single-varietal juices – and the only one that derives its color from the fruit flesh itself. It is pressed from the Weirouge apple variety, which is red through and through. The resulting juice is naturally cherry-red.

In the glass, the Mountain Apple Juice Rouge glows cherry-red. Its bouquet speaks of cherries, red currants, and rhubarb; on the palate, it is robust, acidic, and wonderfully fresh – with that subtle tartness otherwise found in red berries. It is a far cry from the mild sweetness of conventional apple juices.

A red aperitif for antipasti and Asian cuisine

The Mountain Apple Juice Rouge shines as a non-alcoholic aperitif and pairs as well with fish and meat antipasti as it does with Asian dishes.

It pairs best with light, savory, salty, or acidic foods – only spicy and sweet dishes are too overpowering for it. On a summer evening, simply serve it well-chilled in a stem glass with some olives and a few antipasti, and you have the perfect non-alcoholic starter. And if you want a bit of sparkle, serve it alongside Karlo Sparkling – it makes a great match.

Weirouge, the apple from Weihenstephan that is red all over

The Weirouge apple variety was discovered and further developed by Hermann Schimmelpfeng at the research center in Weihenstephan – the name combines Weihenstephan with the French "rouge." It was registered for European plant variety protection in 1997 but later withdrawn: botanically, it is identical to the "Roter Mond" (Red Moon), a variety developed by Russian pomologist Michurin in 1915. An apple with two names, therefore, which is now grown in South Tyrol.

The variety owes its uniqueness to a high content of anthocyanins, the pigments that also give cherries and red currants their red hue. The skin, the flesh, and even the blossoms glow red – and when cut, the apple does not turn brown, but remains colorfast. Thomas Kohl finds the Weirouge too acidic as a table apple, but considers this a blessing: it allows him to press the entire harvest into this special juice.

Single-varietal pressed and awarded gold

Like all Kohl Gourmet juices, the Weirouge grows just below the thousand-meter mark on the Ritten, around the family's Troidner farm. Thomas Kohl, who is known as Italy’s first apple juice "affineur," has the red apples picked by hand and pressed as a single-varietal juice – unfiltered, only briefly pasteurized, and bottled directly without any detours.

At the 2019 Mostbarkeiten, the major tasting event for the Alps-Adriatic region, the Mountain Apple Juice Rouge received 18 out of 20 points and was awarded gold, as Kohl notes in his review of the tasting. Thomas Kohl’s red juices are collected in the Apple Juice Ruby Red Package – where the Rouge stands alongside red currant and wild blueberry.

Cherry and rhubarb need eight to ten degrees

Eight to ten degrees and a stem glass – that is when the notes of cherry and rhubarb emerge. Unopened, the bottle will keep for at least a year; once opened, the juice stays fresh in the refrigerator for about 6 days. You can find all the single-varietal siblings in the Kohl Gourmet Collection – the Rouge is the most vibrantly colored of them all.