Mountain Apple Juice Rubinette

Kohl Gourmet Mountain Apple Juice Rubinette, elegant and complex

Kohl Gourmet Mountain Apple Juice Rubinette is a single-varietal, naturally cloudy, direct-pressed juice from one of the most demanding apple varieties of all, grown on the Ritten plateau in South Tyrol. Its notes of date, quince, and vanilla demand a glass and a moment of your attention—a juice for connoisseurs, with many layers and a long history.

Mountain Apple Juice Rubinette is the refined spirit among Thomas Kohl's single-varietal juices: pressed from a variety considered one of the best apples in the world, yet known for being difficult to cultivate. The apples are grown above Bolzano on the Ritten, hand-picked and pressed as a single variety. Elegant, full-bodied, and lingering—that is how it presents itself in the glass.

Its color is an intense straw yellow, shifting with hints of rosé and apricot—you can see the Rubinette's heritage. The bouquet unfolds in layers: dried fruits, dates, quinces, and apricots, underpinned by a subtle scent of vanilla. On the palate, it reveals a complex profile, intense with honey, with a long finish. A juice that leaves a lasting impression.

Pairs with fine goat cheese and savory vegetables

The Mountain Apple Juice Rubinette enjoys the company of fine goat cheese, as well as light and savory vegetable and meat dishes.

It appreciates strong, salty, and even spicy flavors—its sweetness balances them, while its acidity provides freshness afterward. When paired with lukewarm goat cheese on toasted bread, its synergy unfolds: the date note picks up on the tanginess of the cheese, and both benefit.

It acts as a calm counterpart to a vegetable-rich curry—where beer would be too heavy and water would not be enough. It also pairs well with roasted pumpkin or oven-roasted carrots with cumin, as its dried fruit notes complement the roasted flavors and the touch of vanilla cushions the heat.

A Swiss accidental discovery from 1966

The Rubinette emerged as a chance seedling in the Walter Hauenstein nursery in Rafz, Switzerland, discovered in 1966 and only brought to market in 1982—it remains protected to this day under the name Rafzubin.

It brings together two famous varieties: Golden Delicious with its reliable sweetness and Cox Orange with its complex aroma. The small, yellowish-green fruits with their red sun-kissed cheeks are firm, crisp, and juicy. The Rubinette is not easy to grow—like the Cox, it is prone to scab, making it uninteresting for large-scale retail. Its name alludes to the apricot-rosé color that later reappears in the glass.

A small company at almost 1,000 meters

"We are a small business on the Ritten at an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters with our own apple orchards," Thomas Kohl tells us during one of our visits. This is where their single-varietal gourmet juices, cuvées, and, as a highlight, two limited-edition Grand Crus from nearly forgotten varieties are created.

All fruits are processed at the peak of ripeness—because the riper the apple when it hits the press, the more complex the bouquet will be later on. Preservation is achieved solely through gentle pasteurization—there is nothing in the bottle but apple. For a variety like the Rubinette, this is essential: the nuances it brings to the table survive only if you treat it with minimal interference.

Date, quince, and vanilla in a cool glass

Served in a stemmed glass, well-chilled at 8 to 10 degrees, the notes of date, quince, and vanilla open up. Unopened, the bottle keeps for at least a year; once opened, it stays fresh in the refrigerator for about 6 days. The Gravensteiner is zingier and drier, the Jonagold is softer; you can find all these single-varietal juices together in the Kohl Gourmet Collection.