20 years of apple juice from KOHL!

A lot of apple juice has flowed down my throat since I started working with Thomas Kohl. Rarely do you experience it so closely: how an idea gets off the ground and learns to walk. How a vision develops from a single sentence: What if we treated apple juice like wine?

Grapes and apples: both are part of South Tyrol's identity. Apple trees can be found in almost every garden, and many also cultivate grapes. How grapes and apples are processed - that is still the big difference. And it is precisely this gap that has interested and motivated Thomas Kohl from the very beginning. 

A conversation on the twentieth birthday. 

Congratulations on your 20th birthday! How does it feel to look back on two successful decades? 

Thomas Kohl: The 20 years surprised me. I ask myself: How did that happen? How did I manage to turn my idea into reality? And of course, I feel great joy and gratitude. 

Let's take a look back. How did the Kohl fruit farm come about? 

It was planned that I would take over the farm. When I was young, I travelled the world a lot. Then the time came when I wanted to put down roots. I had grown up on the farm, had always helped out and knew the work and processes well. But I felt like a change. I wanted to create something new and was allowed to do so when I handed over the farm. What I knew: 8,000 producers in South Tyrol deliver their apples to the co-operatives. Once an apple ends up there, you can no longer understand what happens to it. 

Why not just grow the apples yourself and throw them all in the press? 

That's how it's usually done. I had some fun and compared apple juices of different varieties. In viticulture, there are wines made from a single variety, and there are cuvées. - Treating apples like wine was the brilliant idea.

You separate by variety, that was completely new. What else did you do differently? 

Traditionally, apples that were not suitable as dessert apples were pressed into juice, mainly because of their size and appearance. In other words, as leftovers. I was aware that I wanted to get into the absolute quality range. Processing leftovers is out of the question. I only process the best, fully ripened fruit into apple juices. Size and appearance are not decisive, I am interested in the flavours and structure of a juice. 

That sounds like an intimate relationship with your apples. 

That's right! That's how it feels: My apples get a lot of attention, we do a lot by hand. And each variety has different needs. The bond with the product was important to me right from the start. 

You then developed the apple juice product further. What was the biggest challenge? 

With apple juice, I was able to build on previous knowledge. However, I knew very little about sales and marketing. Family and friends were quickly supplied with juice, I had invested and it was clear: I had to get the juice out into the world. 

What were the next steps? 

My juices are special. You have to understand: There are 2,000 apple varieties, five to ten of which are generally recognised. Most people don't really differentiate between them. I had to raise awareness and communicate the quality of my juices to the outside world. Together with an agency, a visual line was developed from 2010 onwards, along with transparent glass bottles with elegant labels, high-quality packaging, a website and much more. This increased visibility and awareness. 

After the single-variety apple juices, cuvées were added to the programme. 

Firstly, it was important for me to work with the individual apple varieties. Apples and, accordingly, apple juices have a richness of flavour that is comparable to grapes and wine. Cuvées are a challenge: it's all about a fine balance of sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel and structure. The apple juice is responsible for the latter, forming the basis and framing the second component. The two react to each other, which can be quite exciting. 

Can you tell us about a failed attempt? 

Of course, not everything we try works. Raspberries would be an obvious choice because they grow here and are easy to get hold of. However, they are very delicate and have a short shelf life, and raspberry juice oxidises badly and no longer looks appetising. So there is no cuvée with raspberries. 

You say yourself that you were very focussed on the product, even in love with it. But when it came to marketing, there was another strategy. 

That's right. I dedicated myself to the development of single-variety juices and the composition of cuvées with juices from other fruits, herbs, berries and vegetables with great dedication. Who should and can drink these juices and when - that was the next consideration. It was logical to think through the topic of food accompaniment. After all, that's what wine is all about, so why not my juices? A topic that has become extremely important for us. 

After the 750 ml bottles came the minis and then the magnums. 

The transparent 750 ml bottles were the first step and unusual at the time. Apple juice was known in the green litre bottle. Then came the demand from the catering trade for small bottles as mono-portions for all kinds of purposes. In 2017, the large bottles joined the family. I had always been interested in old apple varieties and was constantly experimenting. I was finally able to press excellent juices from Wintercalville and Ananasrenette. With the large bottle and the beautiful packaging, we give these two Grand Cru an appropriate setting. 

Dry January is just behind us. How do you see the topic of enjoyment without alcohol? 

It's a trend. More and more people appreciate the variety and decide what they want to drink depending on the situation. With our apple juices and the ingenious cocktails that can be created from them, we are opening up new possibilities. 

Different countries, different flavours - is that the case? 

Definitely, the sales figures speak for themselves. Take Italy, for example: there is not much demand for apple juice. So I have developed some products for this market, such as cuvées with fruits that are popular there. 

The products are working, distribution is in place - what are your plans now? 

In agriculture, every year is a new game. Nature always presents us with challenges. I also want to continue to refine my existing juices, to make them ever more refined and elegant. For me, everything - including the variety of flavours - is not about MORE, but BETTER. So there aren't always new varieties, sometimes they are replaced. 

Where are the Kohl apple juices now travelling to? 

We are now represented in many countries in Europe. Demand from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is increasing, and we are currently preparing to enter the US market. What delights me: Last weekend I was at Lake Garda. In a bar, I overhear a young woman who is happy because she can order apple juice from Kohl. 

 What has changed in 20 years of farming? 

Anyone who works with nature pays particular attention to changes. Our apples grow on the Ritten, high up on the mountain. When the summers get warmer, that's not yet a problem for us. What does concern us is the water. Rainfall is noticeably decreasing and we have to intervene much more than before. What has remained are the autumnal temperature differences between day and night. They are important for the final phase of ripening before we start harvesting. 

Thank you very much for the interview and all the best for the future!