Melinda apples

The King of the Val di Non is the potato tortel but what is its queen? For me, it’s the Melinda apple! We are often referred to as the valley of apples because there are so many in the valley. Indeed, if you took all the apples harvested here in the Val di Non and put them in a row, they would go around the world two and a half times!

Take the pure water of the Val di Non, combine it with the heat and sunshine of the summer, add the passion and hard work of our farmers, mix it all together and what do you get? The Melinda apples from the Val di Non are the only apples with ‘DOP’ protected origin status in the whole of Italy. 

As a cooperative, we have more than 4,000 members, we farm 6,500 hectares and we harvest, solely by hand, 1.6 billion apples each year. Such a huge number which makes us so famous! We produce a lot of different varieties, so there is something for everyone.

Without doubt, the best known ones are the Golden Delicious, yellow with reddish patches, the Red Delicious which we call Snow White’s apple, and the Renetta Canada which my favourite for making strudel or fritters. There are other types such as the Royal Gala, the Evelina and the Fuji which is the last to be harvested but is also the sweetest.

Which do you prefer? Have you tasted them all? Well, what are you waiting for?