Worth their weight in gold: Kohl mountain apple juices

Kohl’s gourmet fruit juices in the international limelight again: At a tasting event recently held as part of the “Mostbarkeiten” trade show in Carinthia, eight Kohl mountain apple juices finished among the medals. The impressive result: 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze plus a National Champion. The jury of 25 experts assessed almost 1600 products entered by 300 companies from five countries of the Alps-Adriatic region.

In the restaurant trade, excellence is measured in stars and for beverages in points – whether for wine or fruit juices. In recent years, the latter have been successfully positioned, especially in the high-end restaurant sector, as a versatile, light and healthy alternative to wine.  A place at the top of the quality pyramid for fruit juices is today held by the Kohl brand developed by the farmer and company founder Thomas Kohl from Unterinn/Ritten. On 8 hectares of land at 1000 metres above sea level, he cultivates several apple varieties, some of which had long since fallen into neglect, and processes them to make single-variety mountain apple juices or cuvées. The Kohl gourmet juices are regularly up with the leaders in top international rankings.

Kohl: best Italian fruit juice

A recent example is Kohl’s impressive performance at the annual tasting event with the best producers in the Alps-Adriatic region held in the framework of the “Mostbarkeiten” trade show in St. Paul in the Austrian province of Carinthia. In the categories fruit juices, vinegars, liqueurs, fruit wines and fruit spirits, the jury selected the best of the best. They include the Kohl brand: Kohl achieved the highest possible score of 20 points for his mountain apple juice and elderflower, and was awarded 19 points each for the Pinova mountain apple juice and for his mountain apple juice and hops, and 18 points for the Rouge mountain apple juice. Gold was awarded to all four, while silver went to the mountain apple juice and apricot (17 points) and the mountain apple juice and lingonberry (16 points), and bronze to the mountain apple juice and apple mint and the mountain apple juice and carrot (15 points each). And that is not all: Kohl also triumphed in the tasting over the entire competition from Italy to become the 2019 National Champion. His Pinova mountain apple juice is now officially the best Italian fruit juice.

“The fruits of a quest for quality”

For Thomas Kohl, these top rankings are recognition of the high standards he maintains in his daily work, the fruits of a consistent quest for quality: “For many years we have been showing that fruit juices are more than just thirst quenchers. With painstaking work in the orchards, gentle processing and a creative vein, they can offer an incredibly exciting taste experience that is in no way inferior to alcoholic beverages.” Kohl is recognised as a pioneer in pairing juices with various dishes. “It is our goal to continue working in this direction and to convince even more people who appreciate the good things in life of the merits of our mountain apple juices and their natural play of aromas.”