Gravenstein will be back in 2022
Our annual Gravenstein Apple Box is available only for 2 weeks each August.
Ripened in the warm summer days and sweetened by the cool evening fogs of Northern California’s Sonoma County, Gravensteins are a beloved sweet-tart apple treasured for their taste and baking prestige.
Each box may contain either green or red or both varieties, depending on what the farmers provide. Both are great for pies, sauce, juice, and just plain eating out of hand. We purchase the apples from Sonoma County farmers and then give them an additional 16% of the proceeds from all box sales.
Drought is affecting the size of some apple crops. Be aware that if apples are small, they still taste delicious!
The Last Day to Order is September 7, 2021
Gravenstein apples are an “endangered American food,” included in Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste, a living collection of heritage foods in danger of extinction. Housing development, the allure of higher profit wine-grape production, and cheap overseas imports for apple juice and sauce are among the factors that have greatly reduced the number of Gravenstein apple orchards around Sebastopol in Sonoma County. Only a handful of farmers continue to grow Gravensteins in the area. Your purchase supports Sebastopol growers such as Stan Devoto, John Kolling, Dave Hale, Sharon Gowan, and Lee Walker, all longtime FruitGuys farm partners. They set the price for the apples we purchase and then we give them back an additional 16% of the revenue from box sales.
Eat the Endangered Gravenstein Apple
“Farming is a complex math problem,” sighs Dave Hale as he looks sadly at piles of wood chips that had been Gravenstein apple trees in the lot next to his thriving Sebastopol, CA, orchard. He tended them for decades
The Best Gravenstein Apple Pie Recipe
Each August, Sebastopol holds its annual Gravenstein Apple Fair to celebrate the county’s treasured heirloom apple. The 2020 fair has been cancelled due to the Corona-19 crisis, however we can still celebrate this endangered apple by eating it and
Order a Gravenstein Apple Box
Get ready for Gravensteins! Please complete this preorder form and we will contact you to confirm your order.
