The Esopus Spitzenburg is best known as an heirloom variety grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello
ESOPUS SPITZENBURG
heirloom apple
A classic American heirloom apple that has a sweet, yet spritzy, flavor. The Esopus Spitzenburg apple has a light, pale yellow flesh, a crisp texture and lots of flavor. It is famous for being grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. It was “discovered” in the 1700’s on a farm in New York, near the town of Esopus in the Hudson River Valley. Great for fresh eating and also for baking, we harvest Esopus Spitzenburg in early to mid-October from our specialty heirloom apple block.
Part of what we value is the conservation of biodiversity and the resilience it adds to our ecosystem and to our food supply system.
We seek out and graft heirloom apple varieties which might otherwise be lost to age and obscurity. Little pieces of grafting scion wood are cut from heirloom trees around the US (though the varieties may have originated elsewhere). We slip them onto strong trunks already growing in our orchard which adopt the little shoots into the tree structure.
Bringing those varieties directly to you at farmers markets, and to specialty cider makers, together we’re keeping history and variety alive.
