Supermarket group Spar and Austrian produce supplier Frutura are testing heritage apple varieties to determine whether they can support wider commercial sales. Rather than focusing solely on reviving agricultural history, the partnership is assessing whether older varieties can thrive under present-day growing conditions. Successful trials could lead to the apples being offered throughout the region.
The initial selection includes the Ilzer Rose, which originated in 1840 in the southern Austrian state of Styria, and the Falchs Gulderling, identified in South Tirol in the 1870s. An experimental orchard in Styria now contains 2,150 trees. Its first fruit has been harvested and is being sent to Vienna markets for trial sales, linking the cultivation tests with an initial attempt to bring the apples to market.
The project faces a commercial challenge: although approximately 7,500 apple varieties are cultivated today, supermarkets generally stock just three to five. Modern commercial varieties have been bred for a combination of flavor, high yields, vivid coloring, and resistance to pests, diseases, and agricultural chemicals. Heritage varieties cannot necessarily be expected to match that performance at scale. The trials are therefore intended to establish whether these historic apples are suitable for contemporary commercial production before any broader regional offering.
