Stay Gold: Gold Ridge Farms Serves Up Summer Heirloom Apple Tastings By Made Local

One might not describe an apple as “attitudinal.” But Brooke Hazen of Gold Ridge Organic Farms does. In part, he’s referring to the flavor expression of hard-to-find apples like the Pitmaston Pineapple, Strawberry Parfait, Cinnamon Spice, and Winter Banana—all heirloom varieties which, Hazen affirms, taste like their namesakes.

 

A “attitudinal” heirloom of note for him is the Pink Pearl. “It’s punchy with a flavor so startling it’s like a shot of caffeine, both tart and sweet, and shocking in its visual attributes,” he describes, “with vivacious, fantastical, surreal colors, from its lime green and white pearl skin to its bright pink flesh once you bite into it.”

 

Perched atop a ridge above Blucher Creek in Sebastopol, between the coastal and Santa Rosa valleys, Gold Ridge occupies a stunning piece of earth. When Hazen bought the land at the turn of the century, it was acres of grazing land for cattle with a barn and a house. “A complete blank palette for me to paint on."