The incredible Winter Wonder story
Winter Wonder is a unique apple variety. It ripens late and stores amazingly well. It is good-looking, with a rusty red blush over the green-yellow background. It is also one of the few very late blossoming varieties, so it is therefore less affected by spring frosts. The flesh is moderately crisp, and it has a complex, aromatic, fairly sharp taste, which sweetens after Christmas. When stored in a cool dark place, it remains in excellent condition right through to March. Winter Wonder was discovered by Dan Neuteboom in 1979 and he owns the only trees in the world of this variety.
Winter Wonder, a millennial history
The Winter Wonder story began about 1,800 years ago when traders were carrying fine silks and perfumes from eastern European areas to Rome, capital of the huge Roman Empire. That was a long trek, taking about 12 weeks to complete. Both for themselves and their horses and oxen, they needed food and fruit that would stay in good condition during their journey. At that time, in the wild apple forests around the city named Almaty in Kazakhstan, there were trees that produced a small, flat type of apple. It had a wonderful taste and would stay fresh and crisp longer than any other apple. This variety – which would later be named Court Pendu Plat for its shape – incredibly survived over the centuries. In Elizabethan times it was widely grown, and it became known as “the wise apple” because, though not a heavy cropper, it blossomed much later than other varieties and so it would crop even after the late spring frosts that often decimated other earlier-flowering apples. Court Pendu Plat is probably the oldest apple variety still in existence today.
For many decades, Cox’s Orange Pippin has had the reputation of being the best-tasting apple in the UK. However, though crisp when picked, the texture of Cox tends to soften rather quickly. In the 1950s, fruit breeders – in particular, Frank Alston – wished to create a new variety having the fantastic Cox flavour while also remaining crisp for longer. Alston crossed Cox’s Orange Pippin with Court Pendu Plat, and the result was amazing. This new variety, which would later be named Suntan, retained Cox’s flavour, while also gaining the crispness and long life of Court Pendu Plat. It also revealed an intriguing hint of pineapple in its taste.
Dan Neuteboom planted 500 Suntan trees on his farm in Suffolk, and successively discovered that one of these trees was a mutant, therefore genetically different to Suntan. It grew well but not excessively strongly. The variety would therefore be ideal for gardens, small orchards or larger plantations. In short, this new apple is superb, ripening just before the onset of winter. It retains its superb flavour and crispness for months, right through to spring.
It was called Winter Wonder, a name that it fully deserves.
The best English eating apple
Apples are an international commodity, increasingly influenced by today’s ever-milder climatic conditions. There are more than 4,000 registered varieties worldwide. The best-flavoured varieties are those which stay longer on the trees, because they have more time to accumulate the organic substances that give rise to the best taste. In the period from 1930 to 1980, Cox’s Orange Pippin was easily the best eating apple. Nowadays, due to global warming, Cox apples tend to ripen earlier. Therefore this variety is at is best before the Christmas period. After Christmas it tends to soften quite quickly.
Winter Wonder is a specially-selected Cox type of apple, which keep its firmness and flavour for much longer. Like different types of wine, the local climatic conditions where the fruit is grown can have a great influence on the fruit’s flavour. The cost of a bottle of wine depends to a large degree on how and where the grapes matured, and on from which vineyard the grapes came from. The same applies to apples.
Usually the choice of apple varieties in the supermarket is very limited. There are many apples with English names, grown in the USA, South Africa or New Zealand, just to name a few. However the best-flavoured apples are still those grown close to the North Sea. Winter Wonder is grown in the UK only, and it is the very best of its kind.
Winter Wonder customer feedback
“The apples are really tasty. So different to supermarket ones and we both really enjoyed them. The packaging got them to us unbruised and in best condition. In fact, I retained the robust box and cushioning for use when sending something by post in future. Delivery was routine, which is a good thing. Thanks for sending them, they were lovely.” (Mike, Swindon)
“The apples are beautiful, we are really enjoying them. I can honestly say the apples are amazing and would definitely recommend.” (April, Leicester)
“I received my pack of Winter Wonder apples by post in late December, but due to work engagements I was only able to open the pack in early January. The fruit survived the journey and the subsequent two weeks that it spent in the box on my doorstep in the cool winter air, and when I opened the package I enjoyed the rich apple bouquet, something that I remember from my youth when I worked as an apple picker during school holidays. Winter Wonder apples are attractive, and variable in appearance, relatively small by modern standards, generally 70-80 mm in diameter. They have a warm yellow-green base colour with extensive areas of orange-red and some light russetting which adds even more character. When peeled and cut, the bouquet is classic apple, with notes of aromatic, cider, hints of floral, along with touches of banana, melon, mango and pineapple. This extraordinary sensorial complexity is confirmed by the taste released with every bite. Its texture is crisp, not as crisp as the latest modern varieties, but pleasant and refreshing, moderately juicy, with an impeccable balance between tart and sweet. The characteristic that I feel sets Winter Wonder apart from other apple varieties is its remarkable length, namely the persistence of its flavour, lingering on the palate for even a minute or longer, on a par with the very finest wines. Compared with most modern apple varieties, which tend to be simpler and one-dimensional in their flavour, Winter Wonder is incredibly complex and immensely satisfying.” (Rino Noce, Teddington).
The discovery of Winter Wonder
Frank Alston and the apple battle during the 1950s
Dr Frank A. Alston (d. 2021) was a scientist at East Malling research centre for horticultural research and innovation. In the 1950s, he was asked to breed a new apple variety that would enable British fruit growers to compete with the massive imports of the very fertile variety Golden Delicious, arriving from France and aggressively priced as a result of French government subsidies.
At that time, the main English apple was Cox’s Orange Pippin. This traditional variety was, and still is, the best eating apple before Christmas, but it tends to be too soft for most consumers after the Christmas period. In addition, the average yield of Cox is about half that of Golden Delicious. Furthermore, if the weather in spring is cold and frosty when the Cox trees are in blossom, the quality of the fruit for that season can be negatively affected, and the saleable yield is seriously reduced.
Frank Alston accepted the challenge and searched for a variety that could be crossed with Cox’s Orange Pippin in order to improve the fruit’s yield and quality, particularly during years made more problematic by spring frosts. His objective was the creation of a new apple variety that would have excellent eating quality even after the Christmas period.
Through his studies, he was aware that apple trees originally developed not in England but in Kazakhstan, an area situated to the south of the Himalayan mountain range in an area named Tien Sian. From his experience with ancient apple varieties, he knew that the variety Court Pendu Plat had a very long history, dating back to Ancient Roman times. Court Pendu Plat is a variety that blossoms very late in the season, enabling it to survive in years marked by sharp spring frosts. Therefore it is a natural survivor in the world of apples, capable of producing crops even in years when other varieties fail due to adverse weather conditions.
Suntan, a new variety developed by Frank Alston
Frank Alston successfully crossed Cox’s Orange Pippin with Court Pendu Plat and created a new variety, Suntan. This was an exceptional new apple. But when it arrived on the market, fruit growing was a tough and competitive industry. Fruit prices were low. Supermarkets were developing fast, and fruit growers did not have enough capital to plant new varieties of English apples.
Suntan was just one of the new varieties created by Frank Alston. During his career at East Malling, Alston developed the varieties Malling Bountiful (1964, a cooking apple), Jupiter (1966, a cross between Cox’s Orange Pippin and Starking Delicious), Greensleeves (1966, a cross between James Grieve and Golden Delicious), Falstaff (1960s, another James Grieve-Golden Delicious cross), Fiesta (1972, a cross between Cox’s Orange Pippin and Idared), Celebration pear (1972, a Conference-Packham’s Triumph cross), Jester or Malling Jester (released 1979, a cross between Worcester Pearmain and Starkspur Golden Delicious), Meridian (1979), Saturn (1980s), Bountiful or Malling Bountiful (1986), Redsleeves (1986, a cross between Exeter Cross and the scab-resistant TSR15T3), Falstaff (1989), Concorde pear (about 1990), and Meridian (an apple with Cox-like flavour).
From Suntan to Winter Wonder
Winter Wonder was discovered in the late 1970s by Dan Neuteboom in Braiseworth, near Eye in Suffolk. It is probably a naturally-occurring sport or mutation of Suntan. But Dan himself can take up the story.
“That particular row of Suntan trees was planted in 1975, and over the next few years I saw that one tree was rather different from the other 400 Suntan trees on my farm. That particular tree was less vigorous than Suntan. In addition, Suntan produces fruit that can vary greatly in size, with some very large apples, but this tree produced more uniformly-sized fruit. The apples themselves are also a little different in shape, with a slightly flatter apex. When you eat it, the flesh is crispier, and juicier, and most importantly, Winter Wonder’s flavour is rich and rewarding. As I had already had the experience of finding a new variety by chance with Suffolk Pink, it was clear to me that this tree was a Suntan sport, and so I began to propagate it, working with nurseryman Jack Matthews”.
Do you have to keep Winter Wonder in the fridge or in cold storage? No!
In addition to Winter Wonder’s fantastic flavour, it has another characteristic that makes it special.
Just think back 1,800 years when there were no cars, fridges or refrigerated storage facilities. The traders on the silk route had to use mules, camels and horses, which were the only means of transport available in those days.
Court Pendu Plat, one of Winter Wonder’s two parent varieties, naturally stayed firm, crisp and tasty through all the winter months, right into early spring, without shrivel. Most other apples would have deteriorated by then. Winter Wonder can be kept in optimum conditions by following normal seasonal weather conditions. Therefore keep the apples in a cool garage and they will be fine until the end of March .
Origin of the name “Winter Wonder”
The supermarket Sainsbury’s were very interested in this new English apple variety and ran a prize competition amongst its customers, asking them to suggest a name. The winner selected was Winter Wonder, and it became a regular product on supermarket shelves until changes in customer tastes led to its gradual replacement by new varieties arriving from abroad.
Today, Dan Neuteboom is the only horticulturalist growing Winter Wonder trees. He is working to ensure the survival of this unique genetic heritage, preserving this truly English eating apple for future generations. Every year, Dan receives letters from supermarket customers who remember Winter Wonder and ask about where and how to purchase this variety.
Over the last two decades, Dan Neuteboom has supplied Winter Wonder apples to local consumers by means of Farmers’ Markets. Today, the internet enables customers all over the country and even abroad to purchase Winter Wonder online.
