The gravensteins are coming: Sebastopol’s apple treasures
If you’re a grouch and think that a small group of people without deep pockets, and without hands on the levers of power, can’t make a big difference locally, think again. The members of Slow Food Russian River (SFRR), a chapter of Slow Food USA—a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation that emphasizes the benefits of food that’s good, clean and sustainable—have helped to save the once endangered gravenstein Apple, the pride of Sonoma County, especially in and around Sebastopol. SFRR members have educated the public about apples, farming and farmers and augmented a sense of community.
For the past eight years—with the notable exception of 2020, when the pandemic was near its height—“the Apple Core,” a project of SFRR, (www.slowfoodrr.org), has operated “the free apple press.” In 2021, masks and proof of vaccination were required. They will be required again this year. Once again, near the middle of summer 2022, no one will miss the large banners on Highway 12 and Highway 116 that read, “The gravensteins are coming,” and soon afterward, “The gravensteins are here.” Hallelujah!
You know it's really summer when the gravs arrive. I learned about them when I arrived in Sebastopol in 1976 and made them a part of my diet. They still are.
Over the years, thousands of Sonoma County residents have brought apples to the press and made sweet, delicious apple juice and apple cider which has a kick like no other. The growth of the cider industry and cider culture have been a boon to apple farming and the apple industry. John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed, the nineteenth-century missionary for his favorite fruit, would be pleased, indeed.
Parents and their kids cooperate at the apple press. Rarely does anyone come alone, but rather in couples and in groups of five, six and seven. Hey, it’s a family event. There is absolutely no charge, and, while it takes some effort to operate, it’s mostly fun. People help one another squeeze juice from the fruit. They fill plastic gallon jugs and glass jars and take the precious beverage home where they can enjoy it at their leisure with friends and family members.
The Apple Core and the Apple Press are a team effort, though some individuals stand out. Paula Downing, a strong advocate for farmers’ markets, has been the prime mover in bringing grammar school kids to the press. Also, she has been the leading force who makes arrangements with local ranchers who pick up the “pomace,” a by-product of making juice, which they feed to their animals as a special treat. It’s a win-win situation.
When Paula Shatkin and her husband, David, arrived in the county from LA in 1999, she observed that apple orchards were being ripped out and replaced with vineyards and grapes. Out with one crop, in with another. That’s part of the ag story here. At a meeting of SFRR, Shatkin exclaimed, “Somone should do something to save the apples!”
Michael Dimock, the founder of the environmental organization, Roots of Change (ROC), who also helped start the local chapter of Slow Food USA, told Shatkin, “Yeah, you do it.”
Not long ago, Dimock offered a valuable insight. “The apple is an icon like the whale, panda, polar bear or any endangered critter or species for which people rally,” he told me. “Saving gravensteins has been part of the fight to save food-plant diversity and the diversity of Sonoma County ag.”
Before anyone could say “Slow Food Russian River,” Paula Shatkin rolled up her shirt sleeves and got to work, imbued with a sense of purpose. “The gravenstein is our apple,” she told me. “It’s an heirloom. Apple orchards are beautiful, they’re part of the history of our community and they’re dry farmed.” One of Shatkin’s main contributions has been the “applesauce project,” which receives ample help from Farm to Pantry—the year-round gleaning organization—and its executive director, Duskie Estes.
The volunteers at SFRR and Farm to Pantry have collected, in large bins, thousands of pounds of apples which have been delivered, with help from workers at Dutton Ranch, to Manzana Products Company, the organic apple cannery in Sebastopol where the fruit is turned into sauce. Then, jars of sauce go to the Redwood Empire Food Bank and to hungry people.
The Manzana website has helped to educate the public about apples. It reads, “In 1820 the first west coast gravenstein orchard was planted by Russian fur traders at their outpost in Fort Ross. Soon afterward, orchards began cropping up in neighboring towns with a concentration of trees thriving in the sandy loam soil of Sebastopol.” Manzana makes the sauce free of charge, as a service to the community.
