Best Apple Varieties for both cider and pie

[Raptor99]

We are getting ready to plant a few apple trees, and would like to find a variety that is good for both hard cider and pie. It seems to me that a sweet-tart apple would work well. If the tannins are too high, it might not work well for pie. We also hope to find a variety that is disease resistant and stores well. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. So far I am considering Arkansas Black or Roxbury Russet.

I live in USDA zone 8. I already have a Fuji, whichis in pollination group 3, so Ideally I would like to find a variety that will cross-pollinate with that. Many heirloom apples are triploid, so we might have to add a crab apple for polination purposes.

 

[OleBrewing]

aren't the granny smith apples great for pies.

in my experience with cider it took a variety of apples, but if you get some heirloom tree from england than one should do it. has all the tannins and sugars.

 

[gregbathurst]

Russet apples are excellent for cider, eating and cooking.

 

[docbot]

Northern Spy?

 

[Raptor99]

We decided to go with three trees, in addition to the Fuji that we already have for eating apples:
* Enterprise
* Winesap
* Whitney crab apple
Both Enterprise and Winesap should be good for both pies and cider. The crab apples can be used to add tannins as needed. They are all in/near the same pollination group, so they should work well together.

Northern Spy sounds like a good choice, but it is in a different pollination group, so it won't work well with what we already have.