Apple Hill’s harvest season opens with ‘off the charts’ bumper crop, growers say
This year’s Apple Hill fall season will not be one to miss, according to Chris Delfino, a longtime grower in the region.
He said this year’s fruit harvest is the best he has seen in the three decades he has been at Delfino Farms, nestled in the foothills of El Dorado County above Camino.
The 2025 growing season’s weather was ideal, allowing for beautifully balanced sweetness and flavor across not just the eponymous apples, but everything from peaches to pears grown at the Apple Hill Growers Association’s more than 40 farms and ranches.
“When you bite into that apple or that pear, (the flavor is) going to be off the charts,” he said.
Chill overnight temperatures, no significant winter freezes and plentiful winter and spring rain helped apple blossoms flourish across the orchard early in the season, Delfino said. Once blossoms gave way to fruits, the apples’ fate was left to the mercy of summer weather.
Thankfully, much of Northern California had a relatively mild summer compared to recent years, which Delfino said is imperative for the best development of the fruit’s natural sugars and tart flavors.
“Cool nights are very important, but the days we want to be warm but not really warm,” he said. “When (the temperature is) over 100 (degrees) consistently, the sugar count and the flavor kind of separate.”
Delfino said this year’s success is all thanks to Mother Nature for the perfect alignment of weather throughout the growing season.
“Weather and blossom, if they’re parallel to each other — which they were like they’ve never been before in my 30-plus years — then you’re going to get an incredible year,” he said.
With this year’s fruit expected to be top-notch, Delfino said the quality will extend to the plethora of apple-based products growers in the area produce, including pies, donuts, empanadas, caramel apples and cider. The outstanding growing season will also benefit future products, namely wine.
According to Delfino, the wine made from this year’s fruit will be bottled starting in two years, and he said it’s likely to be “one of the greatest wines we’ve ever had.”
Many growers in the Apple Hill association have already opened their orchards and farms for customers to visit. Visitors can pick their own fruit at select orchards, while many others sell fruit, cider and other classic fall treats at their stores.
All Apple Hill farms officially opened for the season Friday morning, welcoming visitors ahead of Labor Day and continuing through the fall and early winter.
If you can’t make it up to Apple Hill before apples are phased out for Christmas trees, you can find Barsotti Juice’s apple cider and other drinks at Raley’s supermarkets.
The harvest at Delfino Farms this year will amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds of apples, while other area growers, like High Hill Ranch, will see one million pounds of the fruit this year, according to Delfino.
“We’re already picking the early varieties — the Honeycrisp and the Galas — but it’s go time up here,” he said. “We’re making apple pies at Delfino Farms since last weekend and we won’t stop until Christmas.”
What I’m Eating
Caffe Italiano in Fair Oaks is a prime example of “don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Its exterior is unremarkable, tucked into a small shopping center in the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard. Walking inside transports diners to an upscale, romantic cafe. Elaborate hand-drawn blackboards display food and wine specials in the dimly lit restaurant, and each table is immaculately set with a sealed bottle of Redwood pinot noir and a duo of glass olive oil and balsamic vinegar bottles over a white tablecloth.
The restaurant’s summer food specials go all-in on seafood, including a buttery, tomato-forward crab bisque ($14) and a Neapolitan linguine alla vongole ($32) featuring a generous serving of clams over pasta.
On the main menu, the restaurant’s rich Bolognese sauce is featured in various dishes, including the gnocchi Bolognese ($24.95). Chunky, saucy ground beef melts into the soft bite-sized potato dumplings, bound to stick to your ribs.
After the main meal, servers come around with a display platter of various desserts as a three-dimensional visual menu. For light, traditional Italian options, the chocolate cannoli ($14) come in a set of three crunchy shells filled with fluffy chocolate ricotta, while tiramisu ($12) is available in classic and pistachio variants.
Espresso and tea are offered at the end of the meal, in line with Italian dining customs, and a complimentary limoncello digestif is available for patrons 21 and up. In a final touch of hospitality, the check includes a postcard from the restaurant that serves as a 10% coupon for a future visit.
Caffe Italiano
Address: 8112 Madison Ave., Fair Oaks
Hours: 4 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Phone: 916-436-4037
Website: caffeitalianofairoaks.com
Drinks: Wine, tea, espresso, soft drinks
Vegetarian options: Vegetarian specials available, salads, pasta, antipasti
Noise level: Quiet
Outdoor seating: Yes, patio out front
Openings & Closings
• Maria’s Paella, 701 16th St., Suite 130, in Sacramento, opened Aug. 19, serving morning breakfast burritos and lunchtime paella and empanadas every weekday. Maria Perez purchased Lulu’s Commercial Kitchen in 2024 and set up her restaurant’s storefront after selling her food at the Midtown Farmers Market for four years.
• Sugarcane beverage cafe Cane Corner opened its second Sacramento-area location Saturday, at 6825 Stockton Blvd., Suite 230, in south Sacramento, according to its social media. The original Elk Grove location opened in March 2024, offering sugar-sweet flavored juices, Vietnamese coffee and pandan waffles.
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