The classification process of apples to domestic market, around 30% can be considered as a sub-product, but still with some economical value: they are the so-called industrial fruits. They have a very high technological potential and can be used in the processing of many food products, as apple juices and alcoholic beverage. Around 90% of the apple production are related to Fuji and Gala varieties, that by themselves show very low industrial appeal. However, there are some other apple cultivars with better industrial profile and that can be used to obtain products with high quality. The objective was to evaluate the technological potential of fruits from Joaquina cultivar concerning clarified juice and wine production and quality, comparing them with the products obtained from apples of Fuji and Gala varieties. Fuji and Gala apple cv. were acquired in local market and Joaquina cv. were received from Experimental Station of São Joaquim (Epagri). The clarified juice and the wine were processed in a laboratory scale, with an appropriate protocol. The varietal juice of the Joaquina did not differ significantly from the juices from Fuji and Gala, considering physico-chemical parameter; however, in sensorial analysis the judges gave lower scores to Fuji (3.78), with a high rejection index (64%). The varietal dry wine of the Joaquina, also identical to the reference wines of Fuji and Gala in physico-chemical terms, was considered of similar acceptance to the wine of Gala (4.52), but the wine from Fuji (3.80) was absolutely rejected (67%). The apple from Joaquina variety can be use with parsimony in the processing of juice but with confidence in the production of wine.
technological potential; apple juice; apple wine
