Ciardes village is perched on a scree cone at the foot of the Monte Sole Mountain, and is steeped in tradition. Christoph Ausserer's farm has been here since 1327 and has been in the family since 1600. It is still family-run today and father and son share the work between them. In the past there were pears, apricots and vineyards here, but now organic apples are the main crop. Gala, Braeburn, Fuji, Pinova, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious, as well as proud cherry trees all grow together on the slopes. Christoph has been organic since 2007. "Because it's the right way to farm successfully." For him success is defined by its relationship to the future. Christoph gained his knowledge of production in harmony with nature at the South Tyrol technical college for fruit production, viticulture and horticulture in Laimburg. He is keen to emphasise that this natural approach brings a lot of variety to the day-to-day tasks of farming: picking is very sociable, the harvest is extremely labour intensive and pruning is a solitary time. Christoph's view is that "all that can be tasted in the end product. Especially with my apples."