To get any good apples in Virginia you need quite a few sprays and/or bagging so do make sure you know what you are getting into.

My favorite of those is Kidd's, it is a very aromatic and tasty apple. For me it had more zip than Rubinette which is more like a Red Delicious in how it lacks sourness. Rubinette is very aromatic so no complaint on that front. I don't have Fiesta and Tydemans has yet to produce for me. Kidds doesn't produce a whole lot, the Gala right next to it planted at the same time usually has twice as many apples on it.

Scott

Here there aren't many varieties that bear as heavily and reliably as Gala and none of them are favorites of mine.

On one site I manage there are a couple of trees that were labeled Cox but from Scott's description I'm thinking they must be Rubinette- I knew they weren't Cox and a few years back I came to the conclusion they must be Kidd's because they look like they have a lot of Red Delicious in them judging from their branching habit and sweet taste.

Then a couple of Kidd's I bought from Cummins came into beaaring and as Scott said, more acid (or zing) than the false Cox. I like the Kidd much better then the pretender because I'm the kind of person that can't stand Gala. As I say, I need some acid with that sugar.

The closest thing to a Cox that might reduce your need to spray is Goldrush. It's ahead of Cox and Kidd's on my most favorite list and has that dense flesh and complex full flavor- it out Cox's Cox IMO.

Kidds orange red is delicious, rubinette is a close second. Tydermans late has been unimpressive, it's a shy bearer and it's really not that good.

The problem with rubinette is that it goes mealy on the tree, so you have to pick them before they are completely ripe.

I'm glad to hear good things about Kidd's because I just ordered one from Century Farm Orchards. This is the description.

Kidd's Orange Red - Although not considered an "heirloom" variety, Kidd's Orange is an fine dessert apple which deserves its place in the home orchard. It originated in 1924 in New Zealand as a cross of Delicious and Cox's Orange Pippin. The vigorous and precocious tree produces fruit which are medium in size with yellow skin flushed with orange and striped with scarlet. The cream colored flesh is crisp, firm, sweet and highly aromatic. Ripens in mid to late September.
Fruit Picture Bloom Picture

Thanks for your opinions, everone.
I tasted the Rubinette this fall, and loved it, so now I need to figure out how to taste a KOR. I planted Liberty, Enterprise, and William's Pride this fall, selected mainly for disease resistance, but also taste. We'll see how it goes!
R