Meet Sunflare: WSU and WA’s newest apple

Washington State University’s latest darling crop has a name.

Meet Sunflare, previously WA 64, the university’s newest apple. A public contest with more than 15,000 submissions earlier this year crowned the crop with a name.

It’s a pink-hued and firmly crisp apple, adorned in blush superimposed over yellow and is round, sweet and tart.

The apple’s physical qualities inspired its namesake, as Sunflare “hits all those marks,” said Jeremy Tamsen, director of the WSU Office of Commercialization, in a news release. “These pinks, oranges and yellows stand out against all the red apples on the shelf.”

Ryan Escarcega, a 49-year-old food service salesperson and chef from Centralia, submitted the variety’s winning name. He was inspired by the apple’s bright hues and the powerful solar storms that sparked northern lights visible across North America in the spring, the university said.

“I looked at the picture of the apple for a long time, fantasizing what it was going to taste like,” Escarcega said. “It was a real eye-catcher. I saw a nice relationship between the colors and the name. And the sun has everything to do with the growth of the product.

First bred in an orchard in Wenatchee in 1998 and known by a mix of numbers and initials until now, Sunflare is a hybrid of Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink (widely known as Pink Lady).

Sunflare was birthed from pollination and not engineered or modified in any way — “we do what the bees do,” said retired apple breeder Bruce Barritt, who launched the university breeding program in 1994.

Sunflare is a small to medium apple, slightly less hard but considerably more crisp and juicy than Cripps Pink. Its sweetness and acidity, though, are between those of its two parents, according to the university.

Trees are expected to be available to growers in 2026 — exclusive to Washington growers for at least 10 years — with the apple itself reaching stores in 2029.

Sunflare comes on the heels of the Cosmic Crisp (formerly WA 38), a WSU apple variety released to growers around 2016 and brought to the market in 2019.

The university holds a patent on WA 64 and has filed trademark applications for the Sunflare brand name. A committee will help develop a trademarked logo, color palette and brand look and feel, WSU said.

University scientists will continue to study and share recommendations on the best ways to grow WA 64. Royalties from the sales of the trees, budwood and, eventually, the fruit itself, will help support research and future WSU apple varieties.

As the winner of the naming contest, Escarcega received a box of Sunflare apples and will get other WSU-themed prizes, including Cougar Gold cheese, a charcuterie board engraved with the winning name, WSU spice rubs and more.

“Of course, everybody wants to know the name!” he said. “Now, I can finally tell them.”