São Joaquim produces roughly 30 percent of Brazil's total apple harvest, and the orchards are as much a visual feature of the landscape as the Araucaria forests. The cold winters and warm summers at this altitude create conditions that apple trees need to produce well — conditions that simply do not exist at lower elevations. In autumn (March–May), the orchards are heavy with fruit and the hillsides are dotted with red.
Several orchards offer visits during harvest season, where you can walk the rows, pick directly from the trees, and buy fruit at source. The town's market stalls and roadside stands sell apples alongside pear and quince preserves, fermented apple juice, and cider. The orchards also produce grapes for the growing wine industry that has developed along this highland plateau over the past two decades.