Fred Wescott wanted to grow and market the apple that was later named SweeTango. He had anticipated that it would be an open release variety, as all University of Minnesota-bred apples had been up until then. When the university decided to release it in 2005 as a managed variety under an exclusive licensing agreement, Wescott bid to obtain exclusive rights to it.

When MN 1914 (SweeTango) went instead to Pepin Heights Orchard, Wescott joined with others in a lawsuit contending that a land-grant university should not have released the variety in a way that restricted or excluded many growers in the state from having access to it.

After that lawsuit was settled in favor of the university and Pepin Heights, Wescott turned in another direction—to apples being selected by Doug ­Shefelbine, who had a similar goal in mind. He wanted to find a ­Honeycrisp-like apple that was ­earlier, more flavorful, and much more grower-friendly.