TY - JOUR AU - Mcgourty, Glenn T. AU - Butzke, Christian E. TI - Feasibility of producing pear wine: Pears produce premium sparkling wine JF - California Agriculture JO - Calif Agr Y1 - 1998/11/01 VL - 52 IS - 6 SP - 31 EP - 36 PB - University of California Agriculture and Nature Resources SN - 0008-0845 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3733/ca.v052n06p31 L3 - 10.3733/ca.v052n06p31 AB - Pear growers and packers continue to need profitable market channels for fruit that is not packed for fresh market or canned. Off-grade fruit that is designated for the juicing market frequently gives growers and packers poor returns unless there are significant shortages of fruit juice concentrates in the marketplace. Finding a use for these fruit in the creation of a higher priced, value-added premium product could greatly strengthen the performance of this segment of the pear market and at the same time use the off-season production capacity of sparkling wineries. Our experiments demonstrate that an ultrapremium-quality cider can be made from juice grade Bartlett pears. Pear fruit should be ripe for optimum flavors and aromas.