New York Ag Connection - Welch's Launches Game-Changing Ingredients for New York Winemakers

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Welch's Launches Game-Changing Ingredients for New York Winemakers
New York Ag Connection - 03/05/2021

The Welch's Concord grape juice brand is world-renowned and has been a staple of breakfast tables in millions of American households for more than a century. Now, in an exciting new diversification, Welch's ingredients division has commercially launched a new de-characterized grape juice ingredient for New York State winemakers.

An initial partnership between Welch's Global Ingredients Group, the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and Cornell University's Department of Food Science led Welch's to develop a proprietary technology that neutralizes the aroma and flavor of Welch's signature Concord grape juice. The neutralized juice can be used as a base wine or blender and, across a wide variety of wine styles, provides a new option for New York wineries wishing to reduce costs without sacrificing quality.

Concord grapes are typically 40-50% less expensive than other neutral/base wine varieties and, with year-round availability, they offer a high quality and cost-effective option even well after harvest. Some winemakers have already produced dry red blends using 10-20% de-characterized Concord as their base. The juice is also a great solution in Sangrias, blackberry wine, and other fruit-forward wines.

The launch of de-characterized juice has come as part of a drive to boost New York's Concord grape industry and, in turn, the local economy. These efforts have received backing from Governor Andrew Cuomo who, in 2018, hosted a New York State Concord Grape Summit to announce the funding of a series of advanced research programs, one of which was the Cornell University project.

Sam Filler, executive director of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, says: "Several years ago the Concord market suffered from diminishing market demand and there was an opportunity to develop new uses especially for the wine market. New York Wine & Grape Foundation stepped in to provide seed funding to support denaturing research at Cornell University. We are excited that this research has led to a new de-characterized Concord product. This is another positive outcome from Governor Cuomo's Concord grape summit."

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