The company has launched a Niagara grape juice product that is designed to be a cost-effective but high-quality filler or base wine for a broad variety of different wine styles.
Established in 2014 as a division of Welch Foods, Inc., Welch’s Global Ingredients Group offers grape juice expertise and solutions to companies around the world.
Its primary ingredients are made in the US and include Concord and Niagara grape single-strength juices, juice concentrates and purées, as well as a range of powders and fruit bites.
The Niagara grape is a white grape with a golden hue used as an ingredient in the juice and soft beverages category.
R&D at Welch’s Global Ingredients Group has produced a de-characterized version of the juice for fermentation and blending with wine made from more traditional wine grape varieties and even other fruits.
Reducing costs
Juice grapes typically sell at a significantly lower price when compared to wine grapes, which means the new de-characterized Niagara can be used by winemakers looking to reduce raw material costs without impacting quality.
The company said it can also save winemakers on freight by supplying ingredients from across the US from its plants in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Washington State, and on storage as it has more than 40m gallons of bulk storage capacity.
Welch’s Global Ingredients Group also supplies Concord grape juice to the wine production sector. The Concord grape is a distinctive dark purple grape variety suitable for making Concord wines or as a filler in select red wines where the Concord grape’s flavor and aroma are desired.
Kevin Kilcoyne, VP and general manager, Global Ingredients Group at Welch’s, said the winemaking industry will be an important sector for the company, adding “We have further winery-specific innovations in the pipeline.”
Welch’s is the processing and marketing subsidiary of the National Grape Cooperative. Located across America and in Ontario, Canada, the cooperative’s approximately 825 family farmers own the company. Its products are sold throughout the US and in approximately 40 other countries.