Cost analysis: Méthod champenoise sparkling pear wine costs most, but offers highest quality

Commercial production of pear cider could greatly improve the demand for pears that are not packed for fresh market or canned. Bringing pear cider, also called perry, to the marketplace will involve careful planning and market knowledge. The cost of producing pear still wine by custom crush is $275 per ton of pears. The cost of finishing the cider varies with the approach. The classic sparkling wine method champenoise, involving a secondary fermentation in the bottle, was the most expensive, but yielded the highest-quality beverage. Bottling and packaging the value-added product also varied in price. The retail costs would be $3 for a 22-ounce bottle of pear cider and $6 for a 750-milliliter bottle of sparkling pear wine.