Is there an interest for All juice Blueberry wine kits

[10borderline11brew]

Hey I am a blueberry farmer, and my local homebrew store has told me there may be an interest in a all juice blueberry wine kit. It would be just as easy as wine expert or orchard breezin kit. Would include everything needed to make a kit. The sugar and acid would be all adjusted properly. There would be natural cane sugar and blueberry juice. NO grape concentrate, apple concentrate, or high fructose corn syrup like in other blueberry wine kits or bases. I would start with a 1 gallon kit and try to remain the price of the one gallon grape wine kits. My local store sells them for $32 a 1 gallon grape wine kit. My ratail price would be right in that area as well. It would have a 6- 12 month shelf life.
Tell family, friends, and who ever else and have them post on here. I need to know if there is a market for this before I start buy equipment.
Thanks for the help

 

[Maylar]

Where are you?

 

[10borderline11brew]

I'm in Holland, Michigan. So for me I'm right in a blueberry area. If there are any question that you would like answered just let me know.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

How do you plan to package the juice? Frozen? Acidified? Pasteruized? Aseptically?

 

[10borderline11brew]

It will be flash pasteurized and then hot filled into bags. After the bags are filled the bags will be inverted for a few minutes to sterilize the cap and cooled down using a water bath or a cooler. I am still running some test on the pasteurizing, so I can improve the process. Each kit contains one gallon of juice from 10-12 lbs of blueberries, and then the F-pack will be blueberry juice and cane sugar. It's an on going process, and I keep tweaking it here and there.
If you have any ideas I will happy to hear of them.
Thanks

 

[theDREWery]

I find wine from blueberry juice to be thin and watery. Whole fruit adds tannin, flavor, and color from the skins. You may want to consider using a puree as a base. But at $30+ for a can of puree, I can get a Vintner's Harvest 96 oz can and make 3 gallons.

 

[10borderline11brew]

Yea but the that can is 6 lbs of water and blueberries for 3 gallons. With a straight juice I use the juice from 10-11 lbs of blueberries per gallon.

 

[Finli]

I would buy it.

I would most likely blend with a grape varietal though like theDrewery alluded to, to give more body, depth, and layers.

 

[10borderline11brew]

What type of gravity would you to see ina fruit wine? My juice starts as a 1.042og but I like to bump it up to 1.052og.

I looking to hold off the wine kit for a year, and maybe just do a 5gallon bucket of purree or juice that will be unpasteurized; just to see if it will sell. It will mostly be local because it would be to unstable to ship since it is unpasteurized.
5 gallons of purree would be about $55

5 gallons of juice would be about $70
Still working out the details though.

 

[Finli]

1.05 would be nice but if just straight BB wine I would possibly freeze it and make an aperitif wine. Maybe add some acid blend. Tart little sipper. Shame I'm not local or I would buy juice for 70. Good luck I hope you can scale to ship.

 

[jwithersnc]

I would like one but in a 6.5 gal version

 

[10borderline11brew]

I thought about a 6.5 gallon bucket but the cost of that bucket is a lot higher and harder to find. Maybe if this comin season goes good I will venture into the 6.5 gallon bucket. Thanks for the input though

 

[SanPancho]

sounds awesome. too bad no shipping, i could go for a BB juice batch with some brett C. dry, crisp and fruity.

or maybe the cherry pie brett blend from giga yeast. oh yeah.

 

[madscientist451]

It will be flash pasteurized and then hot filled into bags. After the bags are filled the bags will be inverted for a few minutes to sterilize the cap and cooled down using a water bath or a cooler. I am still running some test on the pasteurizing, so I can improve the process. Each kit contains one gallon of juice from 10-12 lbs of blueberries, and then the F-pack will be blueberry juice and cane sugar. It's an on going process, and I keep tweaking it here and there.
If you have any ideas I will happy to hear of them.
Thanks

I commend you for tying to make a value added product from your produce. But if you are starting out on a business venture, I believe a good dose of reality is something that should be considered.

I can buy pretty high quality California/Washington varietal grape juice for making wine for $10-15 gallon, Cider maker's blend using specific cider apples for $10-12,
and when Blueberries are in season, they go on sale for $.99 pint, which is about $1.50 a pound, so 11 pounds would be $16.50.
So for me, $32 a gallon for something that would make a questionable wine just isn't a good value.
But compared to Blueberry puree,which is about $25 for 3 lbs, your price is very reasonable.
I've only had blueberry wine once, and it wasn't very good.
I've experimented with fruit wines and have decided to concentrate my efforts using quality grapes and the best apples I can find.
If I were to use blueberries, it would probably be as an ingredient in beer or mead, instead of making straight blueberry wine.
If you can make good wine from blueberries, perhaps getting a winery license and selling wine for a premium price would be a better business model?
If you can sell the wine for $10 a bottle, that would equal $50/gallon.
Another angle is to make a beer alcohol strength "craft mead" and use your blueberries as an additive/flavoring.
The craft mead market is just starting out and has been gaining market share in several areas. I think this would be the most profitable use of your blueberries. Good Luck

 

[10borderline11brew]

1) Blueberries cost(1.00-1.50per lb) $11.00-16.50
2) Sugar cost to bump gravity $1.00
3)yeast,pectic enzmye, sulfites, sorbates, bentonite, nutrients, isinglass $4.00
4) stuff for backsweetening(blueberry juice, sugar) $1.50
5)time invested into crushing, pressing, balancing,cleaning(1.5-2 hours. If you were to figure your time as $10-$15 per hour) cost is $12.50-$30
6)Cheesecloth to press blueberries$3.00(they wont press good without it) wear and tear(0.50) $3.50

Total cost for a one gallon kit if you were to replicate $33.50-56.50


I know we all save money because we do the labor ourselves, but time is money, and this doesnt even include the packaging for the liquids and kit.
Now i also know that when we make bigger batches it take roughly the same amount of time, and some of the cost will remain the same, But that also is the same if I make a bigger wine kit as the years go on. all the packaging and time would increase but by 500% on a 5 gallon batch, and also this is priced for only doing a few kits at a time, if the demand is there; I can make the kits in more bulk quanities, in turn lowering the price even more cause I can buy in more supplies in bulk and my labor would decrease with better equipment.


And I know most of us have all the small stuff in stock, so a lot of times it seems free after the first time use.( sulfites, sorbates, pectic enzyme, ect).
This is all just something to think about. This kit might sound high at first, but when you start thinking about it; it would seem reasonably priced.

Thanks for the input