July 2008
Fresh Juice
A long running misconception amongst winemakers is that all products sold in a large white plastic pail are fresh juice products. Truth be known, most products in plastic pails are not fresh juice. Many of these products are reconstituted. Water has been added to a concentrate on your behalf.
The first indicator that the product in the white pail may not juice is price. If the price seems too good to be true, then chances are the product being sold is not fresh juice. Quality fresh juice generally sells in excess of $100 per 23L pail.
Additionally, don’t be fooled by those who are attempting to sell a frozen product under the guise of fresh juice. If it’s frozen it’s obviously not fresh juice.
One little known fact is that if juice has been altered or tweaked in any way by adding sulphites, adjusting acid levels etc., it’s not longer considered fresh juice. It’s now been transformed into and considered a wine “must”.
I’m sometimes asked about the availability of fresh juice. In the Atlantic region, where I conduct business, we are a long distance from a source of quality fresh juice. Fresh juice products are heavy, and also require refrigeration while in transport, which vastly increases overall costs to the end user.
Fresh juice is generally only available from September through January when wineries and vineyards are pressing and processing their grape harvest.
Local wineries and vineyards are often a good source for fresh juice. A word of caution: Quality will vary from winery to winery.
Over the years I’ve worked with most liquid products available in the winemaking industry. I’ve come to the conclusion that wines made from premium high-end kits make a finished product of equal or superior quality to fresh juice. All without the hassle of sourcing, refrigeration, finger-crossing………………..
~ Blair Sampson
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