Perry: American renaissance of an ancient beverage

Burgeoning world interest in cider and perry (pear cider, which is an alcoholic beverage) has created a strong demand for unique perry pear (Pyrus L.) cultivars. The history of perry dates to the ancient Romans. This beverage has been very popular through the centuries in Europe. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) conserves the national genebank for pears including the more than 25 heritage perry cultivars. These unique cultivars represent a diversity of desirable sugar, acid, phenolic, and tannin levels for perry production. Over the last decade, perry pears have been the most requested germplasm accessions at the NCGR pear genebank in Corvallis, Oregon. These fruit cultivars offer a unique new market opportunity for pear growers. The NCGR also maintains more than 1000 wild and landrace pear cultivars collected from throughout the native range of Pyrus in Europe and Asia that may have perry potential and a few wild genotypes have unique and promising flavor characteristics. The perry market is rapidly expanding in the Pacific Northwestern US and Canada and providing new opportunities for research and commercialization.