i am thinking of adding a perry pear next year. I know very little of what is required for a good perry or wine making pear other than just a basic knowledge of the process and acids and tannins. Is there a single variety that would work well or must it be a blend of multiple ? Is anyone growing and using any perry pears?
I don’t recall seeing a list of perry pears from the NCGR but maybe I just never looked. J. Postman, Curator of all things Pyrus, said that they get more requests for them than ‘regular’ pears these days. He didn’t say what happens to the requests. Maybe look on the interwebs for some faves and see if NCGR has scions available for them.
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derby,
I have a friend up at Paris, KY who had grafted a bunch of perry pears… last time I spoke with him, I think most had succumbed to fireblight. I’ll see if I can dig around and locate his contact info for you - he may be able to make recommendations or direct you to sources.
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Cummins has a perry pear called Butt. I recall them having other perry varieties in the past.
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Tom Burford (well-known apple grower) claims his Burford pear makes good perry. Could be marketing because the pear sounds awesome in the write up. I can send you scions of it 
. Fruit | Albemarle Ciderworks & Vintage Virginia Apples
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It does sound good , seems much more like an eating pear though. Has yours fruited?
I had heard of butt perry pear in a list that @clarkinks noted. Interesting thing when I googled it I found a perry that noted it was a single pear perry made from butt. Any one growing this one ? Is it fir blight resistant?
I grew many perry pears once upon a time. Most were fine as far as blight goes. I realized my pear stand was too dense though and so I decided to remove the perry pears, all before any of them had fruited.
Quite a few places sell them now since they have gotten popular in the last few years. Even Raintree has some if I recall.
The drink doesn’t sit as well on me so I’m not sure I’m going to add any back. It also takes a fair commitment of room, something I don’t have too much of.
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@Derby42,
I know this post Perry Pears Cider - #12 by scottfsmith is years old but I suspect @JesseS and @39thparallel can help answer some questions.
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good stuff in that thread, I missed it originally, and again somehow when I searched the forum. I do see that fedco does sell scion wood for butt.
No, it hasn’t fruited. I grafted it last year.
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One thing I liked about the butt pear you mentioned above is that they note it holds well and does not rot when dropped to the ground , seems like a good quality for a pear you are stockpiling to juice
I Don’t have much input on Perry Pears. I added a bunch of them to the orchards a couple years ago on OHxF and Callery. They are still 2-3 years from producing fruit.