RICHMOND, Mass. - At Hilltop Orchards in Richmond, entrepreneur D.J. DiBuono is trying something new: canned champagne cocktails.

DiBuono said, "In recent years, seltzers became very popular, so we were like, 'Okay, seltzers hit that low-calorie metric, but we think there's more flavor to be desired,' so why not a champagne cocktail in a can?"

Production on the new line of drinks, called Champé, began earlier this month.

DiBuono said it was a long process to find the right recipe, and the right partner. 

"I reached out to a few flavor houses, an exorbitant amount of money, so that led me to reach out to local wineries, and we came here to Hilltop," DiBuono said. "It was during the pandemic, so they were down a little bit and they were looking to pick up some new stuff, so it was kind of perfect timing for us.

DiBuono said they're rolling out slowly, only distributing to a handful of stores and restaurants in the Berkshires.

He said the early response has been good.

"Our first production run, we did roughly 2,000 cans, and we sold out in a week," DiBuono said. "And every package store we've been in, we've sold out in 24 hours, so the feedback has been tremendous."

For now, they only have two flavors: peach and orange, offering their take on bellinis and mimosas.

But as long as things go well, DiBuono said there's more to come.

"We do have a few other flavors kind of in the pipeline, but we want to master these two because we think these are the classics for people to enjoy," DiBuono said. "And then as we move along, we'll definitely have some more in our profile."​