verjus

 
 

During the veraison “green-thinning” pass through the vineyard, we collect a few hundred pounds of partially-purple, but still unripe grapes.

It's called green-thinning because the grape clusters that are behind in their color development (there are still green and light pink berries throughout the cluster) need to be cut. Since the harvesting of wine grapes takes place all at once, it's important for all of the grape clusters throughout the vineyard to be evenly ripe.

Thankfully, we have come up with a fabulous use for a portion of these clusters that would otherwise rot on the ground: verjus!

 
 

Verjus: (vair-zhoo)

1. the tart, fresh, non-fermented juice of unripe
wine grapes. From the French, vert (green) + jus (juice); sometimes called verjuice

2. A true culinary delight
(see bottom of this page)

The process of making verjus is similar to winemaking -- pick grapes, crush, press, rack, and bottle. But since verjus does not need color extraction, fermentation, or barrel aging, we completed the production (except for bottling) in just a few hours. This year we had help from our cousins Tim and Debi, who donned their “agritourismo hats” and jumped right in.

Photo credits: Debi Wallstrom

Just how does one use Verjus in the kitchen? John's Uncle Worth suggested to us that verjus is just crying out for some vodka! We think he was on to something there!

From Deb, a warm weather cocktail/apertif she calls a Campari Zinger

  1. BulletFill a short cocktail glass with ice cubes

  2. BulletAdd 1.5 ounces Campari, 1 ounce of verjus, and top with sparkling water

  3. BulletStir, garnish with orange peel


John uses it in place of wine or other liquids in cooking, especially if it's a vegetarian dish. Add a quarter cup to a stovetop saute for the last five or ten minutes of cooking. The verjus adds a touch of sweetness, a light acidity, and a great depth of flavor.


Here are some recipe links we find useful:

  1. Bullet Fusion (brand) Verjus: www.verjus.com/recipes

  2. Bullet Terra Sonoma Food Company: www.terrasonoma.com

  3. Bullet Epicurious (Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazine site): www.epicurious.com

  4. BulletThe Food Network site: www.foodnetwork.com