Liven up that dish with a splash of verjus
Product offers acidity that can complement any dish served with wine
Verjus is the juice pressed from green or unripe wine grapes — Ver-, as in vert or green and jus,
juice. As harvest time approaches, winemakers will prune out, or “crop,” the underdeveloped, tart green grapes that won’t have time to ripen before frost. These grapes can be composted, or, even better, pressed for verjus. Unlike wine, verjus is fresh — not fermented — and is therefore non-alcoholic, but don’t confuse it with dealcoholized wine.
In France, for example, most wineries bottle a verjus — red, white or a blend — either for sale or for home use, and it’s a well-understood ingredient; its use in French cuisine goes back centuries. Many American and Australian wineries are also on board, but not so much here. Still, Canada is a young wine region with time to catch up, n’est-ce pas?
It’s high in acidity and therefore interchangeable with vinegar or lemon juice in most recipes, while at the same time, it’s not so acidic that it ruins the taste buds for a sip of wine with, say, a salad au vinaigrette.
In cooking, treat verjus like any other culinary acid — citrus juice, vinegar — by adding a splash to sauces; to finish fish dishes; add tartness to cocktails; or to make vinaigrette. In salad dressings, use a 3 to 1 ratio, oil to verjus. Use a few drops of verjus instead of a squeeze of lemon or lime over fried fish or raw oysters; add a couple of ounces to fizzy water for a refreshing drink; really, anywhere a recipe calls for something acidic, try verjus instead.
In Niagara, at Featherstone Estate Winery, winemaker David Johnson produces 12 Brix Verjus made from young red grapes that have been cropped from the vines in midsummer, a point in a grape’s growth known as véraison, or, just as the grapes begin to turn colour. Featherstone owners, Johnson and Louise Engel, have been producing a limited supply of verjus each season — only about 1,200 bottles — for the past 12 years.
However, this growing season was not a typical one, and there won’t be a 2020 verjus. Good thing it keeps and there are still bottles from last year in stock.
Johnson and Engle first leaned of verjus in 2007 while working a harvest in New Zealand, and as self-described foodies, they were intrigued by this natural by-product of winemaking. Made with either Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc grapes, depending on the year, their verjus is a pretty blush colour, and many people mistake it for a rosé.
Engle uses her verjus to deglaze pans and in salad dressings. “It makes a salad dressing that is less acidic and so when you enjoy the salad with a glass of wine, the wine and the salad dressing don’t compete,” says Engle.
The winery’s café serves a Winemakers Lemonade made with equal parts verjus, sparkling water and a slice of fresh lemon. “It’s very refreshing, and it’s a great alternative for the designated driver,” says Engle.
Minus8 Vinegar and Verjus, in Niagara, grows grapes specifically for processing into vinegars and verjus, and because this is their exclusive focus, and not a by-product of wine production, they hand-pick grapes of various varieties at different times throughout the growing season, then blend the juices to create unique flavour profiles. They make three styles: red, white and maple verjus in limited amounts. Niagara Cuisine Verjus from Hughes Vineyards is the largest producer of verjus in the Niagara region. The multi-award winning grape grower started out in 1995 with a few acres in Vineland, growing grapes for winemakers. Now the vineyard processes its own verjus, which has been widely embraced by chefs. And in Niagara-on-the-lake, along with fantastic biodynamic wines, wine-infused mustards and honey, Southbrook Organic Vineyards makes a pale pink verjus, which they sell in halfbottles.
In Toronto, look for Featherstone verjus at Sanagan’s Meat Locker and Thin Blue Line Cheese.
Other brands and verjus from other wine regions can be found through wineries, gourmet shops and online.