Green Juice

Are you getting tired of the same old oil and vinegar for your salad? How about trying something a little different? This week, we take a look at verjus (pronounced vair-ZHOO).

Verjus is also known as “verjuice” in the United States. It is a highly acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes. Traditionally it is made with the grapes that are thinned from the vineyard crop (known as "green harvest" or "crop thinning").  Early in the growing season, most good vineyards will thin the clusters of green, unripe grapes.  By doing so, the vines can focus their energy on the remaining clusters, thus producing a better crop, and ultimately a better wine. Verjus is really nothing more than sour, acidic grape juice, made from the high-acid, low-sugar grapes. The word “verjus” derives from the middle French term vertjus, literally “green juice”.

The production of verjus was a natural outgrowth of the wine growing regions of the world. The use of verjus was first documented in early Rome. Verjus has been used since the Middle Ages, and has become more popular in recent years. With the western preference for lemon to acidify foods, it has taken a while for American wineries to catch on, and increase the production and use of verjus. It is still widely imported from France. 

Middle Eastern countries produce and make verjus too. Verjus is known as “husroum” in Arabic, and is used extensively in Syrian cuisine. In Lebanon it is “hosrum”, and in the Persian regions of Iran and Azerbaijan, verjus is called “ab-ghooreh”. 

Verjus can be made from red or white grapes. Typically, red verjus has an earthier flavor, and can range from gently floral, to rich and hardy. The white verjus is usually lighter, with a crisper taste. Unlike wine, verjus is not fermented, so is non-alcoholic. But, like wine and vinegar, each varietal, and brand, will have a distinct aroma and taste.

In the Middle Ages, Verjus was widely used all over Western Europe as an ingredient in sauces, as a condiment, or to deglaze preparations. It has a gentler flavor than vinegar, and is often used to increase the flavor in mustards. Since there is no alcohol in verjus, the flavor will not interfere with wine, thus making it ideal for wine pairing recipes. Verjus provides a comparable sour taste component, without "competing” with (or altering the taste of) the wine, the way vinegar or lemon juice do. This is one reason modern cooks are using  verjus in salad dressings as the acidic ingredient, particularly when wine is going to be served with the salad.

So how can you use verjus? Obviously, salad dressing and condiments are a “no-brainer”, but how about using to de-glaze a pan? Any recipe that calls for red wine vinegar, red verjus can be a good, wine friendly substitute. It is particularly good in sauces for meat, spicy foods, and great for marinades.  If a recipe calls for white wine vinegar or lemon juice, then use white verjus. Perfect for chicken and fish dishes, or even in beurre blanc sauce.

Once you have opened your verjus, it will keep, re-corked, in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 months.

Verjus is readily available at specialty gourmet stores, and even at some winery gift shops. There is a large selection available on Amazon.com, and also some on igourmet.com. Prices range from about $10.00 to $50.00. One of the best known in California is Navarro Vineyards Verjus.

Harvest Time in the Central Coast

This week has been crazy. I received a last minute call to join in the making of some educational wine videos, for a new wine education program (that is a "teaser" which will be elaborated on in the coming weeks). The video shoots were to begin at 5:00am in the Central Coast, as one of my favorite wineries was beginning to pick Sauvignon Blanc.

Volgelzang Sauv Blanc

I left my house in the dark, in hopes of missing the Los Angeles traffic (no luck). I arrived at the Vogelzang Vineyard (Happy Canyon AVA) about fifteen minutes after Dragonette Cellars had finished picking their second round of Sauvignon Blanc. After grabbing a quick bite, I met up with my two wine buddies, and we headed over to the new winery location for Dragonette Cellars, just in time to see the truck and trailer full of freshly picked Sauvignon Blanc arrive.

Dragonette Cellars Sauvignon Blanc

The bins of grape bunches were quickly moved into the cool facility, to avoid any unnecessary heat. The morning temperatures had already faded from the cool 50's to the mid 80's by around 11:00am. The small bunches of Sauvignon Blanc were sweet, and the pips (seeds) had turned from green to brown. A good sign of nice phenolic ripeness.

The plastic bins of grapes were hoisted by fork lift, and dumped into the new Europress (a bladder press) and gently pressed to release the juice. The grapes were not destemmed. This was a whole cluster pressing.

Europress

A whole cluster press is just what it sounds like...the grapes are left in their bunches, when put into the press. This actually produces a smoother tasting juice. The grapes are not bruised or damaged, as they would be when destemmed. Since we are only extracting juice, there is no added flavor from the stems and seeds, unless over pressed. In this case, the bladder press went through seven cycles of light pressing. Every so often the juice that dripped from the bottom of the press, was tasted to make sure no bitter component from the stems or seeds was present.

Fermenting Sauv Blanc

After the juice had been extracted, it was destine for oak barrels. A pressing from a few days earlier was already in barrel, and the fermentation process was well underway. The bubbling up through the bung holes in the barrel were a sure sign that things were moving in the right direction.

Meanwhile, a number of large tanks of Pinot Noir (picked the previous day) were in the cooler. The berries had been covered with sulfur, to prevent bacteria growth, and left in the cooler to extract as much color from the thin skinned grapes as possible. As of this day, only two pickings of Sauvignon Blanc, and one picking of Pinot Noir had occurred. This year's harvest is about two weeks ahead of the 2012 harvest, but hang time remained about the same, due to an early fruit set.

Pinot Noir at Melville

We next traveled over to the Santa Rita Hills AVA, for some photos of Pinot Noir. The Melville Winery has about 16 different Pinot Noir Clones. It didn't appear that they had started harvest there yet, but some of the grapes were already suffering from the high heat and humidity,

The next day was spent in Paso Robles. The red grapes are not ready for harvest yet. In particular, we spent time checking on Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Sirah. In every case, the grape pips were still green, and the full sweetness was not there. At Barr Estate Winery, the Albarino grapes had already been picked, and were in stainless steel tanks. The sediment was settling out, leaving behind a clarified juice.

Red Blotch Virus on Zinfandel

One thing I did notice on this trip to Paso Robles is something that is a bit disturbing. There is a new virus that was identified in 2012, called Red Blotch. It is very noticeable in certain Zinfandel vineyards. At this point, they believe it is transferred by some type of insect, but no one is sure what the vector is, and there is no cure. Basically the leaves on the vine turn from green to red, and the photosynthesis process stops, leaving poor quality grapes. On top of this, it has been a very hot and dry growing season in Paso Robles. This day, it was very humid, and the temperatures were already over 100 degrees by noon.

Cabernet Sauv at Barr Estate Winery

My quick trip to the Central Coast was a whirlwind. We got some great video, and met with some of the outstanding winemakers and vineyard growers in the area. As a wine educator, I always learn something new on every visit, and this trip was an extraordinary learning adventure....as you will find out, once I can talk more about the videos. Stay tuned!