Prue's Verjus

Verjus is a wine-friendly alternative to vinegar. It is a gentle acidulant made from fresh green grapes.

History

Verjus is mentioned in the medieval manuscript Le Menagier de Paris (c. 1392) and is a traditional seasoning in European wine-producing countries. All over France women produced both their own verjus and their own vinegar.

Making of Verjus

The grapes are handpicked at veraison (onset of colouring in grapes) to reduce the cropload in our vineyards. This is a great time to make verjus because it is at the start of flavour development in the grape when the acids are still high and the sugars are around 14%. Whole bunch pressing is the next process, the juice is then cold settled and sterile filtered into the bottle. Produced from a blend of varieties, including grenache, riesling and muscat blanc.

Serving Ideas

Verjus is a wonderful grapey condiment that can be used on salads, either straight from the bottle or in a low-calorie (or kilojoule) vinaigrette using walnut, olive or a neutral oil combination with honey or sugar, and sherry or balsamic vinegar. For deglazing, splash into the pan after sautéing light meats such as chicken or veal to make a light sauce. A fruity style that goes well with nutty oils, poached vegetables, fruits and fresh cheeses.

Download Tasting Notes

Featured Recipe

PRUE'S DOLMADES
Makes 40 vine leaves

A German-Turkish recipe made with Prue's Verjus

INGREDIENTS

100ml olive oil
3 onions - finely chopped
1½ cups short grain rice
40g pine nuts
40g dried currants
salt and pepper
bunch of parsley - finely chopped
handful of mint leaves (must be fresh, otherwise omit) - finely chopped
40 fresh unsprayed vine leaves. Use a variety with big round leaves, such as chardonnay, semillon, colombard, malbec, grenache, mataro or perlette (a table grape). Or use a jar of vine leaves; these contain about 60 leaves.
250ml Prue's Verjus

METHOD

Heat the olive oil and fry the onion until glassy but not browned. Add rice and stir until the olive oil has been absorbed Add pine nuts and currants and stir for about 10 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, parsley and mint; set aside to cool.

If using fresh vine leaves, trim the stalks off. Blanch leaves one at a time in boiling verjus; keep the remaining verjus for the poaching liquid. Drain leaves in a colander and lay out on the working bench or board with the underside (dull side) facing up.

Keeping 6-8 leaves aside, fill each of the remaining leaves with about a teaspoon of the mixture and wrap up like a parcel. Place half of the reserved leaves on the base of a large heavy-based frying pan with a lid and add the stuffed vine leaves, seam side down. Layer the parcels on top of each other. Top with the remaining vine leaves.

Add water to the reserved verjus to make up to 2 cups. Pour this poaching liquid over the dolmades, place a plate on top to hold the dolmades together and simmer very gently for ¾ of an hour or until the rice is cooked.

Other Recipes Containing Verjus