Verjuice may seem like a trendy new ingredient that our mothers never knew about but it actually dates back to medieval France when a delicate tartness and greater depth was added to many dishes in the form of juice from unripe fruits including grapes, crab apples and plums.
The French spelling, verjus from vert jus means green juice - the 'green' refers to being unripe, not the color.
Maggie Beer was the first person to produce verjuice commercially in Australia and since then it has become an important ingredient in every serious cook’s pantry. Most contemporary verjuice is made from unripe, unfermented grapes.
You can use this versatile ingredient to bring a subtle, fruity acidity to salad dressings and cooked dishes - try it wherever you might use lemon juice or vinegar but want something a little gentler.
Clovely Estate has two delicious varieties of verjuice to choose from:
Our Grenache Verjuice is a beautiful golden hue with fresh and zingy tart green apple notes, hints of lemon and lime zest and a suggestion of peach tea. Our Sangiovese Verjuice has mild acidity and lifted notes of Pink Lady apple making it a perfect ingredient to poach fruit, deglaze pans or enrich salad dressings.
There are a lot of possibilities in a bottle of verjuice. Experiment and bring a fresh world of flavour to your favourite dishes.
Clovely Estate’s founder and owner, Brett Heading, was presented with the 2020 Samuel Bassett Award, which recognises his significant contribution to the Queensland wine industry.