AN OLD TRADITION
The word
VerJus is a French word literally meaning “green juice”.
It is the unfermented juice of semi-ripe grapes from the thinning of winegrapes.
Crop thinning is a viticultural practice designed to improve wine quality
by encouraging fruit ripening. Crop thinning is always carried out by hand
in our vineyard. The thinned fruit is high in acid and low in sugar. We thin
our winegrapes at 11-13 Brix - a scale of measuring total dissolved compounds
in grape juice.
Grapes have been used for cooking for thousands of years, as wine, vinegar
and unfermented juice called VerJus. During our research we found VerJus to
be popular in Medieval times, but VerJus can be dated back to as far as 71
A.D. Roman cooking included three different types of grape juice; fresh pressed
grape juice concentrated by cooking it down to a syrup which later evolved
into balsamic vinegar; fermented juice or wine; and unfermented juice, verjus.
VerJus is by all means tart but does not coat the palate like vinegar. Vinegar
has acetic acid, formed during fermentation, which is why it clashes with
wines. VerJus shares the same acid base as wine - tartaric and malic acids
- therefore complimenting each other.
For centuries, VerJus has always been a staple of wine growing regions. The
French, Italians and Australians have been making VerJus for many years to
compliment their recipes.
We have been winegrowing for over 50 years and plan on continuing these traditions
for many years to come. VerJus is a beautiful ingredient to be cherished in
the kitchen and enjoyed with family and friends.
VERJUS
FACTS
GRAPE
VARIETIES
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, and Malbec from
the Alexander Valley viticulture appellation in Sonoma County
APPEARANCE
Light green-yellow
AROMA
Slightly floral essence of tropical fruits
FLAVOR
Crisp green apple with a sweetly focused acidity
QUALITY
Estate grown and all hand-produced
HARVEST
Terra Sonoma hand harvests all of the fruit in the early morning to hold the
freshness and varietal character until crush immediately following. Harvest
begins in late August - but this varies every year depending on the weather
and specific varietal of winegrape. We pick the grapes at 11-13 brix.
VINEYARDS
65 vineyard acres of the 100 acres family-owned land
PRODUCTION
After the winegrapes have arrived at our winery, we crush and destem the fruit.
We press the fruit for full extraction of flavors being careful not to crush
the seeds which will cause bitter tannic flavors. Our VerJus is then settled
for 3-7 days and packaged immediately.
CONTAINS SULFITES
Please note: May contain small amount of natural tartrates at the bottom
of the bottle
VINEYARD NEWS
VERJUS
HARVEST 2008
May 22 - 2008
written by Karin Warnelius-Miller
Summer is fast approaching. We have experienced unusual weather patterns this year in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County. We had 3 gut-wrenching weeks of frost - in mid- April Justin was up around the clock doing all that he could to save the winegrape harvest. The temperatures dipped down into the high twenties - as low as 28 degrees fahrenheit. According to the old timers around the valley - it hasn't been this cold for over 40 years!
VerJus harvest is expected to begin in late July, early August - it all depends on mother nature. Bloom has set in the vineyards, but now we're dealing with crazy, wild winds - hopefully the canes and clusterrs will stay intact. The vines are bright green with life now - growing tremedously this time of the year.
Please return for more vineyard news...
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WINEGRAPES INTO VERJUS
As
grapegrowers in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County, we have been thinning
fruit for many years. This is a very important step of winegrowing. For winemaking
this means that the grape will be full of highly concentrated tannins and
flavors - adding more depth and longevity to the wine.
Each year brings different surprises. We thin in the vineyard when it’s
best for the vine and the fruit. It is important to watch and listen to your
surroundings as things are growing. Even weeds can tell us something - giving
us clues and insight..
The
grapes are hand picked during thinning when we hand select each and every
cluster. Every year is different as far as how much we will be dropping from
the vine. We thin the fruit usually in late July or early August each year.
We then destem and crush the fruit in our barn. Next we gently press the grapes
extracting the juice which goes directly into stainless tanks. Our VerJus
is a beautiful yellow-green color with a slightly floral nose. As the juice
does not ferment nor have any skin contact, the juice is not pink or red.
Red wine varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon are red only because the skins
have been in direct contact with the grapejuice for 14 to 60 days. Next we
bottle the juice after 2 weeks once it has settled from pressing.
