Barbara Őhlzelt | Gruner Veltliner Verjus NV

The Gruner Verjus is the ‘brisker’ of the two ‘raw’ versions …. Undiluted, there’s a fairly pointy initial acidity with a lovely, lingering Gruner flavour building in the background. Dilute with sparkling water to taste, though … 50/50 works nicely … and just look at how the aromatics lift, the acidity drops, and the finish just runs on and on .. making a lovely, pure, refreshing, zero alcohol drink with no added sugars … in fact no added anythings! Replace vinegars in salad dressings or sauces, swap for lemon juice in patisserie, sorbets, ice creams etc… use as a modifier in cocktails or a base in Mocktails …

Verjus … literally ‘Green juice’ is made from under-ripe grapes harvested around the first week of August … some 4-6 weeks before they are ‘wine-ready’. In effect, it’s a late green harvest, but instead of dropping the bunches to the floor, they are taken to the winery and pressed. There are no additives, and there is no fermentation … in the bottle, it’s just ‘green’ grape juice with zero alcohol. It sounds ‘sharp’ and it is, but the flexibility and number of uses you can put Verjus to are remarkable … Zero alcohol, zero added sugar ‘adult’ drinks … Cocktails … Mocktails … dressings … sauces… patisserie etc etc. Whereas vinegar is acetic and therefore argues with wine, Verjus is grape juice and therefore tends to complement wine.