Kitchen Essentials: Verjus & Verjus Spritz of Pinot Noir
2026 Verjus of Pinot Noir
Pleasantly tart and delicately floral,Verjus (French for ‘green juice’) offers a refreshing, non-alcoholic expression of the SCRIBE Estate.
We harvest our Estate Pinot Noir halfway through veraison, then cold-press and bottle the juice. A unique and versatile SCRIBE staple — we use it in place of citrus juice or vinegar for nuanced acidity in the Hacienda Vinaigrette.
$34.00 / bottle
2026 Verjus SPRITZ of Pinot Noir
Ten years into producing Verjus we kept returning to one simple way of enjoying it — the Verjus Spritz. We decided to bottle this refreshing, sparkling expression!
It’s perfectly piquant and tart, delightfully carbonated, and bottled right away, prior to fermentation. It’s best enjoyed when the sun is high, and the ice cubes are plentiful.
$38.00 / bottle
Hacienda Verjus Shrub
This recipe is a great way to use up fruit that is just beyond ripe or blemished. Feel free to use whatever fruit is in season.
1 ½ cup blackberries
1 tablespoon sugar
4 oz honey
2 cups verjus
½ cup distilled vinegar
In a medium bowl, use your hands to mash up the fruit with the sugar. In another bowl, use a whisk to combine the verjus, vinegar and honey. Pour this mixture over the fruit. Cover the bowl and leave it in the refrigerator for a few days to macerate and develop flavor. Strain out the solids through a fine-mesh strainer, saving the syrup. The shrub should be quite strong since you will be cutting it with sparkling water.
To make a spritz, serve on the rocks with sparkling water and a lemon peel.
Verjus Spritz made with Oleo Saccharum
1 cup citrus peels: lemon, orange and/or grapefruit (leaving pith behind)
1/2 cup sugar
3 oz verjus
3 oz sparkling water
1 teaspoon oleo
To make the oleo saccharum, massage together the citrus peels and sugar. Place in a sealed container and leave out on the counter overnight. In the morning, most of the sugar should be dissolved. If not, add a few splashes of water and mix until fully dissolved.
To build the spritz, combine equal parts verjus and sparkling water with a small spoonful of oleo. Serve in a wine glass, on the rocks.
Verjus Vinaigrette
1/2 shallot, diced
1/3 cup verjus
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Healthy pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup olive oil
Place the diced shallot in a small bowl. Pour over the verjus, vinegar and salt, and let macerate for 10 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil, mix and adjust to taste.
Verjus Roasted Figs and Fromage Blanc Toast
Makes 4 toasts
2 fig leaves
Small bundle fresh thyme sprigs, pick about half
10 figs, halved
Sea salt
Black pepper
1/4 cup verjus
Olive oil
1/2 cup fromage blanc
4 slices of levain bread, toasted
Flaky sea salt
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a cazuela, small baking dish, or a small sauté pan with the two fig leaves and scatter half of the thyme branches on top. Arrange the figs atop the leaves, cut side up so they fit tightly. Sprinkle with the picked thyme, a generous pinch of salt, black pepper, verjus and olive oil. Bake until the figs get jammy and toasted on the edges, about 25 minutes.
To build the toast, smear the fromage blanc onto the bread, spoon on a few figs with all their delicious juices. Finish with a big pinch of flaky salt and a drizzle of fresh olive oil.
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