[Sca-cooks] Verjus

[Stefan li Rous]

  Edouard, Sire de Bruyerecourt commented:
> As far as when to pick grapes for verjuis, usually wineries pick and
> crush for wine in October, maybe late September, depending on the local
> climate and that particular season. I would say early August to early
> September. Mostly a guess. You might want to step out once a week to 
> the
> vine and check.
Among the theories that I remember being discussed here was that 
verjuice was a way to use grapes that had to be picked from the vines 
early. I believe you have to thin out the grapes as they grow. This 
kind of info out to be in any books on growing grapes for wine, but 
I've not tried to search this out. I think this idea that the verjuice 
was, at least originally, a product of grapes that had to be thinned, 
holds merit because why pick them early just for verjuice if you can 
leave them on the vine and get ripe grapes which can get turned into 
wine?

If it is indeed the case that the grapes are from thinning the stock, I 
assume that they would be picked much earlier than just before the 
harvest. The longer you leave them on the vine, the longer the vine has 
to work to create them and the less energy there is to put into the 
remaining grapes. And it may be that that is the reason for the 
thinning, to get richer, plumper, sweeter grapes for the creation of 
wine.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
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