Tomato Wine Anyone ?

Gardeneer · July 19, 2017

Has anyone here ever made wine from tomatoes ? Or knows about it ?

The reason I am asking is that I have collected over 2 gallons of Sungold and Esterina grape tomatoes. They are perhaps few of the sweetest and low acid tomatoes that there is.

I have made wine from grapes and purchased grape juice concentrate few tomes in the past. So I know little bit about wine making process, from fermenting, to clarifying, ... bottling etc.

The way I understand, it is the characteristics of the fruit that make the difference in wine. The sugar is converted into alcohol in the process. And the alcohol percent will be proportional to the brix (sugar contents ).

I have also lots of Elderberries that I can flavor with.

Any ideas, comments will be appreciated.
Gardeneer

Salsacharley · July 19, 2017

I've got 5 gallons of tomato wine sitting right now from last year. I tested a bottle a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised to find it quite good. It has a gold tint and is semi-dry. There is a hit of tomato flavor but not much. I got the recipe from a local brew/vintner shop. I'm going to bottle it in the next couple of weeks. I've kept it in the dark and a cool room along with 5 gal each of prickly-pear, crab apple, and peach wine. It is fun!

zipcode · July 20, 2017

Well, wine is usually made out of 20% brix or more grapes. Considering those tomatoes have 10 brix at best, it's going to take a lot of sugar. Low acid also is not that good, for grapes smth like 3.5 pH is desirable.

Salsacharley · July 20, 2017

My recipe was juice from 17,5 lbs of tomatoes (about 30 varieties) juiced in a Jack Lalane juicer, 12,5 lbs sugar, 5 cups raisins and enough distilled water to fill my ferment bucket to 6 gallons combined. The only other additives were campden tablets, acid blend, nutrient,tannin, and vintners yeast.

KarenO · July 20, 2017

hmmm, that sounds very interesting to me. I have never had or made tomato wine but I would definitely try it if I had the chance

KarenO

**carolyn137** · July 20, 2017

Ihave a link here somewhere in my faves about making wine from Riesentraube,it was published in the Newsletter that Craig and I used to publish about tomatoes called Off The Vine, and a recipe was also given.

I was sent two bottles of that tomato wine and it was excellent,like a dry sherry.

I'll see if I can find that link when I have time.

OK, I found it, note the date on the link, and it was my good friend Neil in Canada who still had that issue of OTV with the recipe. And yes,it was that Neil who first sent out seeds for Fish Lake Oxheart as well as Ashleigh,which is a great variety and needs to be grown more,say I. I know I offered it in a seed offer here and the Fall reports back were wonderful.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Ashleigh

And now the link with the recipe

http://www.tomatoville.com/newreply....ote=1&p=655834

It was Will Weaver who did that.

Carolyn, who feels just terrible since Glenn Drowns (Sandhill Preservation) just called on my medi alert box as I was typing and he said it really is too late for him to sow seeds.So yet another person I've disappointed .

imp · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Ihave a link here somewhere in my faves about making wine from Riesentraube,it was published in the Newsletter that Craig and I used to publish about tomatoes called Off The Vine, and a recipe was also given.

I was sent two bottles of that tomato wine and it was excellent,like a dry sherry.

I'll see if I can find that link when I have time.

OK, I found it, note the date on the link, and it was my good friend Neil in Canada who still had that issue of OTV with the recipe. And yes,it was that Neil who first sent out seeds for Fish Lake Oxheart as well as Ashleigh,which is a great variety and needs to be grown more,say I. I know I offered it in a seed offer here and the Fall reports back were wonderful.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Ashleigh

And now the link with the recipe

http://www.tomatoville.com/newreply....ote=1&p=655834

It was Will Weaver who did that.

Carolyn, who feels just terrible since Glenn Drowns (Sandhill Preservation) just called on my medi alert box as I was typing and he said it really is too late for him to sow seeds.So yet another person I've disappointed .

The second link is not working right - it takes me to the reply box for this thread??!! Am I doing something wrong?

**carolyn137** · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp

The second link is not working right - it takes me to the reply box for this thread??!! Am I doing something wrong?

No,You aren't doing anything wrong at all since I just tried it myself.

The link was from a much earlier thread here at Tville about tomato wine,if I can't fix it when I have time I'll have to go back and find it since I see I didn't save it to my faves, and may be cut and paste the recipe.

But I do know that I can contact Neil in Canada and he probably still has it.

Carolyn

Gardeneer · July 20, 2017

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipcode

Well, wine is usually made out of 20% brix or more grapes. Considering those tomatoes have 10 brix at best, it's going to take a lot of sugar. Low acid also is not that good, for grapes smth like 3.5 pH is desirable.

Brix/sugar is not an issue, as it is converted into alcohol. Adding sugar can take care of that. But what I think what is important is the color, flavor, aroma that come from the fruit. That is what makes every wine from various grapes , various year different. So an aromatic flavorful tomato should make a better wine.

Quote:

My recipe was juice from 17,5 lbs of tomatoes (about 30 varieties) juiced in a Jack Lalane juicer, 12,5 lbs sugar, 5 cups raisins and enough distilled water to fill my ferment bucket to 6 gallons combined. The only other additives were campden tablets, acid blend, nutrient,tannin, and vintners yeast.

Charley, thanks for the recipe. I will have to get those item via internet, as there is no vinter store near me.
I have a brix measuring device that I can use to regulate the amount of sugar, to have a 10-12% alcohol.

Keep your comments coming.
Another way to enjoy tomatoes, tom make wine with it.

PhilaGardener · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

No,You aren't doing anything wrong at all since I just tried it myself.

The link was from a much earlier thread here at Tville about tomato wine,if I can't fix it when I have time I'll have to go back and find it since I see I didn't save it to my faves, and may be cut and paste the recipe.

But I do know that I can contact Neil in Canada and he probably still has it.

Carolyn

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...to+wine+recipe - the recipe is in Neil's reply - post 14

imp · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...to+wine+recipe - the recipe is in Neil's reply - post 14

You are a gem! Thanks.

Seems fairly simple to do, just takes time and tomatoes.

May have to try that.

**carolyn137** · July 21, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...to+wine+recipe - the recipe is in Neil's reply - post 14

Thanks ever so much for finding that link which shows Neil's post in #14.

I thought that is what I posted the first time, but maybe not, and I'm not going to check it out.

Carolyn

Tormato · July 21, 2017

From old web reading, Giant Belgium/Belgian Giant (same tomato???) was the one variety that came up in making wine from tomatoes.

**carolyn137** · July 22, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tormato

From old web reading, Giant Belgium/Belgian Giant (same tomato???) was the one variety that came up in making wine from tomatoes.

Very true Gary see this link

https://www.google.com/search?q=Gian...d+to+make+wine

And yes, Giant Belgium is the same as Belgian Giant as you'll see from the link above.

But I haven't seen anyone posting about it re wine,have you?, well I don't know in how many years.

Heck,if they want to focus on large pink ones to make wine there would be a very long list of them and many already say that the Sudduth Brandywine has a winey taste..

Carolyn

Gardeneer · July 23, 2017

Today I made an online order for the essentials.
Total cost : ~ $35. I have also to get few thing locally. Better make it worthwhile. This is just for small items and ingredients not major equipment.
At $2.50 per bottle of wine, gotta make at least 20 bottles . OK, make it 15. hehe
But aside from the costs, it is an adventure for me.
I am trying to pick tomatoes with good flavor and high brix. So far I have about enough for 2 gallon juice. That should make 10 bottles right there.

OK. Anybody else wants to try ?

July 20, 2017	#6
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Ihave a link here somewhere in my faves about making wine from Riesentraube,it was published in the Newsletter that Craig and I used to publish about tomatoes called Off The Vine, and a recipe was also given. I was sent two bottles of that tomato wine and it was excellent,like a dry sherry. I'll see if I can find that link when I have time. OK, I found it, note the date on the link, and it was my good friend Neil in Canada who still had that issue of OTV with the recipe. And yes,it was that Neil who first sent out seeds for Fish Lake Oxheart as well as Ashleigh,which is a great variety and needs to be grown more,say I. I know I offered it in a seed offer here and the Fall reports back were wonderful. http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Ashleigh And now the link with the recipe http://www.tomatoville.com/newreply....ote=1&p=655834 It was Will Weaver who did that. Carolyn, who feels just terrible since Glenn Drowns (Sandhill Preservation) just called on my medi alert box as I was typing and he said it really is too late for him to sow seeds.So yet another person I've disappointed . __________________ Carolyn

July 23, 2017	#15
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	Today I made an online order for the essentials. Total cost : ~ $35. I have also to get few thing locally. Better make it worthwhile. This is just for small items and ingredients not major equipment. At $2.50 per bottle of wine, gotta make at least 20 bottles . OK, make it 15. hehe But aside from the costs, it is an adventure for me. I am trying to pick tomatoes with good flavor and high brix. So far I have about enough for 2 gallon juice. That should make 10 bottles right there. OK. Anybody else wants to try ? __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

July 19, 2017	#1
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	Tomato Wine Anyone ? Has anyone here ever made wine from tomatoes ? Or knows about it ? The reason I am asking is that I have collected over 2 gallons of Sungold and Esterina grape tomatoes. They are perhaps few of the sweetest and low acid tomatoes that there is. I have made wine from grapes and purchased grape juice concentrate few tomes in the past. So I know little bit about wine making process, from fermenting, to clarifying, ... bottling etc. The way I understand, it is the characteristics of the fruit that make the difference in wine. The sugar is converted into alcohol in the process. And the alcohol percent will be proportional to the brix (sugar contents ). I have also lots of Elderberries that I can flavor with. Any ideas, comments will be appreciated. Gardeneer __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

July 19, 2017	#2
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I've got 5 gallons of tomato wine sitting right now from last year. I tested a bottle a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised to find it quite good. It has a gold tint and is semi-dry. There is a hit of tomato flavor but not much. I got the recipe from a local brew/vintner shop. I'm going to bottle it in the next couple of weeks. I've kept it in the dark and a cool room along with 5 gal each of prickly-pear, crab apple, and peach wine. It is fun!

July 20, 2017	#3
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	Well, wine is usually made out of 20% brix or more grapes. Considering those tomatoes have 10 brix at best, it's going to take a lot of sugar. Low acid also is not that good, for grapes smth like 3.5 pH is desirable.

July 20, 2017	#5
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	hmmm, that sounds very interesting to me. I have never had or made tomato wine but I would definitely try it if I had the chance KarenO

July 21, 2017	#13
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	From old web reading, Giant Belgium/Belgian Giant (same tomato???) was the one variety that came up in making wine from tomatoes.