has anyone made tomato wine?

[artjunkie]

hey there, I could use a little advise. I started a tomato wine awhile back. I kept it in the secondary for 3 weeks and racked it(it was clearing good from what I've read) my question is about smell... should it smell bad at this point? I'm a total newb to wine and this is my first try from something other then a kit
thanks in advance

 

[Sacalait]

I hate raining on anybodies parade but I just dumped the last of my tomato wine...nasty! As for the smell, mine anyway, it reminded me of tomatoes that had gone bad. I hope you have better luck.

 

[myakkagldwngr]

Just what should a tomato wine taste and smell like. Now I'm serious with this question.
I worked on a tomato farm for almost twenty years. Started as a tractor driver and worked up to a manager on the fourth largest farm in the Southeast United States.
There have been many days that the migrant harvestors on my part of the farm picked 750,000 pounds of tomatos.
I can't image a fermented tomato smelling any better than what we left in the fields.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

ours tasted good, if you like to drink a concentrated V8 drink.

GREEN tomatoes make much better wine, but you need to have an acid tester. they are very acidic. the wine is more like lemon than tomato.

 

[Sacalait]

Just what should a tomato wine taste and smell like. Now I'm serious with this question.
I worked on a tomato farm for almost twenty years. Started as a tractor driver and worked up to a manager on the fourth largest farm in the Southeast United States.
There have been many days that the migrant harvestors on my part of the farm picked 750,000 pounds of tomatos.
I can't image a fermented tomato smelling any better than what we left in the fields.

Maybe that's the problem, I've never tasted a tomato wine other than mine so all I can tell you about is my experience and I didn't like the experience. In my case there are just way more things to make wine with that I know work better than tomato.

 

[artjunkie]

I just figured I had more then I could eat, I'd been getting more and more into making wine and beer and figured, why not, let's give it a try.. I've never had it either.. finding wine not made out of grapes is tough to find at all. I figured ya have to play to win..

there is a tomato vodka now... it's tasty.. so maybe tomato wine is just ahead of it's time : )

 

[arcticsid]

Funny to see a post about Tomato wine. Just the other day my neighbor came to me and asked what he could do with 5 gallons of green tomatoes he had. I said wine, but joking of course. But I have seen some interesting ingredients on this forum, so I wasn't surprised I said that.

Well he isn't going to make wine, I did convince him to piclkle them like I did a few years ago. Theyre pretty darn good that way. I think we'll stick with fruit for wine though. Interested to follow this thread though, curious to see what others have to say about this Tomato wine idea.
Troy

 

[joeswine]

tomato wine

there's a guy in our wine group,bob mat who made this wine,wasn't to bad but proved to me not everything that can be fermented is wine... in the end

 

[outdoorsmadness]

i made some tomato wine its in secondary now for about three months it dosent smell bad cleared nicly looks gasoline, i was told it taste like a cream sherry, (whatever that taste like) ill let you know how it taste in about 6 or 7 more months.

 

[myakkagldwngr]

I like fried green tomatoes, and even have heard of making a pie from small green tomatoes. It's said to be as good as any apple pie you've ever tasted.
Maybe later this fall I'll try some wine. My brothers still work on a very large tomato farm. They gorw close to 1000 acres twice a year.

 

[arcticsid]

My other neighbor turned me on to some green tomatoe preserves his mother made, it was sweet and was excellent on toast and biscuts. Wasn't interested in making any but I did goole it and it isn't that hard to make.

 

[artjunkie]

an update

So I made red tomato wine over a year ago. it was made from all heirloom's.. someone asked what's it suposto taste like? well mine is a nice burgandy or maybe amberish color.. it needs run threw the aerator at this point.. but it tastes like a young white whine with a hint of tomato on the finish.. I think in a year it might just be something good.. my only concern is a few bubles in the bottles? nothing's blown up yet tho.. it's looking like a real mild carbination.. least I hope.. take care all

 

[gird123]

i used 12 lbs of red tomatos for one gallon. it is great. Very little tomato taste.

 

[whine4wine]

Had a lot of tomatoes, so made a batch..............without a doubt...it is the worst wine I have produced so far. Oh well, experimentation is part of the learning curve.

 

[corntassel]

I make tomato wine every year,both green and red. This wine needs to age for over a year before drinking or use as cooking wine. Some i add oregano to for italian dishes. I have found this wine needs to be 13.5--14% ABV. Also you need to realy check the acid and adjust accordingly. I base the acid on what i use for my fruit wines. I have done a lot of experimenting on the amount of tomatoes per gallon and found out the best for flavor and no off tastes was 5lb. per gallon. Most hearloom types are good. Romas not so good.This wine is great in home made saled dressings instead of vinegar. Great when blended with Jalapeno wine for drinking (mostly in the winter). This blend is also great in cooking. If made right wine has a very light nose yet the hint of tomato is there. The tomato flavor should not be overwhelming but leave a sutel tomato flavor on the back of the tongue. Please escuse the spelling due to the fact of a Flexeril for my back and 2 glasses of wine for the well being. I know you are not supposed to mix mussel relaxers with alc. but the well being needed the glasses of Hibiscus.

 

[memojo]

Tomatoe Wine

I mage a 3 gallon batch of Tomato Wine a few yesra ago. It was just OK, nothing to "write home about". It was a nice golden color. I can't recall the smell. It's one of those wines that you think you have to make at least once. You just never know about strange fruits and vegetables you sometimes stumble on to one that's pretty good.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

At this point, it's easier for me to say what wines I haven't made, than the ones I have! lol

 

[Deezil]

I've heard that green tomatoes make a better tomato-tasting wine, than red tomatoes.. I had a surplus of tomatoes last year and tried it but i tossed it just because of the smell before it even got fermenting... It was sitting in the dining room though, so it kinda wafted through the whole house...