Roasted Tomato Wine? I Went For It!

[vinny]

Yes, I'm poking someone with the title and subject, but hey, a guys gotta have fun.

Today was ketchup day with the leftover tomatoes. About 40 lbs total I would guess. I stole 15 lbs for wine. I always roast my tomatoes on the BBQ to peel, so I figured why not give it a go for the wines. BBQ was already on. I made 3 1 gallon batches, all strained and bagged. 2 roasted, 4 lbs and 7.5 lbs, and a second 4 lb left raw as a comparison.



I roasted and strained.


Roasted vs raw


Strained I came in at 1600 ml of raw puree, 1300 roasted, and 2500 roasted in the double batch.

I made 3 batches all topped to 1.5 litres including fruit bags. 1 gallon water in the 4 lb batches, and 3 litres in the double.

I just pitched the yeasts. I am comparing D47 and QA23 in the 4 gallon batches, and I threw 71b in the double batch for another comparable.

Are we having fun, yet? Well, we all know I am!

 

[RevA]

Love the colour.

 

[BigDaveK]

I'm slow some time - who are you "poking"?

Disappointing tomato harvest for me this year, no ketchup. Homemade has such incredible flavor.

Love the yeast comparison plan! VERY interested how this turns out. Yeast variation is on my agenda as well.

I agree - if it's not fun why do it?!

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Nice haul. I’ve only got 9 plants that I rescued after the hurricane. Gonna be a small sauce season. No wine.

 

[vinny]

Homemade has such incredible flavor.

This is my first batch. I'm excited to give it a try after some time to mellow.

Love the colour.

I wish it would transfer over to the wine instead of clearing out.

 

[vinny]

Interesting start. Last night after a couple hours the raw batch was already frothing on top and both roasted batches looked like the yeast was dead. It was still floating solid on top. This morning all 3 had caps, bit the raw was off n runnin. I added nutrient to all three and extra to the roasted batches. We shall see what the day brings, I guess.

 

[vinny]

Everything is up to speed now. D47 is the clear favorite so far. Not making any judgements until tasting, but the other two are certainly more sluggish and temperature sensitive. Wood heat leads to cooler night temps. I pitched at 24-26 degrees, but the slower start of the other two lead to temp drops before they got active enought to keep temps up. I needed to get out the old heat band. Couple of degrees increase and they're all chugging along now.

Lots to be said for an active strain so point one for D47.

 

[Raptor99]

D47 does better than some other yeasts at lower temperatures.If the temp is above 59 degrees F (15 degrees C) it should be fine. Fermenting more slowly at a lower temperature helps to preserve more of the flavor of the fruit, so usually slower is better. Warm temperatures and faster fermentation drives off some of the volitile esters that give wine aroma and flavor.

Here's an article on fermentation temperature: Cool Fermentations - WineMakerMag.com

 

[sour_grapes]

I have relied on both. I'm too lazy to look up the info on QA23, but it is a nice attribute of D47 that it has very low nutritional needs and very low probability of H2S production.

 

[vinny]

D47 does better than some other yeasts at lower temperatures.If the temp is above 59 degrees F (15 degrees C) it should be fine. Fermenting more slowly at a lower temperature helps to preserve more of the flavor of the fruit, so usually slower is better. Warm temperatures and faster fermentation drives off some of the volitile esters that give wine aroma and flavor.

Here's an article on fermentation temperature: Cool Fermentations - WineMakerMag.com

Thanks. After a read of that my reaction is that I am definitely showing my age. In the world of wine yeast, I am in grade 2. I'm so used to EC-1118 and such, that when D47 took off I assumed I was nutrient deficient or too cold. They were still 21 degrees, just slower starters. I should have gone for a walk.

No harm done, but the heat belt is off and they are on their own. Next time a little more patience will be exercised. I was anticipating issues before there were any.

 

[vinny]

Well, another interesting result. QA23 and D47 are both low nutrient yeasts, while 71B has 'high demand for survival factors'. Although D47 is looking like it is rocking along while the other 2 are just getting started, 71B is at 1.052 while the other 2 are at 1.060.

Clearly you can't always assume you know what's going on based on what you are seeing

 

[vinny]

Also, I played a mental game of cups this morning, which primary is which? I moved them all around yesterday, but I thought I was paying attention. I was completely off the mark, and very pleased I labelled them 1,2, and 3 and noted that in my notes.

 

[winemaker81]

Clearly you can't always assume you know what's going on based on what you are seeing

Like the amount of bubbles (or not) in the airlock, the rate at which SG drops doesn't tell you much. If the SG is dropping, the yeast is eating, so things are good.

 

[HillPeople]

We make a fair amount of tomato wine and use K1-V1116.
Nice 3 week ferment at 65 degrees.

 

[vinny]

Still my favorite part.

 

[BigDaveK]

Still my favorite part. View attachment 95366

It's like a campfire - I can watch that for a long time!

 

[sour_grapes]

It's like a campfire - I can watch that for a long time!

There are three things most people can watch almost indefinitely:

1. A campfire or fireplace
2. A waterfall
3. Other people working.

 

[vinny]

Either I am getting better, or tomato wine is just a bit of a shocker. It already tastes really nice. I didn't try the double batch, but the two singles are really well balanced. These may not be dry yet, i transfered the double on tuesday at 1.000 and skipped these till racking. There is a sweetness that balances with the acidity. I don't think it is unfermented sugar, more tomato, but no discernable tomato flavor.

Makes sense right?

Anyway roasted vs raw single batches side by side.

I'm very interested to see where this goes. I'll be updating.

 

[vinny]

I'll update sediment too. I used nut milk bags. This is both batches once removed. One has raisins, the other is literally squeezed out tomato paste. Bear in mind that I strained first, but nothing really gets through a milk bag.

 

[BigDaveK]

I'll update sediment too. I used nut milk bags. This is both batches once removed. One has raisins, the other is literally squeezed out tomato paste. Bear in mind that I strained first, but nothing really gets through a milk bag.

View attachment 95408

One of my regrets is that I didn't start tasting the pulp sooner.
Any plans?