Madison County Winery

Here are nine surprising fruits for making wine:

1. Apricots

If you have tried to make wine before, you might have heard that apricots don’t make a good base for wine. Well, that’s only partly true. This fruit makes a decent wine but doesn’t age well. If you want to make a wine that you can store for a few years, apricot wine is not the best choice. Many people prefer apricot wine over wine made from grapes.

2. Grapes

Grapes tend to have a lot of sugar and tannin, and those two things are what make wine taste good. That means it takes a long time to ferment grapes, which is why they are only sometimes recommended for beginners. Grapes have a distinct taste and give your wine a different flavor than wine made with other fruits.

3. Blueberries

Blueberries make an excellent wine. They are one of the easiest fruits to work with and taste delicious when fermented. The main issue with blueberries is that they don’t have enough sugar to make a full-bodied wine. You will want to add sugar (or another sweetener) to your blueberry wine to counteract that. The good news is that blueberry wine tastes excellent with a bit of sweetness. And if you decide to age your blueberry wine, the added sugar will help the wine mature properly. Blueberries are an excellent alternative to grapes if you want an easy recipe that you can make quickly. They also make delicious wine that will pair well with almost any meal.

4. Apple

Apples are another fruit that doesn’t have enough sugar to make a full-bodied wine. However, apples have another advantage that blueberries do not: they have tannin. Blueberries don’t have enough tannin to compensate for their lack of sugar, but apples do. That means apples are the perfect fruit to mix with blueberries to make a full-bodied wine. Apples also have a distinct flavor that will set your blueberry and apple wine apart from other wines. If you can wait that long, apple blueberry wine is a tasty and unique choice.

5. Pumpkin

Pumpkin wine is one of the more unique (and possibly spooky) wines you can make. It has a distinct taste that will remind you of autumn, but it is also delicious year-round. Pumpkin wine is also straightforward to make. You can ferment pumpkin alone or mix it with apples or blueberries to make a more complex wine. Pumpkin wine takes a while to ferment, but it is well worth the wait. And if you want to speed up the process, you can also drink pumpkin wine. Pumpkin wine lasts a long time and is a delicious fall treat.

6. Oranges

Oranges are another fruit that doesn’t have enough sugar to make a full-bodied wine. However, oranges give off a distinct flavor that will set your wine apart. If you like oranges, you will probably love orange wine. Oranges are also very easy to work with. You can either mix them with other fruit or ferment them alone. If you ferment oranges alone, it will take a while to ferment. If you want your orange wine sooner, you can mix oranges with other fruit. That will make a more complex wine ready to drink sooner. Oranges are another unique choice, but they are also delicious. If you like oranges, you will probably love orange wine.

7. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are not a traditional wine ingredient but an attractive choice. The best way to ferment tomatoes is to crush them (or blend them) and ferment them with grapes. That will give your wine a distinct taste that takes almost no effort to make. Tomatoes are a straightforward and quick fruit to work with. They also have enough sugar and tannin to make a full-bodied wine, so there is no need to add other ingredients.

8. Peaches

Peaches are another unusual fruit that you can use to make wine. They are much like tomatoes because they are easy to work with and have enough sugar and tannin to make a full-bodied wine. Peach wine also tastes delicious. It has a distinct peach taste, making it stand out from other wines. Peach wine can either be made with fresh peaches or with peach juice. If you use fresh peaches, you can ferment the wine reasonably quickly. If you use peach juice, it will take a bit longer. Whether you want to make a quick peach or complex peach wine, you can rest assured that peach wine is delicious.

9. Pomegranate

Pomegranate wine has advantages for your health in addition to its delicious flavor. This excellent fruit is rich in vitamins A, C, and E, which assist in decreasing inflammation and are also beneficial for your skin. It would be best if you fermented it to make wine to get its health advantages. Due to its rarity in shops, you may get it online. Pomegranate wine is another beverage that people brew at home.

Tomatoes provide rich, earthy flavors to many types of wine. They are best known for their role in making Sangiovese-based red wines. There are different types of tomato wine. For example, there are wines fermented with tomato skins and pulp, wines fermented with tomato seeds, and wines fermented with tomato pulp alone.

Tomato wine is made from any tomato, including cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, or any other type of tomato on the market. The best tomatoes for making tomatoes have a very high water content, which is essential for producing wine. On the other hand, the best tomatoes for eating have lower water content and are juicier.

Red tomatoes can have a piquant bitterness when used in high concentrations in wine. However, there are other types of tomato that provide a sweeter, fruitier addition to your batches of vino.

Green tomatoes have herbal and grassy notes that work well with lighter-style whites and rosé wines. Their balanced acidity means you can use them almost anywhere you typically use green grapes.

Yellow tomatoes bring a golden hue to white wines, and berries like yellow cherries provide dark sweetness for darker reds—from merlots to barbers. Read on for more information about this lesser-known fruit used in fermented beverages and discover 5 tips for making unique tomato wine!

Know Your Tomatoes

According to Backyard Gardeners Network, it’s best if you can grow tomatoes on your own, homegrown tomatoes taste much better than the ones bought from stores, and is best for making wine.

Another step in making tomato wine is choosing the right kind of tomato to use. Unfortunately, most of the tomatoes you’ll find at your local grocer will be too tart and acidic to use in winemaking. Instead, you’ll need to source some specialty tomatoes bred for their sweetness and lower acidity levels.

For red wines, you’ll want to look for varieties like “Early Blaze,” “Cappelli,” “Mortgage Lifter,” and “Orange Blossom.” These types of tomatoes have a high sugar content and low acidity, making them perfect for winemaking.

For whites and rosés, you’ll want to use green tomatoes. They have a distinct flavor with hints of grass, citrus, and green pepper.

Don’t Forget the Acid.

Tomatoes are rich in pectin, which helps to thicken wine. For those making darker reds, this is great. But when making lighter styles, you’ll likely want to blend in some grapes to help with the fining process.

When you add grapes, you’ll want to make sure the tomatoes balance out the acidity. If not, your wine will be overly tart and need to be aged for years before it’s even drinkable. You can help balance the acidity by adding some tartaric acid. For added citrus notes, you can use other fruit such as cranberries, orange peels, or lemon peels.

Use Ripe Tomatoes

As with any fruit used in winemaking, you want to ensure it’s ripe and sun-ripened. Green tomatoes are toxic and can make your wine poisonous. If you’re unsure of the tomatoes’ ripeness, add them to a paper bag to speed up the ripening process.

Ripe tomatoes have higher sugar levels and will provide a more prosperous, sweeter flavor than unripe ones. They’ll also have much lower acidity, making them easier to work with when blending other fruits and vinegar.

Blended ripe tomatoes provide a dark, rich flavor that is used to make many styles of red wine. They are often blended with herbs like oregano and basil to add a unique twist to the flavors.

Incorporate Herbs and Spices

When creating your signature wine, you don’t need to stick to grapes and tomatoes. Many herbs and spices are perfect for your red or white wine. Some herbs that work well include oregano, thyme, basil, and sage.

You can also add seeds like anise, fennel, and coriander. These additions will not only provide a unique flavor but will also give your wine medicinal qualities. Some spices that blend well with wine include cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

Add Other Natural Flavors

Tomatoes are delicious on their own. But they also blend well with many other natural flavors. Blending tomato wine with other fruits and juices can give your wine a rich, full flavor. Some common additions include blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, and peaches. You can also use red wine and balsamic vinegar to add even more flavor.

Making tomato wine may seem odd initially, but it’s a great way to spice up your fermented beverage repertoire. It can also be a great way to use any excess tomatoes in your garden. You’ll want to use red tomatoes to make red wine and green tomatoes to make white or rosé wine. You can also use yellow or ripe red tomatoes to create a dark, rich color in your red wines. Blend in ripe tomatoes, herbs, and spices to create a signature blend and make tomato wine one of the unique varieties you’ve ever tried! Now that you know more about this unique fermented beverage, are you ready to try making a tomato wine? Follow these tips, and you’ll be well on creating your signature tomato wine. Enjoy!