Tomato or Tomahto – it’s now a wine

Buffalo Trace Newsletter reprinted a story about a tomato wine made in Quebec. So, I decided to check it out. The vintner (tomatoes grow on vines, right?) is named Pascal Miche and he has sold 34,000 bottles a year for the past 3 years. In North America, he can legally call his product “wine.” He produces a dry wine and a mellow wine that supposedly is close in taste to Pineau des Charentes from a family recipe that’s been a secret for four generations. It’s called Omerto and sells for about $25 for a 375 ml. He’s looking for distribution in the US and some countries in Western Europe like France. Good luck with that, especially since only alcohol beverages made from fermented grapes can be called wine in France. Here’s a short video on the wine. (You’ll have to click on the link to watch it on YouTube. The video is from AFP, Agence France-Presse.)