Made In Qubec Sought After Worldwide
When Pascal Miche arrived in Québec in 1998, he set to work, fine tuning and making his product known. Ten years later, his tomato wine is on the market.
Omerto is now prepared with a careful blend of tomatoes brimming with flavour. The varieties used are specifically adapted to Baie-Saint-Pauls climate, which lends this grand cru its totally unique flavour..
Omerto is the very first tomato aperitif/digestif ever sold on global markets. Since August 2016, it can be found at la Société des Alcools du Québec or purchased online and delivered to your door.
Tomato Wine Northeast Winemaking
- https://northeastwinemaking.com/pages/tomato-wine
- Press, crush and strain juice into primary fermenter. Keeping all pulp in straining bag, tie top and place in primary. Stir in all other ingredients except yeast, cover and wait 24 hours. Yeast Hydration and primary fermentation: in a large cup add 4 ounces of warm chlorine free water.
The Foodie Traveller In Canada: Glass Of Tomato Wine Anyone
In the picturesque countryside of Quebec, Omerto is the worlds only commercial producer of aperitif tomato wine
The idea of tomato wine may not sound appealing, but many a sommelier has taken Canadas Omerto Sec for a crisp sauvignon blanc.
In picturesque countryside near Quebec City, Pascale Miche runs Omerto, the worlds only commercial producer of aperitif tomato wine.
Rather than the green and purple grapes youll find on a typical vineyard, fruits of blushy pink and scarlet cover the landscape.
Originally from Belgium, Miche inherited his vin de tomate recipe from his grandfather, who, in an effort to avoid waste during the first world war, turned his excess tomatoes into wine.
Miche experimented with dozens of heirloom varieties and settled on two blends, sec and moelleux , each using six types of tomato. The process is the same as with wine: the fruit is crushed, fermented with yeast, and bottled.
Because tomatoes lack tannins, Omerto wines have the soft, golden hue of traditional whites, with flavours that imitate them as well. You can visit for a tour and tasting or order online for a dinner party tipple with a difference.
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Tomato Wine Thriving In Canada
Quebec-based farmer Pascal Miche is enjoying thriving sales of his Omerto tomato wine in Canada, crafted from a secret family recipe.
According to AFP, the former butcher has sold over 65,000 bottles of tomato wine since launching it onto the Canadian market two years ago.
Miche makes the wine from 6,200 tomato plants on his vineyard in Charlevoix, 400km northeast of Montreal.
I wanted to finish what my great-grandfather had started in Belgium in the 30s, he told AFP.
Miche immigrated to Quebec from Belgium seven years ago and started planting red, yellow and black tomatoes in Charlevoix in 2009.
The crop set to ripen by mid-August will be his third harvest, with the journey from field to bottle taking around nine months.
Before making his first batch, Miche tested 16 varieties of tomatoes in order to find six that grew well in Quebecs cool climate.
He can legally call his product wine in North America, but will have to rename it if he starts exporting it to France, where only alcoholic beverages made from fermented grape juice can be called wine.
Selecting his tomatoes with the same care as a winemaker does grapes, to make the wine, the tomatoes undergo the same process of crushing, soaking, fermenting and pressing.
The result is Omerto Sec, a clear, dry, 18% abv wine, and Omerto Moelleux, a sweeter wine that has been compared to French aperitif Pineau des Charentes, both of which are named after Miches great-grandfather Omer.
Amongst Unheard Of Recipes We Find Omerto A White Wine Made From Ancestral Organically Grown Tomatoes Discover It
The first aperitif wine in the world is Omerto. A wine made from tomatoes in Quebec, Canada, which makes it a unique product.
Omerto is prepared with a wise blend of tomatoes that are bursting with flavor. The varieties they use are specifically adapted to the climate of Baie-Saint-Paul, which gives the grand cru a unique taste.
Omerto is the first tomato aperitif/digestif wine sold on the world market. Since August 2016, it has also been on the shelves of the Société des Alcohols du Québec and can be purchased directly online and delivered to your door.
A family tradition since 1938
Omerto takes its name from its creator Omer Miche. Today, it is his great-great-grandson Pascal Miche who takes over the reins of the family business. In 1938, Omer Miche decided to transform this fruit into wine, after an exceptional harvest of tomatoes. Subsequently, Omer improved its production method until it obtained a vintage with an exquisite taste, with 16% alcohol. The Miche family prepared this recipe in their winery and enjoyed it with their friends on vacation.
Omerto Sec and Omerto Moelleux
The wine features two different types, based on the 16 varieties of Quebecs tomato heritage. They select the earliest, strongest and sweetest fruits. The result was the first two distinct products, a combination of 6 ancestral tomato varieties: the dry Omerto , with a spicy and full-bodied taste, and the sweet Omerto , with fruity and floral aromas.
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A Fusion Between Alchemy And Cuisine
After graduation, Pascal Miche combined his great grandfathers passion for alchemy with his great grandmothers love of fine cuisine: he studied charcuterie-making and enrolled to become a qualified restaurateur.
Two very distinctive yet complementary project spheres emerged. Savouring Omerto truly refreshing when served between 40 and 60, and Cooking with Omerto adds a rich, deep home comfort feel to select recipes where the complexity of the tomato wines flavours are released.
What Is Tomato Wine
Tomato wine is made from either red ripe or green tomatoes. It can be easily made with those bought from the store or grown in the garden. Not as popular as other types, it does have the taste and fragrance of white wine. Some find the flavor unappealing, and that’s the reason why it isn’t produced commercially.
The first-ever recipes for brewing tomato wine appeared in the early 1840s. They were simple and suggested adding sugar to tomato juice to facilitate fermentation without yeast. Some folks made the wine for medicinal purposes, but it was hugely unpopular with the masses. Critics believed it to be a waste of sugar and spoke about how tomato wine was an insult to a respectable vegetable.
Currently, tomato wine is made at home by those who have excess crop. For a few people, making homemade wine out of tomatoes is a strategy to have some wine even in times of recession. Opinions on the flavor of tomato wine are divided, and some say that its acidity is a huge turnoff.
Those who make wine out of red tomatoes use only freshly picked ripe ones. The other major ingredients needed are sugar, yeast, a campden tablet, and pectic enzyme. The first step is to wash and cut up the fruit into small pieces. Next, wine makers add the pieces to water along with sugar and bring it to a boil.
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From Belgium To Quebec
Miche immigrated to Canada from Belgium in 1988. His great grandfather, Omer, had an abundance of tomatoes at his Belgian farm and began making tomato wine in the 1930s. Omer Miche and his wife were considered alchemists by locals. They were well known for transforming common ingredients into deliciousness, even serving their creations to princes and barons in Belgium.
Pascal Michetall, speaking mostly in French, and almost always smilingexplains that his great-grandfather initially was simply looking for a way to preserve more tomatoes. You can only jar so much, he says. But when World War II hit, tomato wine production was delayed until the 1950s and never really took off beyond making enough for family special occasions.
Raised by his great-grandparents, Miche was one of the very few who knew the secret recipe. He promised his great-grandfather, I will make this product one day.
Miche moved to Canada, studied wine and winemaking, researched tomatoes, and began making his familys tomato wine in Charlevoix. Miches testing of the best heirloom tomatoes for the region was critical. He initially planted 16 different varieties and then spent eight years determining the six that were ideal for his wine.
Domaine De La Valle Du Brass President Pascal Miche
proudly introduces Omerto, a tomato wine prepared according to an old family recipe secretly coveted across four generations. On the five hectare countryside property in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, production has soared from 20 or 30 bottles to over 50,000 per year.
The sublime nectars name pays tribute to Omer Miche, Pascals great grandfather who lived in Belgium, and created his very first tomato wine in 1938. That year, Omers tomato crops were so exceptional that he had the wonderful idea of transforming the fruit into wine. He then honed his production methods until he obtained a vintage that was exquisite, with 16% alcohol. The Miche family prepared this recipe in their wine cellar, savouring it with friends on holidays.
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Charlevoix The Home Of Omerto
The sunshine necessary for ripening tomatoes has given way for rain on the morning of my visit. Im at the site of the supplier, fermenter, bottler, shipper, shop, and world headquarters of Omerto, the worlds first tomato wine company, just outside the town of Baie-Saint-Paul.
Baie-Saint-Paul is one of the two principal towns in Charlevoix, Quebec, each with a population under 10,000. The region of Charlevoix begins an hour east of Quebec City, on the north side of the mighty St. Lawrence River. The other main town, La Malbaie, is further east and closer to where the beluga whales frolic.
- Charlevoix is known for its mountainous hikes. | Photo: Johanna Read
- Sailing on the St. Lawrence River. | Photo: Johanna Read
- A stream passes through a park in Baie-St. Paul, Charlevoix. | Photo: Johanna Read
Charlevoix is famous for its ski hills , hiking, bio reserve, wildlife, and charming towns. Its favored by young entrepreneurs, culinary producers, and artists wanting a better lifestyle than they can find in Quebec City or Montreal. Popular with tourists-in-the-know, the area is dotted with shops, galleries, restaurants, and inns.
Baie-Saint-Paul is an ideal home and headquarters for Pascal Miche and Omerto. The terroirthe ways in which a regions specific weather and features affect the taste of crops grown therecreated by the St. Lawrence River and sunny Quebec summers is perfect for tomatoes.
How To Make Tomato Wine From Homegrown Tomatoes
A wild way to use extra tomatoes!
Sometime late this summer you may be confronted with surplus tomatoes. Not only have all your tomato plants borne fruit nice, juicy, delicious, nutritious fruit but friends and neighbors will be handing you whole bags full as well.
When that happened to me two years ago I found an antique recipe for tomato wine and got to work. More about the recipe below, but the most amazing thing about it is that the final directions were dont open the fermentation jug for two years. This June I cheated just a bit when a friend came to visit and we decided to sample the wine at age one year and eleven months.
It tasted just like cream sherry! Sweet and smooth. Yes, worth the wait.
The recipe goes something like this: start with 15 pounds of tomatoes and crush them with your hands, skins and seeds and all, in a large crock lined with cheesecloth or a large paint strainer . Let sit overnight. Enzyme action will virtually dissolve the skins, and you can squeeze and strain the contents to remove the seeds. Next, in a 3-5 gallon fermentation jug, melt five pounds of sugar in boiling filtered water, add the tomato juice, and when the mixture is lukewarm add proofed wine yeast.
Apply an air lock and let fermentation take place until it calms down. Rack the wine and let sit two years. Bottle.
Check out Nan Chases book Drink the Harvest HERE. In it you will find easy to follow step-by-step guides, beautiful pictures, and simply delicious recipes.
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A Truly Unique Tasting Experience
Omerto offers two aperitif wines: sec and moelleux. The sec is a dry wine, where the acidity of the tomato mixes with a tangy grapefruit taste for an earthy kick to the palate. Although you may try to compare it to other wines, Frechette explains that its afternotes are actually more akin to those of whisky, sake or grappa. This makes it great for before or during a first course. The moelleux, on the other hand, is more mellow and sweet, which makes it ideal for enjoying from the first course straight through to dessert. Its flowery mix of orange and melon gives it a sweeter tang.
Frechette recommends pairing the Omerto sec with sushi, smoked salmon and smoked trout, or trying his wifes favourite and enjoying it with cheese fondue. The Omerto moelleux goes well with everything from foie gras and strong cheeses to rich, chocolatey desserts. Its also a great cooking wine, so include it in your favourite recipe, or use it to saute some fresh scallops.
One piece of advice Frechette readily shares is to not feel limited by past preferences when you decide between the sec and the moelleux. He explains that many people are surprised to find that though they tend to prefer dry wines, theyre drawn to the moelleux, and reverse is true of the sec. So if you have the opportunity to sample both, take advantage!
A Perfect Match: Ricotta Gnudi With Quick Tomato Confit And Fresh Corn Paired With Petit Manseng
If youre not familiar with gnudi, dont let that intimidate you. Chef Haidar Karoum of Washington, D.C., restaurant Chloe says the Italian dumplings, a rustic cousin of gnocchi, are easy to make. While gnocchi are made from a mixture of flour and cooked potatoes, gnudi switches out the potatoes for ricotta to create a loose dough thats scooped in bite-size pieces from the bowl and plunked directly into simmering water for a few minutes. When theyre done, theyll rise to the top of the pot.
While gnudi can be served with many accompaniments depending on the season, in late summer Karoum likes them with a quickly cooked mixture of sweet corn, cherry tomatoes and scallions in herbed olive oil . The delicate, pillowy dumplings are then finished with butter, fresh basil and grated Parmesan. To drink alongside, Karoum favors an offbeat white: Petit Manseng, an aromatic, high-acidity white grape indigenous to southwestern France that also makes distinctive dry whites in Virginia. With its medium to full body, exotic fruit notes and beeswaxy quality, it melds well with the starch, rich ricotta and sweet corn in this addictive, weeknight-friendly dish.
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Nothing Like Spaghetti Sauce
I was surprised by the taste of Omertos wines, but not as surprised as some of the worlds best wine experts. When Miche introduced his tomato wine at the World Sommelier Championship in Japan six years ago, none of the 400 sommeliers trying it could identify that the wine was made from tomato. Omerto tastes like wines made from grapes.
Omerto wines have a 16% ABV, or alcohol by volume. Like tomatoes, they have no tannins . The wines range in color from straw to pale gold to amber. The fruity Omerto Moulleux is similar to, but not as sweet as, a white port. It pairs well with local foie gras, cheese, and seafood. According to Miche, It is very interesting with white chocolate. The version aged in cherry and chestnut casks, called Omerto Barrique Cerisier/Châtaignier, takes on the components of sherry. Omerto Acacia Demi-Sec , aged for nine months in acacia casks, is similar to an aged cognac.
- When the worlds best sommeliers tasted Omertos wines, they thought they were made from grapes. | Photo: Johanna Read
- Omerto also produces syrup from the tomato plants. | Photo: Johanna Read
& $: Tiny Tomato Pie With A Bright Grner Veltliner
This dish is a fun transition from summer to fall, taking advantage of the bounty of tomatoes that arrives just as temperatures are cooling off, making pie at tempting project once again. Start with premade pie crust, a well-needed shortcut on a busy weeknight. The base of the pie is a mixture of feta, Parmesan, yogurt and egg yolk, seasoned with oregano and pepper. This is then topped with whole, small tomatoes , sprinkled with salt and more cheese and baked in the oven. To complement the tangy feta and tomatoes and the richness of the Parmesan and the golden crust, a Grüner Veltliner from Austria had just the right mix of citrusy flavors, lively acidity, concentration and spice. After the pie comes out of the oven, its enticing aromas will have everyone running to the table.
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Tomato Wine From Maple River Winery Vinoshipper
- https://vinoshipper.com/shop/maple_river_winery/tomato_wine_21,220
- A seasonal semi-sweet white wine with that summer tomato flavor. 347-5900. All Products. Join Our Club. Tomato Wine. Other. ND – Other $ 13.99 / 750 mL Bottle. Sold Out! Alcohol 10.00% A seasonal semi-sweet white wine with that summer tomato
Where To Buy Tomato Paste In A Tube
I saw the Barefoot Contessa using this the other day and I thought it seemed like a good idea – I am forever opening those darn little cans, using half and then finding the other half in my fridge in a tupperwear container covered in mould a month later..has anyone seen tubed tomato paste in Toronto? I haven’t noticed it in any of the regular grocery stores..
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