Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4 & 11 Experience)
Grew three plants in the poly greenhouse under identical conditions and the exact same feeding routine, and the fruit colors turned out surprisingly different!
Two of the plants gave me delicate pink fruit with a soft pearlescent glow (hard to even put into words), while the third plant put out chocolate-colored tomatoes with shiny copper stripes. In both cases, the fruit was flat-round with plump shoulders, solid and juicy inside, with a very pleasant, mild, sweetish flavor.
Vines stayed on the shorter side, about 4.5 to 5 ft (1.3-1.5 m) in the greenhouse. Trained each one to 2 stems.
Maturity was mid-season in our climate. 😊
Edited December 4, 2018 by Drosera
On 12/4/2018 at 1:36 PM, Tiffany said:
Grew Queen Anne this year too. Vine topped out right around 5 ft (1.6 m), sturdy habit without getting tangled in tons of foliage. Ran it as a double leader. Average fruit weight was right around 7 oz (200 g). Production ended up middle of the road. Didn’t keep an exact count, probably around 12-15 tomatoes. But man, what total knockouts! Photos really don’t do the color justice. They look like they’re glowing from the inside with that pearly sheen. Pure eye candy. I only had room for one plant, and mine looked like this. A friend of mine grew it both in her greenhouse and out in the garden beds. Color shifted quite a bit from plant to plant, but the fruit shape stayed identical. Flavor was mild, sweet, and pleasant.
Well, now you got me hooked! Especially since I managed to misplace my Vintage Wine seeds anyway. Considering 12 to 15 fruit per vine sounds plenty good to me, I am definitely tracking down some seeds. Anyone got a trusted vendor? Spotted a couple online listings plus Aleksey Kulik has it in his catalog. Would love to track down original breeder packs if they’re still around.
Edited December 4, 2018 by Vlad-69
Full Summary: Plant Habits, Yield, Flavor, and Phenotypes
- 🌿 Plant & Growth Habit: Compact indeterminate or semi-determinate vine, staying manageable around 4.5 to 5 ft (1.3-1.6 m). Growers had great success training to 2 leaders. Foliage is moderate without becoming unmanageable. Mid-season maturity.
- 🎨 Color Segregation: Because this is a Tom Wagner release (Brandy Stripes x Vintage Wine), growers experienced noticeable phenotype variation. One plant line produced iridescent, pearlescent pink fruit, while another threw dark chocolate tones with shiny copper striping. Both displayed identical oblate shapes with rounded, plump shoulders.
- 📈 Yield: Moderate producer. First-year trials in northern greenhouses averaged 7-9 fruit per plant, while long-season Mediterranean trials in Spain yielded roughly 12-15 fruit per vine (~7 oz / 200 g each).
- 👅 Flavor Profile: Split reviews. Yaroslavna and Tiffany found it very pleasant, mild, and sweetish with a solid, juicy bite. Dosya found it disappointing, describing it as flat and reminiscent of standard commercial store-bought fruit.
- 🌎 Grower Regional Data: Tested in short northern seasons (USDA Zone 4, Yaroslavl and Tver regions of Russia) under poly greenhouse cover, and in maritime subtropical conditions (USDA Zone 11, Canary Islands, Spain).
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