📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vanskiy Rozovyi (Vani Pink)
- 🌍 Origin: Heirloom tomato originating from the Vani district in the country of Georgia (Caucasus region). It was heavily popularized among collectors by seed vendor Dmitry Gusev.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The plant is described as sturdy and robust, but not overly aggressive or leafy. It handles both heat waves and cold snaps remarkably well without dropping blossoms.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful pink beefsteaks, typically weighing between 9-18 oz (250-500 g). The fruits are oblate (flattened) and slightly ribbed, often featuring a distinct little depression in the top center.
Standout Feature: A very “clean” fruit—growers note it almost never suffers from cracking, green shoulders, or catfacing. - 👅 Flavor Profile: This variety sparks a flavor debate! It has a bold, old-school tomato taste with a pronounced acidic kick. If you love a bright, sweet-and-sour tomato with plenty of zing, you will love it. If you prefer low-acid, purely sweet tomatoes, this might be too tart for you.
I bought the seeds from D. Gusev. Here is what he writes about it: “A folk heirloom variety from the Vani district of Georgia. The flavor of this variety is a solid A+. Thin skin, juicy, and very meaty—everything is top-notch! Georgian varieties have always been highly valued, and that value is timeless. Tall, indeterminate.”
I’ll add that the plant is sturdy but not overly aggressive. I pruned it to two stems, and it set every single truss perfectly. The fruits are beautiful, slightly ribbed, and oblate, weighing around 9 oz (250 g). The ones higher up on the vine get a bit smaller, but they never crack. The flavor actually seemed a bit on the tart side to me. Maybe it just hasn’t adapted to our harsh Ural weather yet, and I didn’t use any fertilizer. I didn’t weigh the harvest, but I easily pulled a 10-liter (2.6 gallon) bucket off a single plant. In the greenhouse, it instantly grabs your attention among the other tomatoes. The fruits look incredibly vibrant and appealing, definitely sturdy enough for transport and market sales!
Seeds from Gusev. It’s a heavy yielder, but it didn’t taste nearly as good as the description claimed. The tomatoes are large, beautiful, and don’t crack. But I just didn’t care for the flavor. I’d give it a 3 out of 5. Way too much acid for my liking. I won’t be saving seeds from this one.
A fellow forum member, Svetlana (Hater), shared a tomato of this variety with me. As soon as I walked into her greenhouse, my eyes went straight to the fruit on this plant. Unbelievably beautiful! Large, over 10.5 oz (300 g), with a gorgeous, even pink color and not a single hint of green shoulders. It has a nice tang to it, but it isn’t outright sour. I’d call it a very well-balanced flavor. Extremely aromatic too! Svetlana’s seeds were from Gusev.
For me, this was the absolute best-tasting tomato of the entire summer. It’s a shame I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures, we ate them way too fast. I definitely saved the seeds though, and it is absolutely going on my grow list! 👍
I also really loved this variety. It held up perfectly through both cold snaps and heat waves. Mid-early maturity. The fruits are quite large, around 9-18 oz (250-500 g). I really appreciated that they ripened evenly with zero green shoulders or catfacing. The flavor is very bright, sweet-and-sour, with a perfect balance of juice and meatiness.
I had to grow this variety again because it didn’t do so well for me last summer. I don’t regret giving it a second chance at all! Absolutely gorgeous fruits, slightly ribbed, and a very attractive color. Zero catfacing whatsoever. Yes, it’s absolutely true—even during a really hot summer here, it wasn’t purely sweet, but it wasn’t overly sour either. I usually prefer sweet tomatoes or sweet ones with a little tang. This one has a slightly more pronounced acidic kick, but I really enjoyed it, it’s definitely not bland.
This right here is exactly the flavor profile I’m always looking for. Sweet, with a nice little tangy bite, and large (up to 1.1 lbs / 500 g). A true Georgian heirloom. My seeds came from Valdis. A characteristic feature of this variety is a distinct little depression right in the center of the tomato.
