Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomato Review: Is It Worth Growing?

 Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomato Review: Flavor, Growth, and Tips for Harvesting

    If you’re looking for a sweet, delicate cherry tomato to add to your garden, the Napa Chardonnay might be just what you're looking for. Below I’ll share my honest review of this variety, including how it grows, how it tastes, and what to watch out for when harvesting. There are pros and cons to every variety- let's dive into what makes this variety special, and why it could be problematic!

Reviewing Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomatoes, a delicious kid-friendly yellow, cream cherry tomato with a light flavor and low acidity. 

Video Review

This is my video review of Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomatoes. This blog post is intended to complement it, but you may find a little more information here in the blog post. In any case, here's the video in case you'd prefer to listen! 

Growth & Production

    The Napa Chardonnay is a vigorous cherry tomato variety. Like most cherry types, it produces generously and grows rapidly, but what impressed me is how well it holds up in the heat. Even with temperatures reaching 96°F+, the plants kept producing without slowing down. Cherry tomatoes are usually far more heat resilient that beefsteak or paste varieties, but these really excelled.

With good management, pruning, and weeding, you'll have an impressively productive variety on your hands. Managing tomato plants with fruiting fertilizers or composts usually has a significant impact on yield- well fed tomatoes are productive tomatoes (just don't add too much nitrogen, or it'll be all leaves!)

Unripe Napa Chardonnay Tomatoes- these blushed shortly after. Very prolific, kid-friendly tomato variety!

Flavor Profile for Napa Chardonnay Tomatoes

    This tomato really shines in flavor, it's greatest strength. The fruits are about 1 inch in size, with a pleasant thin skin and a subtle, sweet taste. They’re not overly sugary, not acidic, and not overpowering; just a pleasant, balanced (yet light) tomato flavor. 

    That makes them a perfect choice for children, or for anyone who’s easing into fresh garden tomatoes. It doesn't offer a loud, proud tomato-ey flavor; something that really sets it apart, in my opinion. The wall thickness is pretty average. 

The fruits are about 1 inch in size, with a pleasant thin skin and a subtle, sweet taste. They’re not overly sugary, not acidic, and not overpowering; just a pleasant, balanced (yet light) tomato flavor. 

The Drawback: Splitting

    The biggest challenge with the Napa Chardonnay is splitting. Because of their thin skins, the tomatoes are prone to cracking if you leave them on the vine too long, especially if a rainstorm passes through or if you're unsure of when to harvest. A sudden influx of water will increase the pressure within tomato skins, which is why rainstorms seem to always come along right before an influx of cracked tomatoes. 

    As a side note, this wasn't one of the varieties that developed a severe tomato phosphorous deficiency when we had torrential rainfall earlier in the spring. That tomato plant turned black and was a very unique sight in the garden. Now, I know that sounds very alarming, but the plant did just fine and recovered without intervention. That was due to waterlogged roots; something that is virtually unavoidable with 6" of rainfall. 

    Tip: Harvest at the blush stage or when they’re about halfway ripe to avoid splits and still enjoy excellent flavor. Most tomatoes are harvested at blush in our garden. Below, you'll see ripened tomatoes, with blushed tomatoes below that photo. When picking Napa Chardonnay, I highly recommend picking at the stage you see in the second photo and allowing them to ripen indoors. 

Splitting in cherry tomatoes due to an increase in pressure from rain or watering. The thin skins of this variety are an enjoyable trait, but it does lead to weakness. 

Blushed tomatoes that were ready to be picked. Picking this variety at blush ensures that you avoid losses due to splitting and rotting. 

Seed Production & Seed Saving

    These tomatoes produce plenty of seeds, so they’re a good choice for seed saving for those who are living a sustainable lifestyle. Most cherry tomatoes tend to be prolific seed producers, and this variety is no exception. Since the plant is quite productive in addition, it's an excellent variety to grow with the intent of seed saving and variety preservation.

    When you harvest your Napa Chardonnay tomatoes to save their seeds, consider fermenting the seeds before rinsing and drying them. This reduces the risk of moldy seeds, removes many pathogens, makes seeds less attractive for pests, and the seeds come out cleaner. Fermentation is a great practice with any seeds from fleshy fruits. 

Delicious, thin skinned, light flavored, low acidity, kid friendly tomato variety: Napa Chardonnay doesn't disappoint (except for when they split and crack- but every variety has some type of drawback!)

Napa Chardonnay Tomatoes at blush, at peak ripeness, and at full ripeness. The ideal color is a creamy yellow. Yellow means the fruit has past peak ripeness and is when most fruits will have already cracked. 

Should You Grow Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomatoes?

If you’re searching for a tasty yellow cherry tomato variety that is:

• Heat tolerant

• Sweet but not overwhelming

• Thin-skinned and easy to eat

• Doesn't have a bold tomato flavor, but is rather light

… then the Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomato is likely a good variety to add to your 2026 garden lineup. 

    You'll just have to learn how to harvest the tomatoes at blush, so that you can avoid excessive cracking among your harvest. Every variety has its downside, and this is probably the most common fault among many great varieties- but for this variety, the splitting is not extreme like it is in some other varieties (Cherokee Purple and Orange Icicle: I'm looking at you!)

Green Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomatoes. They are on the cusp of blushing- I harvest my tomatoes at blush, preventing cracking among ripening fruits. It also reduces crop damage by rodents, birds, and insects. 

Reviewing Napa Chardonnay Cherry Tomatoes, a delicious kid-friendly yellow, cream cherry tomato with a light flavor and low acidity. 

Heat Tolerant Cherry Tomato Review- Struggling to find tomatoes that thrive in summer heat? Napa Chardonnay cherry tomatoes keep producing even in 96°F temps! Discover their flavor, growth habits, and why they make the perfect kid friendly addition to the garden.