1. The Rio Grande picture posted by Mark is not Rio Grande. This tomato was developed from a complex cross with other tomato species and carries a genetic combination that causes a white line down the side of many of the fruit. This trait is common in the disease tolerant wild parent line. Rio Grande is not described in the NCSU data although there are references to it in comparison with other varieties. The correct Rio Grande is an elongated plum shape on a heavily productive determinate rugose leaf plant. It is susceptible to foliage diseases but is VFN tolerant. It has serious problems with bacterial speck and spot here in the southeast but this is not a problem in drier climates.
2. Heidi is determinate, not indeterminate. The photos shown are not quite consistent with fruit shape, most of the fruit produced are a pear shape with a slim bulb. Heidi is the most temperature tolerant paste tomato I've grown. It is also extremely productive. I have gathered up to 1 gallon of fruit per plant at a single picking and most plants produce 4 or more gallons each. Heidi is susceptible to nematodes but otherwise is a healthy and productive tomato.
3. Bisignano #2 should be given a bit more review. It is a productive dense good flavored tomato that makes a heavy crop.
I would also add a couple of varieties worth growing. Christopher Columbus is a pretty good sauce or paste variety. If you are into dried tomatoes, Borgo Cellano is better than Principe Borghese.
Last note is about the brix ratings. Almost all available varieties of tomato produce sucrose but then use enzymes to break it down into fructose and glucose in the fruit or else chain it up into starches. The result is fruit with low sugar content and corresponding low brix. Several wild species of tomato have a gene that prohibits enzyme production therefore sucrose accumulates in the fruit. These tomatoes have brix ratings up to 14. The super sweet tomato varieties available today are a result of breeding programs to fix the trait from wild species into commercial varieties. A crossbreeding program using brix tests could easily transfer this trait to some good open pollinated varieties.
Fusion
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