Over the last two weeks, I've been working on bottling dandelion wine. It is officially dandelion season, and what better way to make use of a plant that people generally deem a pest. For the wine, the dandelions are picked at their peak, when they are fully open, mid-day, which saves the yard from the cute little puffy seeds that spread after the flower dries up. (photo courtesy www.wildmanstevebrill.com)So, I went to a local school after hours and picked nearly 3 quarts of dandelions. I finished picking dandelions at a friend's house down the street. Below is the recipe I used. My friend Juanita sent it to me. She made the same wine last year, and I got to sample it. It was delightful. Hopefully mine will not taste like yuck!
Dandelion Wine
3 qts dandelion flowers
1 lb white raisins
1 gallon water
3 lbs granulated sugar
2 lemons
1 orange
yeast and nutrient
Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh (in mid-day they are fully open). You do not need to pick the petals off the flower heads, but the heads should be trimmed of any stalk.
Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil.
Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap.
Leave for two days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time.
Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange.
Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days.
Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). *I used empty, cleaned wine bottles saved from my recycling bin.
Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap (a balloon over the mouth of the bottle is fine- just poke a few pinholes in it so it doesn't explode) to the vessel.
Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then rack (*see note below) and add the reserved pint of water and whatever else is required to top up.
Refit the airlock and set aside until clear. Rack and bottle.
This wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting, but will improve remarkably if allowed a year.
* "racking" is the straining process - I bought a large funnel with a mesh trap in it that catches all the solid particles. For you Richmonders, I recommend the Compleat Gourmet in Carytown for all your bottling needs. Beer or wine!
The bottles with all their balloon fermentation traps looked so silly, I couldn't resist a picture. I got so excited when they filled up. BUT I filled them too full, initially, and they bubbled wine a raisins up into the balloons. So be sure not to fill them to the top, leave a couple inches of room for bubbling. This batch is making about 5 bottles of wine. I plan to use screw top bottles for the bottling process - I will probably put plumbers tape on the threads in order to make them air tight. I figured this was easiest, since I don't really have a way to cork them.
Let me know if you've had any adventures in wine-making and how that has worked out! I am excited to try out some fruit wine making this summer with local fruits!
Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil.
Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap.
Leave for two days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time.
Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange.
Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days.
Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). *I used empty, cleaned wine bottles saved from my recycling bin.
Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap (a balloon over the mouth of the bottle is fine- just poke a few pinholes in it so it doesn't explode) to the vessel.
Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then rack (*see note below) and add the reserved pint of water and whatever else is required to top up.
Refit the airlock and set aside until clear. Rack and bottle.This wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting, but will improve remarkably if allowed a year.
* "racking" is the straining process - I bought a large funnel with a mesh trap in it that catches all the solid particles. For you Richmonders, I recommend the Compleat Gourmet in Carytown for all your bottling needs. Beer or wine!
The bottles with all their balloon fermentation traps looked so silly, I couldn't resist a picture. I got so excited when they filled up. BUT I filled them too full, initially, and they bubbled wine a raisins up into the balloons. So be sure not to fill them to the top, leave a couple inches of room for bubbling. This batch is making about 5 bottles of wine. I plan to use screw top bottles for the bottling process - I will probably put plumbers tape on the threads in order to make them air tight. I figured this was easiest, since I don't really have a way to cork them.
Let me know if you've had any adventures in wine-making and how that has worked out! I am excited to try out some fruit wine making this summer with local fruits!
Boyfriend I miss you. I read all of your blogs and I would like to drink some of this wine with you.
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