Wow, the aroma!!

[spinnychick]

I'm going to be honest. Dandelions are what convinced me to finally start making wine. This spring my backyard was probably visible from the space station as a yellow dot, there were so many, and since I have always heard about how wonderful dandelion wine is, I picked a bunch and cleaned them, then froze them while I made a couple of practice batches of a gallon of berry wine and a batch of skeeter pee. Dandelions may be free, but they're only available once a year and its a lot of sticky work to de-green them, so I didn't want to screw it up too badly.

If anybody had told me about the smell, I might not have been able to wait. HOLY COW!!!

I used one of Jack Keller's recipes - the one without raisins. When I started the must, it smelled like dandelions and orange peel. Its been burbling away in a corner for about a week, and today I cleaned the dust off the bottle and took off the airlock to clean it and change the water. Of course I took a whiff, expecting to smell yeast and dandelions and orange peel, or possibly the latex smell a few people have mentioned.

Wrong!

It smells like sunshine and happiness! Is that what its' going to taste like too? If it tastes half as good as it smells, then next year it'll definitely be at least a 5 gallon batch. Is it better dry, or a little on the sweet side? How long do you usually let it bulk age after its done fermenting?

Vikki (who is way too excited over this)

 

[Wade E]

Uh OH, someone is hooked already!!! LOL, I have had some that someone else made that was nasty and only made 1 3 gallon batch myself and used honey making it a Mead and must say it is wonderful IMO. I sweetened mine up a little bit with some more honey to take the edge off and because I tend to like semi - sweet wines unless its a bug red like a Cab or such. I think I sweetened mine to around 1.005 and think its perfect.

 

[Winepig]

Dandelion Wine is what got me back into wine making a few years ago. My recipe steeps for three days and when I strain it into the secondary, it smells just like honey.

Our's uses raisins and a shot of lemon juice. It comes out a little on the sweet side but we like it. We normally fall a little on the dryer side but this one has a good balance so sweet is OK.

My general guideline is that we make it the first of May, rack it and drink some around the 4th of July and bottle it around Labor Day. It gets better with age but it rarely lasts a year..... the wine would last longer, but we can't.

Tim

 

[Wade E]

Dandelion can benefit from the raisons for the added body. Was the lemon juice instead of using acid blend though?

 

[spinnychick]

Uh OH, someone is hooked already!!! LOL, I have
---snip-----
Cab or such. I think I sweetened mine to around 1.005 and think its perfect.

Oh yeah, hooked bigtime. I'm not big on really sweet, but I don't like so dry that it strips the enamel off my teeth either. I suppose I'll have to do some experimenting.

 

[spinnychick]

Our's uses raisins and a shot of lemon juice. It comes out a little on the sweet side but we like it. We normally fall a little on the dryer side but this one has a good balance so sweet is OK.
Tim

This recipe called for 4 oranges. The colour was rather unnatural looking for the first few days but now it's looking more like pictures I've seen. Funny enough, the colour seems to match the aroma.

My general guideline is that we make it the first of May, rack it and drink some around the 4th of July and bottle it around Labor Day. It gets better with age but it rarely lasts a year..... the wine would last longer, but we can't.

A general timeline is a nice thing to have. I'm not banking on it, and our spring was ridiculously late, but it would be neat to have a bit for thanksgiving.

The chokecherry bushes were sagging under the weight of the blossoms this spring. Provided nothing happens to ruin them, I'm looking forward to starting a BIG batch of chokecherry wine in the fall. It's one of my favourites.

 

[Winepig]

Was the lemon juice instead of using acid blend though?

I assume that's what it's in there for. It calls for the juice of half a lemon or 2 tbls of Realemon. We've used both without noticing a difference.

...........it would be neat to have a bit for thanksgiving....

It'll be great at Thanksgiving, better at Christmas..... ours usually disappears at New years.

Tim

 

[spinnychick]

It'll be great at Thanksgiving, better at Christmas..... ours usually disappears at New years.
Tim

Well since my flowers were frozen and i just started the wine a little over a week ago, I'm not really holding my breath for Thanksgiving. It would sure be nice though. I might just hide it until the winter feast anyway. DH has his eye on a nice meaty beer kit that will probably be at the Thanksgiving table anyway.

Vikki

 

[Winepig]

It'll be drinkable by Thanksgiving. It has kind of a long ferment but it clears fast when it's done.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

I think I sweetened mine to around 1.005 and think its perfect.

That statement just hit me, Wade. When I get my wine sweetened and ready to bottle, take the hydro reading and then finish off all of my wine that that reading rather than simply putting a little sugar/sweetener of choice in it and tasting. Doh! That would seem to make things much more consistent. Sorry for the "small" hijacking, but these little bits and pieces that I'm coming across just make me want to shout about them.

 

[sly22guy]

you might want to vary the sweetness for different wines so i recommend starting a wine log and then at the bottom note your final sg that you like for the peticular wine and then you can reference that each time you make another batch.

 

[Arne]

I agree sly, seems like they all need different sweetness to em. Arne.

 

[spinnychick]

Update

Hey folks, excuse the long absence. When there's gardening and preserving to be done, I'm not very good at being social.

I hope nobody has a big issue with a reply to an old thread, but since it's an update I think it's relevant.

I haven't bottled the dandelion yet because it's taking forever and a half to clear. It's now finally to the point that I can identify objects through it. The colour isn't what i had hoped, it kind of got a tiny greenish tinge, but not enough to be icky looking. I'm sure it'll be less noticeable once it's totally clear. I've only racked it a couple of times and have even managed to keep it from jumping into my mouth until I racked it last weekend, when some of it snuck into a glass. Of course since the glass wasn't sterile I had to drink it...

...and...I'm hooked. From that day forward, there isn't a dandelion that is safe. It's still a little "hot" so once it's finally bottled I think it's going to wait for spring before we dive into it. OK, maybe ONE bottle at new years if I can't come up with anything else. I've got to say it's the best white-ish wine I've ever had (maybe no award winner, but it's a perfect fit to my taste buds). Even DH likes it, and he doesn't like most wines. Next year it's a 5 gallon batch if I can swing it. That shouldn't be a problem. They froze well, and if I skip my dandelion pickles and let them bloom instead, I'm sure I can come up with lots!

 

[rstar26]

Hi Spinnychick!

Great to see another Saskatchewanian here, im in Rosetown! My back yard is also a giant yellow spot in the spring, i think i may have to try this recipe out this spring! I just started a batch of saskatoon berry port that i am thirlled to try next year!!

 

[spinnychick]

Rosetown is such a lovely area in summer. I don't get up that way much but I love every minute of it when I do. The bumper crop of dandelions is what finally convinced me to try making wine. I picked and prepared the flowers and then froze them while I learned the ropes. A bag of frozen dandelions smells NOTHING like a bag of fresh dandelions, which is a good thing. I've noticed a couple of my neighbours have a pot of gold in their yards too, so between my yard and there's I'm hoping to come up with enough for a 5 gallon batch. That might make enough bottled sunshine to get me through a Saskatchewan winter with a smile on my face. LOL

 

[jamiesavoie]

I really love Dandelion too, I eat the greens in the spring and I pickle buds too. Dandelion wine is definitely on my list of things to do this spring!

 

[banannabiker]

Basics

This does sound interesting. Can you shed a little light on the process you use? My wife makes dandelion salads out of the greens-but it sounds like you are using only the flowers. Can you shed a little light on the process-do you use the whole flowers? Do you wash them before fermenting?

 

[docanddeb]

Winnepig...

Can you share your recipe? I made some over a year ago... it's not great. I'm letting it age to at least 2 yrs before trying again.

I do have a tip on picking though... I go out with an ice cream bucket... around a gallon size. I start sitting on the ground with my legs in a "V" and pick where I can reach... I then inch forward or sideways without getting up and pick some more. When I need a change... I get up and get down on one knee and pick... then the other knee... the bending straight over to stretch my back.
I pick a blossom, and in about 4 pulls... get all the yellow off. I found that if I take them in the house... I'm handling them twice and it takes much longer once they start to shrivel up.
Once my bucket is 3/4 full of fluffy dandelions, I take them in the house, pop them in a zip lock, squeeze the air out and pop them in the freezer...
I keep adding to the bag until it's full.
The spring sunshine feels so good after a long winter, that it is a joy to be out there.

I never heard of pickled blossoms... hmmm google, here I come!

Debbie

 

[Winepig]

Sorry Debbie,

Life kinda' got in the way and I haven't been here for awhile. Here's the recipe I use:

1 gallon batch

6 cups of petals (No green, just petals)
2 lbs sugar
1 gallon water
8 oz raisins
juice of1/2 lemon or 2+ TBLS Realemon
1/4 teaspoon yeast

Disolve sugar in boiling water and pour hot over petals, raisins & lemon juice. Cover with tea towel and let steep for 3 days.

Strain liquid, add yeast put under airlock.

I don't check SG or have any fancy metering devices, just seat of the pants winemaking...... This years batch was a little disappointing, but it's not bad. We had kind of a funny spring, I think it effected the blossoms.

Good luck,

Tim