How To Make Old-Fashioned Dandelion Wine! (by Laurie Neverman)

“Dandelion wine, believed to be of Celtic origin, is regarded as one of the fine country wines of Europe. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was not proper for ladies to drink alcohol. However, dandelion flower wine was considered so therapeutic to the kidneys and digestive system that it was deemed medicinal even for the ladies.“

Making homemade dandelion wine is a longstanding family tradition. We don’t make it every year, but I do like to keep a few bottles on hand for company.   The taste of this dandelion wine is rich, golden and warming – more like a good brandy than a wine. I’ve had friends who don’t normally like wine comment that they do enjoy this “spring tonic”.

Make sure your dandelion flowers are free of pesticides, herbicides and other contaminants. I don’t rinse the blossoms, though they are sterilized during the first part of brewing.    Don’t pick dandelions for wine or eating from an area used by pets for their “bathroom”.

Don’t Make this Dandelion Wine Mistake!
For dandelion wine, use the yellow flower petals only. Leaving the petals attached to the green base of the flower will result in a bitter, unpleasant wine. My neighbor made this mistake when she tried to make dandelion wine, and she ended up throwing out the whole batch.   I use 3 quarts of loosely packed yellow dandelion petals. Not 3 quarts of flower heads, 3 quarts of petals only. If you don’t have enough dandelion petals from one picking, go ahead and freeze the petals until you have enough.

All your fermentation vessels should be glass, ceramic, stainless steel or food grade plastic. Never ferment in aluminum or iron, as it can react with the wine.

You may need a session of “second picking” to remove the yellow petals from the blossoms. You want to remove the petals as soon as possible after picking, as the flower heads close over time. Once they close, it’s tough to get the petals off.

If you are working alone, it may be best to pick some of the flowers needed, remove petals, then pick more flowers and repeat. That way, you won’t have trouble with the flower heads closing before you have time to clean them.

Dandelion Wine

A smooth and hearty flower wine with citrus notes that will warm you from head to toe.

Author: Laurie Neverman
Yield: 4-5 bottles
Ingredients

• 3 quarts dandelion blossoms
• 1 gallon water
• 2 oranges, with peel, preferably organic
• 1 lemon, with peel, preferably organic
• 3 pounds sugar
• 1 package wine yeast
• 1 pound raisins, preferably organic

1. Collect the blossoms when they are fully open on a sunny day. Remove any green parts.
2. Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the flowers in a large pot or crock. Cover with a towel to keep dust out and let steep for three days.
3. Prepare the oranges and the lemon. Zest (finely grate) about half of the rind and peel the rest off in very thin strips. You want to minimize the amount of white pith added to the brew.
4. Finish peeling the citrus, and slice them into thin rounds.
5. Add the lemon and the orange zest to the flower-water mixture and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, strain out solids, then add the sugar, stirring until it is dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature.
6. Add the yeast, orange and lemon slices, and raisins to the liquid. Put everything into a crock (or wide mouth fermentation bottle with airlock) to ferment. I cover my crock with a clean cotton towel held down by a rubber band. Stir daily with a wooden spoon or non-reactive stir stick.

BOTTLING THE WINE
You have two options for bottling your homemade dandelion wine. You can- let it finish in bottles, or move to a carboy and then bottle.

To finish in bottles: When the primary fermentation mixture stops bubbling (1 -2 weeks), fermentation is almost done. Strain the liquid through several layers of cheesecloth or a flour sack towel and transfer to sterilized bottles.

Slip a deflated balloon over the top of each bottle to monitor for further fermentation. When the balloon remains deflated for 24 hours, fermentation is complete.

Cork the bottles and store in a cool, dark place for at least six months before drinking.

If you would like a clearer wine, rack the wine into a gallon carboy with airlock before the final bottling. Allow to ferment in the carboy for 2-3 months, and then rack into the bottles.

Notes
Do not seal bottles tightly before they finish fermenting, and don’t put them somewhere warm. Otherwise, you’ll end up with exploding bottles, like my sister, Mary, when she stashed them in a closet. Apparently, it sounded like there were bombs going off or they were being shot at.

Source:  Commonsensehome.com   Laurie Neverman