Dandelion Wine

5-6 bottles

Ingredients:

(All amounts used are US standard and not something helpful - Sorry)

  • 3 quarts water (approximate, more to fill)
  • 3 pounds sugar roughly 5 to 6 cups
  • 1-quart dandelion petals, packed from roughly 3-4 quarts blossoms
  • 3 oranges - juice and zest
  • 1 lemon - juice and zest
  • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
  • 1 packet wine yeast

Instructions:

  1. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cool to lukewarm.
  2. Place the dandelion petals, citrus juice and zest into a one-gallon fermentation vessel. Add the yeast nutrient and pour the lukewarm sugar water over the top.
  3. Dissolve a packet of champagne yeast or other wine yeast in lukewarm water. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes to rehydrate and then pour into the wine. Top off with a bit of extra water to bring to fill the carboy, but be sure to leave at least an inch of headspace.
  4. Cap with an airlock and ferment for about a month or until fermenation has stopped.
  5. Siphon the wine into a clean container, leaving the yeast sediment behind. Allow the wine to ferment in secondary for at least 6 to 8 weeks, checking the water lock periodically to ensure that the water hasn't evaporated.
  6. Siphon the dandelion wine into a clean container, again leaving the sediment behind, to prepare for bottling.
  7. Bottle the dandelion wine in corked wine bottles for longer storage, or flip-top Grolsch bottles for tiny batches you're not planning on storing long.
  8. Allow the wine to age in the bottle at least 2 months before drinking, ideally 6 months or more. Note: During aging, the wine should be kept somewhere cool-ish like a basement or a cupboard on the North side of the house.