Anyone got a recipe for dandelion wine please?

[Hilary B]

checked on my dandelion wine today and over the weekend it has cleared!!

Do I syphon it into another demi-johnn now or bottle it?

Thanks

I would ALWAYS rack off any sediment, and give it a week to see whether it throws more. It's amazing how often 'cleared' wine can clear a bit more after a racking.
Others may have different advice.

[janeyo]

Thanks Hilary. It did that clearing thing when it takes about 10 mins to clear.... looks great. Just like strong wee PMSL (well it is meant to be a diuretic)

I will rack it into a clean demijohn later and leave for a while again.

Our cider last year was good so no reason to think this won't be either

[janeyo]

knock your head off!

I racked it today into a clean demi-john.
Tasted some and it nearly blew my head off! No idea how strong but have never tasted wine so potent before.
It tasted more like fortified wine or muscat or cheap brandy lol. But not unpleasant

I hope it mellows before xmas or all the old dears will be dancing on the coffee table PMSL

[janeyo]

We bottled the dandelion last night.
Looks great, Filled for 4 bottles and a large glass left over which we chilled and had today with some lemonade - tastes just like MARTINI!!!!!!!!!

Reminds me of when I was about 14....

[Two_Sheds]

Best dandelion wine recipe I ever saw was from 'First steps in wine making' (CJJ Berry). There are 2 recipes for dandelion wine in the book

He always confuses me. In the first recipe he says "you do not need to pick off the petals: use the whole heads". In the 2nd, he says use the yellow, discarding "as much of the green as possible"
Judith Irwin says "the green portions...would give the wine a bitter aftertaste"

the job of removing the greenery.............OMG!!!! I had NO IDEA that it would take hours and hours and hours!!!

The technique is to grasp the petals (and probably a scrap of the green outside them) with thumb and a couple of fingers of one hand, and the lower part of the flower (the bit that the seeds would sit on if it was left that long) using the other hand the same way, then dig in thumb nails slightly, and twist.

That worked, but my final technique was to grasp the yellow petals, and cut off with scissors, leaving the green behind with the stalk. Really quick that way

We bottled the dandelion last night.... tastes just like MARTINI!!

That's what I was hoping to hear, that it tastes OK. At the moment, my brew just smells evil

[Two_Sheds]

Two Sheds' Dandelion Wine

4 pts dandelion heads (petals, no green if you can help it)
1.1 kg white sugar
1 tsp citric acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
2 oranges, chopped (I used a satsuma & a can of mandarins)
white wine yeast
225g chopped sultanas
2 Vit B tabs or not? CJJ Berry recommends 3 tabs for flower wines

day 1. Pour 5 pints boiling water over the dandelion petals, sultanas & oranges in a fermenting bin. Leave for 2 days, stirring twice daily.

day 2. Make a yeast starter if you want to, if not just sprinkle yeast onto the mixture

day 3. strain off the flowery pulp, pouring liquid only into a DJ. Dissolve sugar into boiled water, pour into DJ. Add acid, nutrient & yeast when mixture has cooled to about 20C. Fit an airlock.

Rack off the lees (I do mine monthly, about 3 times) & ferment to dryness as usual. The wine is best left for a year before drinking

[Hilary B]

4 pts dandelion heads (petals, no green if you can help it)
1.1 kg white sugar
1 tsp citric acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
2 oranges, chopped (I used a satsuma & a can of mandarins)
white wine yeast
225g chopped sultanas
2 Vit B tabs or not? CJJ Berry recommends 3 tabs for flower wines

day 1. Pour 5 pints boiling water over the dandelion petals, sultanas & oranges in a fermenting bin. Leave for 2 days, stirring twice daily.

day 2. Make a yeast starter if you want to, if not just sprinkle yeast onto the mixture

day 3. strain off the flowery pulp, pouring liquid only into a DJ. Add acid, nutrient & yeast. Fit an airlock.

Rack off the lees (I do mine monthly, about 3 times) & ferment to dryness as usual. The wine is best left for a year before drinking

Errrr... you don't mention when the sugar goes in.....
The Berry recipe I use is similar, but you only add the thinly peeled rind of the oranges with the flowers, after a day or 2 steeping, you BOIL the mixture for 5 mins, then strain onto sugar, add juice of oranges plus nutrient etc, yeast when cold enough, and carry on as above.

[tiachica]

The Berry recipe I use is similar, but you only add the thinly peeled rind of the oranges with the flowers, after a day or 2 steeping, you BOIL the mixture for 5 mins, then strain onto sugar, add juice of oranges plus nutrient etc, yeast when cold enough, and carry on as above.

Yep... here's a few pics of my dandelion wine.

[alldigging]

Guess who has dandelions in the garden!