Im going to try to make some Dandelion wine in about two weeks from now. Heres a recipe from a book Im going to use to make my wines.
Simple Dandelion Wine
½ Gallon Dandelion Petals
1 Gallon boiling water
3 lbs sugar
1 pkt. Wine yeast
1 Ea Campden Tablets (optional)
Be sure the Dandelions you pick have not be treated with herbicides or exposed to lead-bearing exhaust fumes such as those picked along a freeway. Remove all green parts and bugs that might be hitching a ride. In a large container, pour the boiling water over the dandelions, cover and let steep for about 5 days. Strain the fluid into a pot. Warm, dont boil and dissolve sugar. Add yeast to cooled fluid and place in your fermenting vessel. Campden tablets are optional. Since youre really not boiling the flowers, theres a chance of getting wild yeast or mold started when the flowers are steeping. If you see mold or detect a vinegar smell, skim the fluid off and blast the invaders with a Campden tablet. Fermentation, racking and bottling should take about two weeks. This wine is a traditional favorite that will improve with age and is supposed to have tonic properties.
The Alaskan Bootleggers Bible, Leon W. Kania, Happy Mountain Publications.