Dandelion Wine

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So you always boil all the liquid? I thought id seen somewhere in th thread that you only boil a portion when doing a large batch? What does the second boil actually achieve?

I always make it exactly like written. There aren't two boils so I'm not sure what you are asking me. If you're asking why I pour boiling water over the flowers at the beginning, that's to kill critters and bugs and things as well to extract color and flavor. The boil that I do with the flowers also extracts color and flavor, and sanitizes the liquid and sugar before adding yeast.
 
Many recipes that I found,for one gallon of wine, call for one package of yeast. Some just say add yeast, no amount specified.
On the package that I have, EC1118, it says it can make 1-6 gallons.
How much would I add for a 3 gallon batch? Can I add an entire package(5g)? What happens if you add "too much"?
Thank you.
 
Picked the flowers and started May 2014; racked to secondary at the end of June, bottled in February 2015. Turned out great, really neat flavor, strong without tasting much alcohol, though sweet instead of dry.

Thank you Yooper for this recipe!

I'd love to make this again... but separating those petals :(
 
I'll be starting a batch of dandelion later this year. Really looking forward to it (except for picking the petals) but I expect it will be worth it. Dandelions grow plentiful in my area, and I'm planning a 5 gallon batch which by my recipe calculations would require about 2.5 gallons of petals. There is something to be said for harvesting the land and making wine out of it, so much better than using grocery store fruits and juices.

My recipe simply says to mix very hot water as my base to extract the color and flavor of the petals in my primary, but I see you boiling them on the stove. My recipe makes no mention of this step. Would you say it is better to boil the petals on the stove and use that water as my base? Or can I just use very hot water?

Also, I need to know, can I really only use just the petals? I know I can't use any green/foreign matter, but do I have to discard the center of the top where the pollen is found? If can't use that portion of the flower, what exactly is the reason?
 
I'll be starting a batch of dandelion later this year. Really looking forward to it (except for picking the petals) but I expect it will be worth it. Dandelions grow plentiful in my area, and I'm planning a 5 gallon batch which by my recipe calculations would require about 2.5 gallons of petals. There is something to be said for harvesting the land and making wine out of it, so much better than using grocery store fruits and juices.

My recipe simply says to mix very hot water as my base to extract the color and flavor of the petals in my primary, but I see you boiling them on the stove. My recipe makes no mention of this step. Would you say it is better to boil the petals on the stove and use that water as my base? Or can I just use very hot water?

Also, I need to know, can I really only use just the petals? I know I can't use any green/foreign matter, but do I have to discard the center of the top where the pollen is found? If can't use that portion of the flower, what exactly is the reason?

I guess you could use hot water- I like mine best this way and haven't changed it since settling on this about 10 years ago. Lots of people use difference recipes and techniques, and you may like a different method.

I don't know what the "center of the top where the pollen is found" means, sorry. I use the yellow petals, pretty much the whole flower except for the green parts.
 
I guess you could use hot water- I like mine best this way and haven't changed it since settling on this about 10 years ago. Lots of people use difference recipes and techniques, and you may like a different method.

I don't know what the "center of the top where the pollen is found" means, sorry. I use the yellow petals, pretty much the whole flower except for the green parts.

The whole flower except for the green parts? Awesome! That's what I needed to know, thank you. I also do like the idea of boiling them on the stove, and I'll probably go ahead with that. Could I alternatively boil water then pour it over my petals in the primary?
 
Where are you guys sourcing golden raisins that don't have sulfites? Can't find any. Even the Trader Joe's brand has Sulfer Dioxide.
 
Where are you guys sourcing golden raisins that don't have sulfites? Can't find any. Even the Trader Joe's brand has Sulfer Dioxide.

The last time, I couldn't find unsulfited goldren raisins, so I used the regular (brown) ones. It worked fine, but had a slightly golden color in the end rather than the bright white/clear color.
 
The last time, I couldn't find unsulfited goldren raisins, so I used the regular (brown) ones. It worked fine, but had a slightly golden color in the end rather than the bright white/clear color.

Any idea if an alternative like dried apricots would work?
 
I'm going to try this for the first time. In spite of having a bigger dandelion bloom than I've seen in years, my hands are cramping from the plucking and I've got about 300 grams. So I figure I'll do the original 1 gallon batch recipe.

All my equipment is 5 gallons or larger though. So I'm going out to buy 1 gallon jugs/stoppers.

Does the original recipe fit in a single 1 gallon jug after all the raisins are added? Just making sure I have enough jugs for racking, etc.
 
Posting with my dandelion wine results.
I used the whole flower with the green stuff under the flower like Jack Keller suggested. It didn't result in any bitter flavor contributions at all. But.. it was way too sweet for me, kinda like a desert wine. I probably will not be making this any time soon.
 
Dandelion Wine
3 qts dandelion flowers (Each quart weighs 90 grams, if you'd rather go by weight)
1 lb raisins
1 gallon water
3 lbs granulated sugar
2 lemons
1 orange
yeast and nutrient

Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh. You do need to pick the petals off the flower heads, as the green heads give bitterness to the wine. Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap. Leave for two days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time.

Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange. Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days. Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap to the vessel. Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then rack and top up with reserved pint of water and any additional required to reduce all but 1 inch of airspace. Set aside until wine clears, rack whenever lees are 1/4" thick or every 60 days as needed, then rack and bottle. This wine must age six months in the bottle before tastin
 
How big are the oranges and lemons?
I can get lemons that are 1", 1.5" or big 2" lemons
Oranges range in size from 2-4"
That's a big difference in flavour if the Dandilion flavour is delicate
 
I just wanted to thank you for your recipe on dandelion wine. it turned out to be FABULOUS!!

the gardeners at work were all laid off for the summer due to COVID closures and there was a bumper crop of unsprayed dandelions.
We even tried freeze distilling some of it.
Gardener's Revenge Weed Wine!
 
No energy because of Covid, but I do have a whole field of dandelions, and even with no energy, one could sit on the ground picking dandelions. I'm going to do it!
dandelions.jpg
 
This topic appears to get an annual rejuvenation this time of year. I have a yard full of dandelions. I don't like dandelions but my wife does. So we compromised thus I have a yard full of dandelions. Thought I'd make these things useful for a wine. If I follow all the posts correctly, after getting petals off the heads, I pour boiled water over the petals and let sit 2 days. Then afterwards, I transfer these petals and water (that has been sitting for 2 days) into a pot to boil for an hour? Or am I simply collecting the petals from the 2 day soak and boiling them in fresh water?
 
Dandelion Wine
3 qts dandelion flowers (Each quart weighs 90 grams, if you'd rather go by weight)
1 lb raisins
1 gallon water
3 lbs granulated sugar
2 lemons
1 orange
yeast and nutrient

Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh. You do need to pick the petals off the flower heads, as the green heads give bitterness to the wine. Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap. Leave for two days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time.

Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange. Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days. Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap to the vessel. Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then rack and top up with reserved pint of water and any additional required to reduce all but 1 inch of airspace. Set aside until wine clears, rack whenever lees are 1/4" thick or every 60 days as needed, then rack and bottle. This wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting, but will improve remarkably if allowed a year (Jack Keller recipe, with minor modifications)
I have been picking and freezing dandelions from my garden. Does freezing destroy the recipe?
 
Just to add a little note here; me, my parents and grandparents (all Yoopers too) made dandelion wine every spring. My grandfather's recipe is really close to what Yooper provided, except the yeast used was cake yeast or compressed yeast. This yeast was spread on a piece of toast and floated in the must until it settled in. It was all made in a crock, stirred every day and covered with cheese cloth. I have many childhood memories sneaking a glass of dandelion wine.
 
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