Dandelion wine question

Just wondering how long I have to wait for my dandelion wine to start tasting good.

I've read that it takes time, but every time we taste it, I get closer to dumping it. It has always smelled and tasted bitter and nasty. Made it in the summer of 2003 from flowerheads (not just petals) and it is still not clear despite several rackings. Anyway, we kept it despite the fact that I can barely stand the smell, because I've heard that this wine takes a lot of time. Really have my doubts that it will be drinkable, though.

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Reply to
miker
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Mike,

I've never made dandelion wine myself, but from what I've read, it should be made from the petals alone, to avoid the bitterness of the vegetative portions. People who know often speak of spending a lot of time separating the green from the yellow, and they must be doing it for a good reason.

After two years I suspect it's as good as its gonna get. Still, don't dump it till you hear from a dandelion expert.

Reply to
Mike McGeough

You may be using the wrong part of the dandelion. The part of the dandelion used in herbal medicine is the root, not the flower. You can check the label of some herbal medicine with dandelion in it. They are labelled as dandelion root.

Reply to
WannabeSomeone

The most important "green" to remove is the bottom light green part, I believe it is the ovary. Some of the green leaf parts (sepals) are not so bad to leave behind. It is the base that is really bitter and will ruin your day.

Reply to
Droopy

I used only petals and sepals. Prior to picking the flowers I read quite a few opinions about whether to use just petals, etc. and, although there were differences of opinion, most people thought it didn't matter from what I can recall. I remember tasting both ways (just petals, and petals with sepals) by eating them when we were picking flowers and not finding any bitterness except with one flower - I distinctly remember finding one bitter flower - and then we couldn't find any more that tasted bitter.

I should mention that we've never tasted Dandelion wine so don't really know what it's supposed to taste like, but I doubt I'll try making it again until I do taste some that is reported as good, because it's a lot of work even with petals and sepals. Petals only must take forever.

Can you buy Dandelion wine at the stores?

Reply to
miker

Interesting that the sepals didn't taste as bitter as the wine. Perhaps there's a bitter substance present which is more soluble in alcohol than water, and is extracted better during fermentation?

I've had dandelion wine several times over the years, but never found it exactly enjoyable. No, let's be honest: I thought it was poor to horrible. But that's just an opinion. I've never been tempted to pick & clean the vast numbers of flowers necessary for a batch, and I admire the diligence of those who have done it. To my mind there are many other easier and better tasting things to make wine out of.

Last year I brought back a bottle of commercial Parsnip (root) Wine from England. It was a huge disappointment. It was both bitter and very acidic, and I didn't finish one glass before I dumped out the whole bottle. It must be an acquired taste.

Reply to
Mike McGeough

Actually, I'm not using any part of the dandelion at all. :-) The original poster was asking specifically about dandelion _wine_ however,not medicine. To the best of my knowledge, this is traditionally made only from the flowers, never the roots. I would imagine a dandelion root wine would be quite a bit like Parsnip wine, both in preparation and taste.

Reply to
Mike McGeough

Sorry to say, but you should have removed the petals from the green calix at the bottom. This is what causes the bitterness.

It is a hell of a job removing them but essential. I have not made it for a while though.

Reply to
Shane Badham

Hello, I've made Dandelion wine twice, and it wasn't to my liking the first time - I doubt I'll like the batch I have downstairs mellowing out. You really should make the wine out of just the flower petals, not any of the greens or roots. My second batch is still aging, but I think it is like anything else, you like it or you don't. I did try to sweeten my second batch a bit, because the first batch was too dry. The wines did clear for me, but I will say it has an odd smell. Have you tried a clearing agent? Darlene

Reply to
Dar V

Miker,

If you visit Jack Keller's dandelion recipe page you'll find a boatload of information as well as recipes. Two years ago I made both recipes #1 and #2. Both took a LONG time (10 - 12 mos) to clear, and only so after using Sparkalloid. #1 had more body (per the raisins) and I believe I sweetened it a bit more than the batch of #2. I just cut the heads from the stalks on recipe #1, and for recipe #2 I pinched off just the yellow petal. Talk about labor intensive, my fingers hurt for a week and it took that long for the stain to finally wear off. #1 was far more palatable than #2 in my opinion, and since it is much easier to just cut the heads off I will stick with that recipe in the future. I only bottle this wine in 375 ml bottles because most of it is given to friends to try, and I always tell them not to decide whether they like it based on the first sip. Some like it right away, some after a few sips and some dump it. If your wine is too dry for your tastes, maybe add a bit of corn syrup. Good luck...

Paul

miker wrote:

Reply to
pdndr

Thanks Paul,

I was actually going to refer to Jack's site with this post so that others could see what he says about only the stalks being bitter. Jack's praise of Dandelion wine was partially why I was so anxious to try it despite the amount of time and work it takes. I used a recipe from his site for the wine but I don't recall which recipe right now. I may try some Sparkalloid or something to see how that helps. We tried putting a little sugar in a sample last weedend while racking, but it didn't help much. Maybe we just don't like Dandelion wine or perhaps this is just a poor batch.

So, no one has seen Dandelion wine for sale?

Reply to
miker

I pinch the petale out, sometimes there is sime sepal material in them...I have never had a problem with bitterness. Some of the bitterness might have come from the way the flavor was extracted....either hot or cold sok/maceration...etc.

Reply to
Droopy

Linganore Winery near Mt. Airy, Maryland sells Dandelion wine and other fruit wines and also of all things - wine made from honest to god wine grapes.

I did not like their Dandelion wine but I guess some people must buy it.

Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

find some winos in your area and get their opinion.

Reply to
billb

I made some last year from the flowerheads and I think you are pretty much on the mark -- it has a bouquet of 'weeds'! I've had mine 7 months and it cleared up nicely, beautiful golden color (I did not wash the heads first so I got all the pollen).

Finally, I broke down and just started adding sugar to what I had, more of a 'dandelion liquor?' Much more drinkable. If you want to see some documentary pictures of the effort I've enjoyed using a new digital camera, check out:

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I have seen other web recipes for dandelion wine and most seem to include other fruit juices and I can understand why -- to coverup the weed taste! I'd like to hear from anyone who just used dandelions and came up with something drinkable.

Best regards!

Reply to
John Murtari

You should have taken the base of the flower off.

I used apricots in mine this year and it is still a mess. I have to do a great deal of fining on it. But I always have to fine when using drupes (apricots, peaches, nectarines).

Reply to
Droopy

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