Dandelion Flower wine is best made when the dandelion flowers are in full bloom in the spring and fully open on a sunny day. The wine requires acidifying for the yeast so it tends to become a very citrus flavoured wine. For this reason we called this batch the Citrus Bang. We aren’t usually very fond of overly citrus flavours so we may change or ignore this recipe next year or use it as “Filler” wine only (wine we make only when we have made everything else available and have spare drums/demijohns).
Minimum Equipment Requirement
- 1 Gal Demijohn or Drum/Tub
- 1 Airlock
- 1 Siphon Tube
Ingredients for 1 Gallon Dandelion Wine
- 1.136 Litres of pressed dandelion petals (follow the instructions for how to prepare the petals in our post on dandelion cordial if you are unsure)
- 340g Raisins
- 907g Sugar
- 3 Lemons
- 3 Oranges
- Water as required
Method
- Sterilise your equipment
- Boil the Petals
- Allow petals to steep for a minimum of 2 hours (we did overnight to increase flavour)
- Strain the flowers – keep the liquid but not the flowers themselves
- Add raisins, Lemon Juice, Orange Juice, sugar and orange/lemon zest to the liquid and place on a low boil for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool.
- Mix thoroughly and add to the Primary Fermentation Bucket/Demijohn and top up with water.
- Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches around 21C
- Add yeast and yeast nutrient
- Cover and place airlock
- Keep in a warm dry place
- After 8 weeks, test the mixture with a hydrometer. Add sugar according to taste if it’s ready to bottle.
- Add a crushed Campden tablet to clear according to the tablet instructions and allow to settle
- Rack Off up to three times, or less if you don’t mind it cloudy. Top up with water and bottle when finished.