Starting the Dandelion Wine

I started the dandelion wine today! I am only making one gallon. I followed the same recipe as I used for the lilac wine but this time I added 1 tsp. pectic enzyme because I plan to top it up with white grape juice when I rack it into the second fermenter. I am doing the same with the lilac wine. I will add the pectic enzyme at that time.

I tested the lilac wine today but it is only at 1.4, not low enough yet to put into the jug with an air lock, but soon, probably another 2-3 days.

I also added a white tea bag to the dandelion for tannin......just because! It was a feeling that I got. A booming voice came out of the blue and said, "ADD A TEA BAG!" (Not really! I'm just kidding! I don't hear voices other than my own muttering to myself, "Should I add a tea bag, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no" and so forth.) I am horrible at making decisions.

Anyway, to make a short story long, I added one white tea bag. I would have added green tea but I couldn't find the plain green tea. I had jasmine green tea and honey-lemon-gensing green tea. Either one would have added a great flavour to the wine, but I wanted to taste pure dandelion my first time making it, except for the topping up with white grape juice. The white grape juice doesn't add much flavour, just body and is recommended by a lot of people on the "net" who make dandelion wine, so I'm going with it. I found some white tea bags in the freezer for my mother in law. I drink the green, she drinks the white.

I could launch into a long diatribe on teas here and the difference between white, green, black, where they come from and how they are made but that would be digressing. I will save that for another post. If I were talking in person I probably would discuss it and sometimes do digress in conversation, to the point that people are staring at me glassy eyed. I get that from people a lot, especially when I start talking about wines, my funny cats, growing things, fresh eggs and chickens or any other subject with which I am passionate. The general public and city folk just don't share my enthusiasm about certain subjects. Sometimes I think they don't really want to hear ALL that I know about these things. Imagine that! (I get that at home, too.)

Back to the wine making.

I took my dandelion petals out of the freezer. I put them all into a sterile bucket and poured boiling water over everything. I then stirred in the pectic enzyme, acid blend, sugar and white tea bag. They are sitting there now with the cover on. Tomorrow morning I will strain it well, squeeze it out and add the yeast.

I only have two one gallon jugs at the moment, so I cannot start any more wine until I get more. I could use about 6-8 more of them and air locks to go with them. I have just about enough rose petals to make the rose wine and I definately have enough rhubarb. The sugar snap peas will be ready soon so I want to make pea pod wine and mint. They are all just about ready to do.

I am hoping to pick up some one gallon jugs, the kind that cider sometimes comes in, and air locks this summer at garage sales. If you have these things, would like to get rid of them cheaply or in exchange for perennials, black raspberry bushes or homemade soap and live nearby, please contact me. I can use all the one gallon jugs I can get.

I need more wine bottles too.

Winemaking is such great fun! I am going to have a variety of wines for tasting next spring. Maybe I will have a wine tasting party!

Update Aug 18, 2010: I now have an ebook for sale entitled "Making Organic Wine At Home". Its available at our new Providence Acres Farm Store. We will be adding more things as they become available.