Dandelion... An Exercise In Patience

[vinny]

Initially I thought Bumper Crop! 25 cups just shy of 2lbs.
An hour later I'm thinking.. How good is this stuff?
I didn't realise I had to separate out all green. If I was the only person on earth this would never have been discovered as a possible ingredient.

I was going to do 3 gallons, bit I'm still working towards 1. Who's made it? I'm enjoying the process and happy to try something new. Should I push for 3 gallons or will one be enough to have something interesting to try.

I am planning to add some rind and raisins to add some fun. Just not sure if the payout is worth the hours.

Its gonna be worth a 100$ a bottle at this rate!

 

[vinny]

Well, that was a lot more time spent than I had intended. I have close enough to 14 cups to do 2 gallons. 3 would be easier to fill a carboy up. Keep going, worth the effort?

Any recipes? So far I am looking at 2 and planning an amalgamation of both.

 

[BigDaveK]

I hope it's worth it, too!
Made my first batch this year. Been in secondary about a month. I chose to do basic, pure dandelion wine as a benchmark. I'll try a variation next time.
Keller has 42 dandelion wine recipes.

 

[vinny]

I keep hearing of this Keller fella, but have not done anything to learn myself 'bout him.

I'll do a search.

How much did you make?

 

[vinny]

And just so you know, I only made this 'cause you set the tone. No point in wasting what is readily available.

Cheers!

 

[Joel]

I did a 2 gal batch last year and tonight I am going try a bottle of the liquid sunshine tonight.

 

[BigDaveK]

I keep hearing of this Keller fella, but have not done anything to learn myself 'bout him.

I'll do a search.

How much did you make?

I only made 1 gallon because I don't have a boatload of dandelions.
If it's good and I want to make more I'll have to do some serious walking.

 

[vinny]

I only made 1 gallon because I don't have a boatload of dandelions.
If it's good and I want to make more I'll have to do some serious walking.

Did you strip them the same as me? I see Keller says you can use the whole flower, just get rid of all stem.

 

[vinny]

I did a 2 gal batch last year and tonight I am going try a bottle of the liquid sunshine tonight.

How was the taste test?

 

[mikewatkins727]

I keep hearing of this Keller fella, but have not done anything to learn myself 'bout him.

I'll do a search.

How much did you make?

Jack passed away about 2 year ago. He had wine blog and his wife finished publishing his book he started w/ winemaker Daniel Pambianchi. The book is availble on Amazon abt $25 US. The book lists 65 recipes but his blog listed recipes in the 100s.

Amazon - Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine: Keller Jr., Jack B., Pambianchi, Daniel: 9781591939474: Books

this link came from another post on dandy lions. Jack's book.

 

[Joel]

How was the taste test?

I would have to say that it had a very flowery taste. As for the octane I would say that it did the job.

 

[BigDaveK]

Did you strip them the same as me? I see Keller says you can use the whole flower, just get rid of all stem.

I think it was @VinesnBines who suggested using scissors. Made the process very easy. In fact, I can't wait till the dandelions show up again!

 

[vinny]

Today was a roughly 3 month tasting and k-meta day. I can only imagine what these days are like at @BigDaveK's house. I had to spread it out over a few days so's to be able to walk out of my room after. I only did 6 or 7 today, and it's happy hour, now!

The dandelion has really come together, close to the 9 month mark. I think I might bottle before the week is out.

The strong orange flavor has mellowed and is not notable as a big ugly orange anymore, but I still feel that a mandarin would have added a much nicer flavor.

 

[BigDaveK]

Today was a roughly 3 month tasting and k-meta day. I can only imagine what these days are like at @BigDaveK's house. I had to spread it out over a few days so's to be able to walk out of my room after. I only did 6 or 7 today, and it's happy hour, now!

Oh God yes!

And back sweetening days are even worse! (Or are they better?) Have to remove some of the wine to make room for the syrup - I'm not going to pour it down the drain! Definitely fun, happy, giggly days!

 

[heatherd]

Jack passed away about 2 year ago. He had wine blog and his wife finished publishing his book he started w/ winemaker Daniel Pambianchi. The book is availble on Amazon abt $25 US. The book lists 65 recipes but his blog listed recipes in the 100s.

Amazon - Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine: Keller Jr., Jack B., Pambianchi, Daniel: 9781591939474: Books

this link came from another post on dandy lions. Jack's book.

I bought that book, too. Jack could make wine out of anything!

Daniel has his own book as well, which I bought: Modern Home Winemaking: A Guide to Making Consistently Great Wines: Pambianchi, Daniel: 9781550655636: Amazon.com: Books

 

[BernardSmith]

I agree that Jack K could make wine from anything but his recipes invariably tended to be very flavor light, in my opinion. The less fruit you use, the less juice you extract and if you make up the volume with water the thinner the flavor. I guess I prefer flavor bombs.

 

[Joel]

How was the taste test?

Quite enlightening, I liked the taste.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

We don’t have dandelions here.

 

[BigDaveK]

We don’t have dandelions here.

We don't have mangos here.

 

[Hazelemere]

dandelion wine needs acid. raisins aren't enough. I suggest lime juice and lime zest