How to Make Dandelion Wine

Dandelion wine is classic Americana. With a sweet, bright, refreshing taste, it makes for a great summer drink and makes use of those nasty weeds in the yard.

Step 1). Collect dandelion heads. You want just the heads with as little green as possible.

Step 2). Remove as much green from the heads as possible, you really only need the yellow petals.

Step 3). Boil up a gallon of water. The goal is to make a strong dandelion tea.

Step 4). After the tea has steeped for a day or two, add lemons, oranges, and loooots of sugar.

Step 5). Add your yeast. You can use ordinary dry yeast, but I went to the wine shop and got some proper yeast to make it stronger.

Step 6). Let sit in a cool, dark place for four to six weeks. You’ll need something to allow for offgasing...here I have a cap made for that purpose, but a balloon works just fine.

Step 7). Once the bubbles have stopped, you need to “rack” the wine...just filter out the sediment. I used some old pantyhose.

Step 8). You will probably want to rack the wine again.

Step 9). Enjoy your homemade deliciousness chilled, preferably on a front porch with friends.

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