Dandelion wine captures summer in a bottle with its sweet, floral flavor and subtle honey notes. My recipe is adapted from the Foxfire Books, and I've been making it for 15 years.
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cool to lukewarm.
Place the dandelion petals, citrus juice and zest into a one-gallon fermentation vessel. Add the yeast nutrient and pour the lukewarm sugar water over the top.
Dissolve a packet of champagne yeast or other wine yeast in lukewarm water. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes to rehydrate and then pour it into the wine. Top off with a bit of extra water to fill the carboy, but be sure to leave at least an inch of headspace.
Cap with an airlock and ferment for 10 to 14 days, or until fermentation slows significantly.
Scoop off the floating dandelion petals, then siphon the wine into a clean container, leaving the sediment behind. Allow the wine to ferment in secondary for at least 6 to 8 weeks, checking the water lock periodically to ensure the water hasn't evaporated.
Bottle the dandelion wine in corked wine bottles for longer storage, or flip-top Grolsch bottles for small batches you're not planning on storing long.
Allow the wine to age in the bottle at least 2 months before drinking, ideally 6 months or more. During aging, keep bottles somewhere cool like a basement or closet on the north side of the house (65 to 68 degrees F is ideal, but room temp is fine).
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 glass
Calories: 166 kcal
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Protein: 0.4 g
Fat: 0.04 g
Saturated Fat: 0.01 g
Sodium: 10 mg
Sugar: 4 g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.015 g
Reviews
Anne Jackson Allen on 2025-05-23 (5 stars): Thanks so much! I look forward to my dandelions popping up every spring so I can make this wine!
