How to Make Simple Dandelion Wine for Unique, Cheap Christmas Gifts

It's finally dandelion wine season again. Each year, during the spring and early summer months, you can make a wonderful old-style alcoholic beverage called dandelion wine from those pretty yellow weed flowers that seem to thrive everywhere.

Dandelion wine is very simple to make. The hardest part of making the wine is in finding "pure" dandelion flowers that have not been exposed to dogs, yard chemicals, or mega-chemicals from beside a roadway.

Dandelion wine that is made during the summer months is ready on time for the holiday gift giving season. Remember to pick a few extra dandelion flowers that you can press and dry to put on the labels of your gift bottles of dandelion wine.

Ingredients for Dandelion Wine:

2 quarts perfect Dandelion Flowers (No stems, no wilted flowers, and no baby flowers.)
4 quarts water (bottled is best)
4 cups sugar
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups Sunny Delight (or citrus drink mix) in your favorite blend.
10-12 Whole Cloves
¼ teaspoons powdered Ginger
½ stick Whole Cinnamon

Utensils for Dandelion Wine:

Large Pan
Large Bowl
Colander
Coffee filters or cheese cloth
Clean sterilized bottles or canning jars for 4 quarts of Dandelion Wine.
Ladle or Funnel

Dandelion Wine Step One: Using care to pick only the perfect dandelion flowers that are found completely away from where any chemicals have been, gather about 2 quarts of those pretty dandelion flowers. You do not need to pick the whole plant or stem, you just need the uppermost flower part of the dandelion plant to make Dandelion Wine.

Dandelion Wine Step Two: Prepare your dandelion flowers by washing them in cold water to get rid of dirt and bugs. Next, remove the petals from your flowers and discard the hulls. You can use the whole flower if you like, but I think that this leave a very light bitter taste in your finished Dandelion Wine.

Dandelion Wine Step Three: Put your dandelion petals in a large pan that holds about 4 quarts of water. Add 2 cups of your favorite citrus fruit mix or Sunny Delight and the sugar into your water. Next, add the cloves, ginger, and cinnamon into your pan of Dandelion Wine water and stir.

Dandelion Wine Step Four: Boil your pan of water, spices, and dandelion petals for an hour. Stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking. Turn off after one-hour.

Dandelion Wine Step Five: Line your kitchen colander with coffee filters or cheesecloth. Strain your boiled Dandelion Wine water through the colander and into a large bowl. Throw the used coffee filters away. Line your colander with new coffee filters and strain the bowl of Dandelion Wine back into your pan.

Dandelion Wine Step Six: Let your Dandelion Wine cool in the pan until it is about bathtub warm.

Dandelion Wine Step Seven: Add one package of dried yeast into your bathtub warm pan of Dandelion Wine. Yeast will not work in hot water, and it will not work in cold water. This is why your Dandelion Wine must be nice and warm while you add the package of yeast into the pan of Dandelion Wine.

Dandelion Wine Step Eight: Cover your pan of Dandelion Wine and let it set at room temperature undisturbed overnight, or for 12-24 hours.

Dandelion Wine Step Nine: Gather together enough clean and sterilized bottles or canning jars to put your 4 quarts of Dandelion Wine into. Ladle or pour your Dandelion Wine into the bottles and cork or seal them shut tightly.

Dandelion Wine Step Ten: Store your Dandelion Wine in a cool dark place for at least 6-weeks or longer to let your wine cure before drinking. Dandelion Wine that is stored for a full year before drinking provides the best oomph.