How to Make Dandelion Wine

[@ryancheshire9603]

Stumbled across this video after finding a recipe written to my great grandmother in 1918. Fantastic process you’ve done! The detail and care you’ve put into this is amazing

[@gapey]

Thank you. GLad you enjoyed it.

[@vision821k4]

@@gapey When are you going to make some weed for us?

[@deebreed1570]

Bless your heart, you are like a little Einstein scientist.. I made some dandelion wine the last two years, and I must’ve just got lucky because I don’t have any of that equipment you have.. I don’t know anything about gravity, other than it keeps me standing on the earth, lol and I don’t take any temperature readings of anything.. Like I mentioned, I must’ve just got lucky because people thought it was like the best stuff ever .. seems like I just threw everything in a bucket and let it go..

[@gapey]

hah that's great. Sometimes it just works out. Glad it turned out great. If I had followed the recipe I used without doing any testing it would have come out way too sweet.

[@deebreed1570]

@@gapey you’re fine the good news is you get to be you and God doesn’t make junk or mistakes?..❤️👑

[@jeremysmith9263]

Im a distiller of spirits. I like fermax for a nutrient or dap works good too.

[@mpolanetz]

Thank you so much taking the time to show us how to make dandelion wine. Plus seeing your various mead shows you can use anything, as long as you have a little bit of imagination. Throughly enjoy watching your video. Love from Australia 🦘

[@gapey]

Yep you can use pretty much everything. Just heard about someone making wine or maybe it was mead with carrots and turnips.

[@kcirdorb9591]

My grandmother in England made dandelion wine during the war...story goes she shared some with the mailman she was friendly with....when he left to continue his route my grandma said he was feeling no pain....that afternoon all his mail deliveries ended up at the wrong addresses... according to relatives the mailman got punished and was taken off the route and given an inside job.

[@gapey]

Thanks for sharing. That's an interesting story.

[@cassidinecaszo]

I wanted to make this wine 1000% but I'm no scientist like this lady. . It needs to be simplified way more for the masses to be able to make this. Did anybody else have issues with making this? Or just feel intimidated to attempt it?

[@gapey]

There's definitely more than one way to do things. I'm sure there are some other recipes out there that don't require taking gravity readings and such. It's just difficult to tell the sweetness level and alcohol content of your wine without doing that but it's definitely doable. This is just how I like to make it.

[@CottonWoodBlues]

I'm going to a friend's house tomorrow to get all her dandelions out of her yard, and she has a lot!

[@gapey]

Oh nice!

[@johnj5985]

Yeast for fermentation needs warmer temperatures than 16*C. Start 25-30*C for a vigorous fermentation. Once your sg drops to .015 you can lower the temp to 16*C, or even cooler until it finishes. Try activating your yeast first in a jar with some of your "wort" at around 30*C for a few hours. Wait till it visibly activates, then place it into the batch. It will explode at a rapid rate initially This is the secret. Finish at cooler temperatures.

[@jessicazander5954]

Love it! I keep trying to get my kids to pick me more than a handful of dandelion bouquets at a time because I want to try making dandelion oil. I guess I better get out there and harvest them myself. Now you gave me another idea to try with our abundance of dandelions. Give me a holler next time you need an extra hand. I would love to help! ❤️🌼

[@gapey]

It takes a lot of flowers! I might make some again next year.

[@gapey]

I beg to differ. If done properly, it's delicious. That is, if you only use the petals and not any of the green part of the dandelion.

[@hddm3]

Wow nicely done! Very helpful. Thank you

[@gapey]

You're welcome. :)

[@Reverend-Rodger]

Dandelion and elderflower are my two favourite tasting country white wines.

[@gapey]

Still need to bottle up my elderflower mead!

[@george-wg6ug]

Hey from the UK, we have just collected a bumper crop of dandelion heads, made honey with some but have kept plenty back to make this wine, we make many wines through the summer as things grow and ripen in their own time,can't wait to try it but I know patience is the key. Cool Channel, thanks 👍

[@gapey]

That's great! I'm sure you will enjoy it.

[@guranefter5233]

Thanks for the content! A few comments: 1: It's a good idea to know the amount of sugar to add before hand. There are calculators out there for that 2: Don't over sanitize. It takes time and effort and alcohol levels in this kind of brew will certainly kill any (or most :-) ) pathogens 3: Don't mind pH. It will turn out good anyways. 4: Do not care that much about yeast temperature. Low temps, 10-ish and up a few degrees, will give more neutral taste. 25C and up will give more adventure 5: Don't stir to much. This can aerate a lot and cause oxidation which is not nice. Yeast needs some oxygen, but usually not a lot, so it is probably better to leave the ferment alone. This is what brewers do, and I think it applies here as well. 6: Do NOT check gravity each day. This causes oxidation the same way as described above. Have patience instead, and leave it until there is no fermentation going on (No activity in the airlock) 7: Yeast nutrient, Yes. Do that. 8: The Yeast on the bottom is not dead, only dormant. Can be reused if you want. 9: Wow, i like the look of that maple honey mead. 10: About yeast: yes, old yeast can cause off flavors (but it is still not dead, usually). Its called autolysis, and it refers to yeast eating itself (cannibalism) which causes off flavors 11: 1.000 means that there is still a lot of sugars left. Why? Because alcohol has lower density than water. So a fully fermented wine will probably end up around minus a few commas. #opensourcingstuffihappentoknow

[@PaulaThomasPhotography]

I appreciate your feedback. I typically don't check the pH unless something isn't going right. I have had ferments be so low that it causes the fermentation to go very slowly so increasing the pH to a more optimal level helped it along. I've also had brews ferment super fast which I contribute to a higher temp though it was within the temp range of the yeast. Those ended up tasting very badly and took several years to mellow out to be drinkable. Aerating twice a day in the first week is what many recommend but honestly I don't do it that much cuz I'm just busy and don't get around to it. I'm lucky if I do it once a day.

[@evelynjepson5955]

I now pick the leaves for my rabbit, leaving the stalk to flower and seed out, in the joy of more dandelions to come.

[@gapey]

My chickens love to eat the dandelion leaves too.

[@SmokeyJoe613]

Great video Paula, I had a sea of yellow dandelion flowers on my front yard, the view was beautiful, I don't put any fertilizers on my grass other then the cut grass and chopping the leaves in the fall,I was going to try making dandelion wine but don't have any ambition since putting our Morkey down in January who turned 15 years on the first, maby next year. Looking forward to your next video, smokey joe.

[@gapey]

We don't put anything on our lawn either and the neighbor we harvested the flowers from doesn't either. In fact they are an organic berry farm and their field was loaded with dandelions. Sorry to hear about your Morkey.

[@PermacultureHomestead]

Ive been wanting to do something similar w/ Elderflower ! nice vid, Love ya' Paula, we want to try some Mead w/ Harvested honey.

[@gapey]

Oh that would be really good. I've made elderflower syrup but haven't tried making mead with it yet. I would love to though. Will see how much I can harvest this year. I got a couple elderberry bushes now that I'm hoping will produce a lot of flowers. They aren't compatible cross pollinators so I won't get berries but I can always harvest the flowers.

[@summerbreeze1955]

Wow so much detail care and attention, so impressed with your lovely vid thanks for sharing. When I discovered wine making it was a massive bonus being an ethical Vegan. I make lotsa florals May flower and elderflower very favourites! I personally don't much bother with ph stuff and measuring gravity, My wines have always on the whole been super drinkable and friends rave on them! being very alky! LOL. My rule of thumb is 2.5 lbs sugar to one gallon of juice. Later you can always add more sugar if necessary. I do use cambdens to sterilise the airlocks this works OK. I once made parsnip wine and following the fermentation process wasn't sure about it. Left it about 1 year it tasted pretty good. and used it as a solvent to make nettle tincture! yaaaay double whammy! Currently I have some organic carrot wine and a whisky on the go watch this space! luv n light to all winemakers x

[@gapey]

I have a batch of elderflower mead bulk aging now. I should probably get it bottled soon. I'm looking forward to trying it. I've never heard of carrot and parsnip wines sound interesting.

[@YAYAisme]

Wow your dedication is immense. Looks amazing.

[@gapey]

Thanks Russ. It's so good. Glad I'm able to share how I made it. I might also do a blog post.

[@paullaviolette2610]

I made dandelion wine and I think it was the best tasting wine I ever tasted. Mine was way simpler than what you did here and it turned out great.

[@gapey]

It was much tastier than I expected it would be!

[@msl9927]

Such a great tutorial! Thanks so much for the time you put into this. In my backyard, I see a few dandelions, but I'm thinking I will let them go to seed for more later on. There just isn't enough, and unfortunately, my neighbors grow lawns so they don't have a trace of weeds in their yards.

[@gapey]

aw bummer. Maybe you can go out of town and look for un manicured fields/farms to harvest from. Asking permission first of course. :)

[@kratomseeker5258]

about the bottles exploding. you can also bottle in wine bottles with a cork the cork will pop out before the bottle explodes i had this happen to be alot of times along time ago.

[@gapey]

I've never had the problem myself and do use wine corks. Not sure what kind of bottles people used that I've heard stories about.

[@GARDENSTATEGARDENER]

well done video very impressed

[@gapey]

Thank you very much!

[@ZPDSurvival]

Very Great Video. Thank You.

[@gapey]

You are welcome!

[@VonFej61]

Remember my dad making Dandelion wine. We made soup every Spring too.

[@gapey]

dandelion soup? What part of dandelion did you use for that?

[@VonFej61]

@@gapey the new young leaves from the center with potato & hardboiled egg. We would also eat the greens with hot bacon dressing.

[@francismarcoux8944]

I usually but 5 dried raisin ot has yeast on it

[@gapey]

I have used raisins before, more as a yeast nutrient.

[@alexlarsen6413]

Great video, appreciate the honesty about the stalled fermentation! I'm sure plenty of channels would simply omit that fact and pretend everything was dandy without the nutrients. I usually use Fermaid K which is a combination of organic and inorganic nutrients. Other than that I also prefer not to put sulfites into my brews, but rather shoot for the yeast with alcohol tolerance I need/want and then just let the brew ferment, off gas and age longer. The few times I really wanted to stabilize some brews earlier, I pasteurized the bottles. I have dandelion wine and mead, both started on April 30 in the secondary now, where I've transferred them some time in late May...don't recall the exact date but have it in my notes. They're both crystal clear already, looking gorgeous, especially the mead one...I've never achieved such a wonderful color on anything else before! There is about half an inch of sediment at the bottom of both carboys, so I'll soon rack them again and then leave them aging for at least another 3-4 months before racking them into a pitcher and then bottling, after which they'll sit in the bottles for another couple of months minimum (probably longer) before I crack open the first bottle. I just know it's gonna take them a long time to age..mead in particular, since I did try them while racking after the primary fermentation had finished. The taste was super young, very rough around the edges and the fact is; even when my meads and wines are totally fine, or sometimes even more than just fine after only a month or so, at this point I know for sure that after another 5-6 months, they'll be exponentially better! :) Patience, waiting is hard...I know, but so worth it with wines and even more so, meads!

[@gapey]

Thank you Alex, I appreciate the comment. I know a lot of people don't use nutrients and like to do it the old fashioned way. I gave it a try and it didn't work so I'll continue using nutrients. I usually use Fermaid too and was able to skip that with no problem. I've yet to do pasteurization but that is the way I'd go if I wanted to stop fermentation or was worried about exploding bottles. Maybe some day I'll try back sweetening and go that route but I typically like dry wines/meads but there may be an occasion for something sweeter. I had a really good coffee mead that was sweeter but that's about the only sweet mead I've had that I actually liked.

[@alexlarsen6413]

@@gapey Coffee mead is such a great idea!

[@natemitch]

Great video!!! My front flower bed is loading up with dandelions from my daughter, maybe a couple more months and I’ll be able to get a 1/2 gallon(fingers crossed).

[@gapey]

I bet you can probably freeze them until you have enough. I would remove the petals before freezing though. not sure how easy it would be after they've been frozen.

[@natemitch]

@@gapey I’ll have to give that a try! Tomorrow morning I’ll start collecting, they’ve been blooming like crazy everyday the past week or so.

[@robertsoloe6001]

You can stop tbe fermentation by refrigerating it. The cold will kill all the yeast and drop it to the bottom. It the quickest and best way in ny belief

[@gapey]

I don't think putting it in the fridge kills it and it will just start fermenting again when you take it back out and I don't have enough refrigerator space for all of my meads/wines so I just let it ferment in bulk for a year or more and that seems to do the trick. :D

[@allanlugo8095]

I enjoy it very much

[@gapey]

yes it's pretty good stuff!

[@allanlugo8095]

@@gapey I like mine a bit sweet

[@Tommy-636]

Good job girl.

[@gapey]

Thanks. I'm really happy with how it came out. So good.

[@solath]

use glycerin in your airlocks. It doesn't evaporate and doesn't mold.

[@gapey]

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't thought of that and didn't know glycerin doesn't evaporate.

[@alsheikhresortsskardu7053]

This flower is found in Gilgit-Baltistan, especially in Skardu-Baltistan in large quantities. You have shared a very useful video

[@gapey]

Glad you found it useful.

[@evelynjepson5955]

made this once - years ago- but you can't get virgin fields of dandelion now days...its all walked over by man and dog, and the flowers go to maggots in no time...when I made mine, it was 5% alcohol by volume, and its far better chilled.

[@gapey]

Luckily I have a neighbor with an organic berry farm with fields of grass/dandelions around it which is where I got mine from.

[@karlagarcia3780]

Thank you... Very informative and well presented. Some videos say to use a champaigne yeast and 1/4 tsp. You mentioned to use a whole pack of wine yeast and later said that half of the same pack was used for another recipe. Do you have any more information regarding that.

[@gapey]

1 packet is enough for 5 gallons. If you're making a 1 gallon batch you don't need to use a whole packet but it doesn't hurt to use it all. A lot of times I only use half, especially if I plan on making another batch in the near future. If I don't plan on using the other half for a long time then I will just use the whole packet.

[@jackfrost3573]

My Father made Dandelion wine back in late 70,s I was in my mid-teens. Then he went out of town and left me in charge? Anyway, they went around the corner and me and a bunch of friends went into the wine cellar. The dandelion was my favorite and have and large dent in my forehead and an identical dent on the back of my head to prove it. I am told...? I was riding on the hood of a car and fell off at about 20 mph. I woke up in the ER. stuck to sheets because of abrasions on about 40% of my body. I asked where am I? A cop leaned in and asked where did you get the wine?🤔Drink in moderation.

[@gapey]

Oh geez. Yeah drinking and driving don't mix very well. I don't usually drink more than a glass or two at a time.

[@robertsoloe6001]

Thanks for the video

[@gapey]

You're welcome.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

I made a 10% bottled beer and saved a six pack for five years. If it had had a lower acbv, it would have rotted. Instead, I called over the professor who got me into brewing and we each indulged. Real beer makes you happy, not drunk. The hops are key, which wine does not have but can still make you happy.

[@gapey]

Nice! It's fun making your own booze! I'm not a fan of beer myself but love ciders and other stuff.

[@NoneYaBiz5]

I take it you keep a date record start to finish to keep track. I use painter's tape and write the name and date on them.

[@PaulaThomasPhotography]

Oh yes. I keep an Excel "Brew Log" of each of my batches that lists the ingredients and tracks the ph, temp and gravity through to bottling day.

[@Aussiehomestead1965]

We make Mint wine in a similar fashion but use Champagne Yeast. After it's bottled it tastes like Chardonnay.

[@gapey]

I have a lot of mint. I should give that a try. I also have a lot of lemon balm. That might make good wine too. I use champagne yeast too for some of my wines/meads.

[@dianalowe8625]

Thank you for such a honest and thorough vídeo - wish I would have seen this before doing my first fermentation over the weekend but great to know the next steps and tools to use. Couple of questions - approximately how long should the first fermentation last? It appears that yours went on for a few weeks even after you added the nutrients? I prefer a sweet but mellow wine (not overly dry) - based on your vid it seems like inherently the dandelion wine would be sweet if using the blossoms - what do you think I should aim for as far as my final gravity reading? Thank you. Looking forward to exploring your channel even more.

[@gapey]

The recipe I used would have been way too sweet and am glad I tested the starting gravity so I could add more water to lower the gravity so it wouldn't be overly sweet. Normally my primary fermentations take about a month but you'll need to test the gravity to determine that. When you take a gravity reading and don't see any change after a week or so then it's done and ready to rack off of the lease and into a new container to finish fermenting. But if the gravity reading is not changing and still reading high then there may be a problem that may be resolved but would have to do some troubleshooting like testing ph to see if the ph is causing an issue. If that is fine then you can try adding yeast nutrients or maybe the yeast was bad and you could try adding yeast.

[@dianalowe8625]

Thank you. Just watched your video again - is there a difference between a racking cane and auto siphon or are the names used interchangeably? What was the length of the tube of yours? Any pointers on how to easily connect the tubing as it can take some time to finagle? Not sure if yours already came connected. Thanks again!

[@gapey]

@@dianalowe8625 It's essentially the same thing. I think there are different types of auto siphons and a racking cane is one type of auto siphon. Yeah it can be tricky to get that tube connected. The trick is to run it under hot water for about 30 seconds and that will soften the tube up and make it more flexible to get on easier. :)

[@dianalowe8625]

@@gapey hello - it's me again. So I performed the 1st racking and noticed that more sediment was transferred than i would have preferred (comparing to your experience) and i don't understand why as I still had some of the original fermented mixture left after the transfer - not sure why as i thought the siphon wouldn't have picked it up smh. I also noticed that you used corked bottles at the end - is this by preference or are they better than the swing top glass bottles?

[@gapey]

@@dianalowe8625 Corked bottles are perfectly fine to use. Sometimes I put them in those too. You could do another racking to remove more of the sediment. I will sometimes do two rackings before I actually bottle it. Not one right after the other but I let it age for quite a while. I have a few gallons that have been on the shelf waiting to bottle for about a year now. If I notice sediment on the bottom I will do a racking and then let it age and settle a while longer, and if I see more sediment on the bottom I'll rack again but I don't think I've ever had to do it more than twice to get rid of it all.

[@dannyaustin7008]

You can use raisins for a yeast nutrient or for your stall you could have used tomato paste. I'm going to try your recipe.

[@gapey]

Haven't heard of using tomato paste before. I have used raisins though.

[@BushwhackerMountainCoTV]

Awesome video! Garden State Gardener sent me here, new friend!

[@gapey]

Yay! Glad to have you.

[@BushwhackerMountainCoTV]

@@gapey glad to be here!

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Great video! You mentioned making mead and at first glance I didn’t spot any mead making videos in your playlists or in general (might have missed them), nor any other wine making videos. Did you post any or would you consider posting any? I’m very much interested in fruit wines, ciders and meads. Not so much in beer videos, the boil is what gets to me. I tried it and it wasn’t my thing. But wines, ciders and meads are definitely my kind of thing and I’m constantly looking for recipes.

[@PaulaThomasPhotography]

Thank you. I have only posted one other similar video and it was a apple mead (cyser) video. I put it in my recipes playlist. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aavGfZKVoN-iorc I'm not a fan of beer so you won't see me making any beer making videos. :)

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@PaulaThomasPhotography - Thank you so much for replying! I can’t believe I didn’t see a notification of you doing so! Thank you for posting the link to your cyser. I’m going to check it out. My favourite fermented beverage to make is mead. 😊 I’m not a fan of beer brewing myself. Being Belgian, beer drinking is pretty much ingrained in my DNA and if it wasn’t, my partly German heritage would take care of that I guess… but I absolutely hate the scent of boiling mash. Having to babysit the boil for hours isn’t my thing either, so beer brewing is a no for me as well. Wines, meads and ciders are more hands-off. Dandelion wine and dandelion mead are delicious. I add a little citrus zest to mine and depending on my mood other flowers will join the party. I’ll also often add chopped raisins for mouth feel and viscosity, ot makes quite a difference. Last year’s batch had chamomile in it as well. Dandelions are popping up in my garden, it’s time I made more. The fun thing about dandelion mead is that when chilled it comes across as quite dry whilst at room temperature it comes across as sweet. Not dessert wine sweet the way I back sweeten mine, but still sweet. Edit: you mentioned quince mead. I made some last October, it’s ageing. I am extremely interested in your recipe. What I did: Washed and cored the quince and chopped them up. Popped the fruit in a large pan, added recently boiled water (just enough to cover), brought it to the boil and let it simmer for five minutes, no longer to avoid the release of too much pectin. Allowed to cool, separated fruit from liquid. Added lemon zest. Added pectic enzyme, honey, yeast nutrient and yeast, placed airlock, let it ferment. Waited for it to clear, racked it, back sweetened slightly and balanced it. Bulk pasteurised it. Let it sit some more, more sediment fell out. Racked and bottled it. I based my recipe on a German KZbin video on how to make quince wine and just substituted honey for the sugar. With the initial gravity I had, it cape out at 14%. I tend to shoot for 12% but the honey I got off my beekeeper was really strong and threw off my calculations. Can’t wait to taste it when it’s a year old! The scent when bottling it was really promising!

[@Herbsformentalhealth]

Nice video. Wonderful knowledge. I appreciate you. What do you edit your videos with or on? Software? App?

[@gapey]

Thanks. I use Final Cut Pro on my Mac for video editing.

[@jayinwood647]

I’ve been looking at a few KZbin videos on dandelion wine to cherry pick different ideas before I make a batch. I don’t think I’ve seen one yet that uses as much sugar as you used.

[@gapey]

Interesting. The recipe I used had way more sugar in it than I used and was really surprised by how much it had. I do gravity testing before pitching the yeast to make sure I have a good amount of sugar and not too much or too little. I highly recommend doing that. I usually prefer dry wines but went a little sweeter than I usually do on this one. My starting gravity was 1.118 on this one and normally I start with 1.10

[@dr123hall]

Gummy yeast nutrient? Tablespoons to measure, mix in water, boil. Cool and add to ferment. Live Happy-Dandelion Wine!

[@gapey]

even with boiling water it takes a lot of stirring to get it to dissolve.

[@rad7965]

MOST IMPORTANT PART: Make sure that the dandelion plants were never spray with insect poison or weed killer.

[@gapey]

Oh yes that is imporant!

[@juwanet]

I like the leaves like spinach

[@gapey]

I'm not a huge fan of the leaves. They are a little too bitter for me but I know they are very good for you.

[@jimyost2585]

I've been a wine maker since 2006 and I make a lot of wine every year. For example, last year I made 45 gallons of blueberry wine, 55 gallons of muscadine wine, and 15 gallons of apple wine. I usually make at least 30 gallons of pear wine every year but last year we had a late frost that killed the pear blossoms so there were no pears. About ten years ago I made a three gallon batch of dandelion wine and it was some of the best wine I ever tasted. But my knees hurt for almost a month after picking the blossoms and I swore I'd never make dandelion wine again. But... if I can find some help picking the blossoms this year I might force myself to make a batch of it.

[@gapey]

I didn't mind picking the blossoms but removing the petals from all those flowers wasn't too fun. I might make more next year. We'll see. I've never made more than 1.5 gallons of any wine/mead. I should get a bigger carboy so I can start making some bigger batches of stuff.

[@jimyost2585]

@@gapey ~ The guy who got me into winemaking is a French guy about my age (I'm 75 years old now) who grew up on a farm in rural France and he helped his dad make wine since he was eight years old. He taught me how to make wine in the summer of 2006 then he moved back overseas. In the ensuing years I made lots of batches of different kinds of wine from different fruits, and I made some mistakes. So I did a lot of research about it and I found that the consensus among seasoned winemakers is that the bigger the batch the better the wine turns out. I've put that theory to the test and I totally agree with it. Many of them say that making a one gallon batch of wine is a waste of time and fruit. So I always try to shoot for making five gallon batches whenever I can (depending on how much fruit I can come up with). I start my batches in brew buckets (6.5 gallon food grade plastic buckets made specifically for winemaking). I let the must sit in the bucket for a week and then strain out the pulp and transfer the wine to a five gallon carboy. I rack the wine in 60 days, then again 90 days later, then again 30 or 40 days later depending on how clear it is. If it's still cloudy I'll rack it again and let it sit for another 90 days. After that if it still hasn't cleared I'll filter it (I have a Buon Vino MiniJet filter that I love. I use #2 filter pads). I buy most of my winemaking supplies from an online winemaker's supply store called "Label Peelers." They have a huge selection and their prices are really reasonable, and their shipping time is unbelievably fast.

[@gapey]

@@jimyost2585 Now that I'm more comfortable with my wine/mead making I may start doing larger batches but I had a few fails in the beginning where it just tasted bad and my thought was I didn't want to waste too much honey on a big batch if it fails. Only doing a gallon it wasn't too big of a loss. If I'm trying something for the first time though I'd probably stick with just doing a gallon first and once successful move up to a bigger batch. I'd have to upgrade some equipment though since I only have buckets and carboys to hold a gallon.

[@jimyost2585]

@@gapey ~ I recommend that you look around in some of the winemaking websites and forums and find some good simple and proven recipes and stick to them and don't change the recipes at all. I tried doing that and the wine usually didn't turn out tasting right.

[@gapey]

@@jimyost2585 I actually followed some recipes I found on the ones that failed. I seem to do better when I keep it simple. The ones that did badly had raisins in it which I hadn't done before and probably won't ever do again. :) Oh and I am in several wine/mead making groups on Facebook.

[@mindofmadness5593]

Funny. Went out this morning and harvested Dandelions. Both flowers and leaves. If you soft simmer the leaves in two changes of water it removes the bitterness-comes out like Collard Greens or such. Also, Dandelions are excellent soil breakers-here my ground is clay over packed sand-I encourage the Dlions because they go deep, break the soil and the roots turn into nutrion for my gardens. Now on to the wine [[likely I will distill it to Brandy but that's a "Me" thing-I'm trying to figure out how to distill liquid smoke or Worscheshire saice. :)

[@gapey]

Oh dandelion brandy sounds like it would be good. I haven't done any distilling.

[@mickeymike-yk4bf]

Thank You 🤟

[@gapey]

You're welcome!

[@geocentre]

O' Dandy Lion so boldly yellow. Sitting on my lawn, such a fine fellow! You are the first sign of Spring whose early scouts make me sing. Soon the whole mob will encamp upon the green grass so damp. Spread afar Like Abraham's children. Boundless stars, over hills they will run. With your gold we are rich, treasure in a field niche. Tis slander to call thee a weed. Thou art a fair flower indeed! I would no more yield to mow you over than a lucky field of four leaf clover. Shine on little sun. With you life seems fun. Soon parachutes will fan, alight over the land. You'll be left bare and bony after your babies take flight. I'll recall grey times, lonely until you made the days bright! -by GEORGE WOOLEY

[@gapey]

Aww what a lovely poem. Thank you for sharing.

[@vtster]

I am 73 years old, retired and have decided to attempt to duplicate the dandelion wine I remember tasting as a young teen that my uncle brewed. It reminded me of champagne which leads me the to the first of two questions. 1. How do I go about making sparkling dandelion wine and 2. What do you suggest for altering the pH of the syrup either up or down.

[@gapey]

I've never made a sparkling wine but I know it can be tricky because you risk exploding bottles. I think you can pasteurize it though to ensure they don't explode. You basically add more sugar before bottling to reactivate the yeast. As for adjusting PH, I've only had to do it a couple of times and I've only ever had it too low. It's never been too high but I made some notes to reference if it ever happens. I raise the ph if lower than 3.2 with potassium bicarbonate and if over 4.7 can lower it with tartaric acid. 3.7-4.6 is the ideal range so if it's lower or higher than that and your fermentation is stuck you might try adjusting the PH but I've had as low as 3.5 and it fermented fine.

[@vtster]

@@gapey Thank you so much your response. I truly liked your presentation and look forward to learning more from your extensive library,

[@stanleygrover1685]

Ageing A good practice!

[@gapey]

indeed. It's great for lazy people or people who just don't have time to do stuff. :D I've got a bunch of batches of stuff I should really be bottling up by now. :D

[@deardaughter]

Awesome.

[@gapey]

It is awesome! :D

[@robertsoloe6001]

Your problem sounds like temperature to me. Raise your temp just a little 68° to 72° is what I like making wine at

[@PreatorRaszagal]

Really cool video. My grandmother used to make dandelion wine when I was a kid, but I was always to young to taste it. My grandfather, and now my father, make home made mulled wine (traditional drink around Christmas in Sweden). Maybe I should try and make some dandelion wine if I can find enough dandelions 🤔I mean there's got to be a reason why my grandmother kept making it, right 😄Also, I thought mead was supposed to be a sweet wine, or am I wrong?

[@gapey]

Mead is just honey wine. It's up to the wine maker to determine how sweet it is. I prefer mine pretty dry and not sweet though most store bought mead is too sweet for my liking which is one of the reasons I like to make it myself. :)

[@debbiekennedy454]

Can I freeze my dandelion petals to use later in the year?

[@gapey]

Hmm that is a good question. I'm not sure about that. Seems like it is worth a try.

[@drew521]

What is it that you sanitized your bottles with? I'm assuming not soapy water...

[@PaulaThomasPhotography]

I use Star San. I let it sit a few mins and then pour out any excess Star San that drips to the bottom of the bottle.

[@rachelgalus]

Wow so interesting! Have you ever made wine from tomatoes? When I discovered how diverse the flavors of tomatoes can be, I wondered if people ever turned them into wine.

[@PaulaThomasPhotography]

Hmm nope. I have never tried tomato wine or even thought of that. Sounds interesting.

[@Rosco7401]

Awesome

[@donaldblankenship8057]

Only eat yellow unwilted dandelions. If they have been sprayed with Roundup, they'll wilt immediately. Excellent raw.

[@gapey]

Yeah roundup is no bueno! I get mine from my organic berry farm neighbor. :)

[@amandabaker4496]

tap water or does it need to be spring or distilled?

[@gapey]

tap water should be ok but may want to let it sit for a day or so for chlorine to evaporate. Boiling the water for 20 mins first would work too.

[@thesevideos4382]

Can you replace the sugar with honey?

[@gapey]

You definitely can! Then you would be making dandelion mead instead of wine. I definitely want to give that a try one of these days.

[@nmcgiv546]

I never use yeast nutrient and I get between 14 to 16 percent

[@vinimarshall7301]

When boiling things it reduces them ,why not boil the sugar the n put in the jar over the petals then steep overnight 😊

[@eartherinfire]

4lbs of sugar seems like a LOT of sugar. Is this super sweet when finished?

[@gapey]

It is quite a bit. I was following a recipe I found and I'm glad I used a hydrometer to test the gravity because it would have been way too sweet if I hadn't added more water. I started with 4 quarts of water and added more water until I reached a starting gravity of 1.118. The final gravity was 1.002 so not super sweet but a bit sweeter than what I normally make.

[@robertsoloe6001]

Sugar turns to alcohol just let it sit longer before you kill the yeast if it's to sweat for ya. Taste test it before racking

[@mettajoxie8019]

Dandinions also has its own sweet/sugar maybe…

[@gapey]

Oh yes there definitely is some sugar in the form of nectar in the flowers but don't think it's a significant amount.

[@ladyjewa]

I picked the flowers... some thing happened that made me have to leave.i left them on the porch for a night and day will they still be ok to use

[@gapey]

Hmm I'm not sure. You probably could but may not be as good. the nectar in the flowers could have evaporated.

[@ChuckThompsonTTCMedia]

Natural yeast nutrient, raisins.

[@gapey]

I have used raisins in mead before. It definitely gets it fermenting quickly!

[@tinaanderson5423]

I have tried for the first time to make this wine. I've never made wine before so I didn't know about taking a reading before the fermentation started. It has been 3 weeks and I just did my first raking into the glass carboy. I tasted it and it tastes like syrup. Very sweet. The reading says 1.130 Dessert Wine, if I'm reading the gravity correctly. I'm afraid my fermentation might have stopped like yours did. I already took it off the yeast. Is it ruined. Can I save it?

[@gapey]

Did you add any nutrients? It's possible it may have stalled. You can try adding more yeast along with some nutrients and it likely will start fermenting again.

[@tinaanderson5423]

@@gapey no I didn't add any nutrients. I just did what I've seen on a lot of you tube videos on dandelion wine. Today is 3 weeks exactly. It's not too late? I don't have any nutrients I will have to order some.

[@gapey]

@@tinaanderson5423 It should be ok to do as long as it hasn't gotten moldy. I know a lot of people that add more yeast if it ends up stalling. Nutrients would definitely help. Mine stalled without them.

[@tinaanderson5423]

@@gapey no mold. Thank goodness. Should I do another whole packet per carboy of yeast or 1/2? And thank you so much for your help. I really appreciated your video over all the others I watched. I just wish I seen it first.

[@gapey]

@@tinaanderson5423 Is it a 1 gallon batch? I usually just use a 1/2 packet for a gallon.

[@brynduffy]

Potassium metabisulfite becomes sulfur dioxide in water. It's totally natural. Potassium sorbate is sorbic acid. Totally natural.

[@TheKrinkled1]

you can always make a slurry with your gummy fermaid-o with a couple tablespoons of water. it won't have a noticeable effect to your gravity.

[@gapey]

I usually make a slurry with a few tablespoons of the wine/mead but have to stir it forever to get it to dissolve into it.

[@FadiQv]

Great informative video but if I wanted to read everything I'd look up blogs.

[@PaulaThomasPhotography]

Only the beginning part had some reading. A blog doesn't allow you to see how to do it though. I am thinking about also doing a blog post though so people can print out the recipe if they want and reference the video to see it.

[@nowirehangers2815]

Little snippets help people absorb the information actually

[@aaronlarsen7447]

I skipped the whole thing and went straight to the tasting. I had to see if she even liked it. I think it's a pretty color.

[@gapey]

hah it is so good! I was afraid it might be bitter but there is really no bitterness at all in just the dandelion petals. It's just really time consuming to remove the petals from every flower.

[@aaronlarsen7447]

@@gapey I bet it is. :)

[@christopherkindred3758]

Also, one of the most common yeast stoppers is the need for more water. Yeast needs the water to produce the CO2 and alcohol (which are its waste products). If sugar is too high, the yeast will go through that water and then pause. Once water is added, the yeast will continue the fermentation.

[@PaulSherman-v3r]

I used to make candy money when I was 7 or 8 by picking dandelions for Mr. Ulysses. He always told us he was making rat poison and we should never taste it. Smirk!

[@gapey]

Hah sneaky

[@robetheridge6999]

Rinse those suds

[@gapey]

Don't fear the foam! :)

[@steven117]

welp...lawnmower won't start. Dandelions took over....an urban meadow rainbow in a suburban sea of butch crew cut grass. Dandy Wine sounds fine

[@gapey]

Dandy wine is surprisingly good. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

[@nt13987]

More likes!!

[@gapey]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@DarrellBrown-ej7ho]

Why would you stir it? Most other alcohol you leave it alone.

[@gapey]

You don't have to do it but I've read that aeration/oxygen helps the yeast multiply and only really beneficial in the early stages of the fermentation when the yeast is most active.

[@oldmanfromscenetwentyfour8164]

4lbs of Sugar is a bit much.

[@gapey]

I agree. I was following a recipe online and I added more water to get the gravity down to a more reasonable level as it was much too high.

[@mikelisaigars]

I do avoid yeast. ..yeast bought from shop( from my opinion ) gives wine a bad taste. Insted I put NATURAL rosines in water and after a few days they are ready to work as yeast.

[@abdelkhalak73]

you used too much sugar! I add sugar in stages, but never exceeded 2. 1 lbs. When you filtred the flowers , why didn't you wash the flowers with hot water to extract more flavor and sugar? Yhen you can measure gravity and make adjustments.

[@gapey]

I was following a recipe and that's how they did it. There are many different recipes out there on how to make it. I may not have followed the best one. I agree it's too much sugar and I added more water to compensate after I saw the starting gravity.

[@polydynamix7521]

When something says 'organic sources' it could mean literally anything. Petroleum is organic. 'Organic' often is more of a marketing buzzword than an actual thing.

[@nicolasickovic7432]

Looks like "literally" is your buzzword

[@robertkat]

Did that 60 years ago.. nothing new.

[@garybowler5946]

Dandelion wine is nasty and I believe it's a cultural joke kinda like snipe hunting.

[@gapey]

Maybe you haven't had a good one? It's one of my favorites but I know it can come out bitter if you don't use only the petals of the dandelion. Any part of the green from a dandelion will give it a bitter taste.

[@t.williampaddick5007]

​@gapey some people just want to complain lol

[@FreeAllenWrench]

Food grade urea? Can i go more natural and just pee a little in mine? No one needs to know.

[@gapey]

nah I'll pass on that . :)

[@MMikeP]

10:27 and 11:57 looks like your tools are soaked in soap still?

[@gapey]

It isn't soap it's called Star San which is a sanitizer and you aren't supposed to rinse after using it.

[@MMikeP]

@@gapey Nice! Was really confused about that! Thanks for clearing it up!

[@gapey]

@@MMikeP "Don't fear the foam" is a common saying people say when talking about StarSan. It's really tempting to rinse it off but that is how it's meant to be used. :)

[@Imyodaddy]

Im trying to get drunk off nature, didn't know I have to take another college course.

[@gapey]

hah no need to go to college.