Dandelion wine

[MJC417]

I'm thinking about making dandelion wine next spring and most recipes include sugar. Can I use my own honey instead or do I have to use sugar? Thanks

[Ben Brewcat]

Absolutely you can use honey! It will lend its own character to the wine (technically, mead), but definitely go for it. My experience with dandelion wines is that it takes a LOT of dandelions, and the very best results are even more labor-intensive because you remove the green calyx from around the flowers. Definitely don't include any stems or leaves due to the bitter sap.

[nursebee]

Took five hours to pick the dandelions for a one gallon batch, then I forgot to add the raisins and the result was NASTY!

[zippelk]

I love dandelion wine, it's one of my all-time favorites. I was surprised how much it naturally tastes like honey, until I realized that it is full of nectar and pollen from the flowers (doh!). adding more honey would bring that out even more, of course. it does take a lot of dandelion heads (1:1, gal:gal), but skip the removal of greens, and skip the raisins, neither is necessary. good luck!

[Bee Bliss]

My dad made the most awesome dandelion wine. We painstakingly removed all the green parts. Only yellow and white blossom parts were used. Not sure if he used raisins or not.