Strawberry Dandelion Wine : The Beginning

I made my first batch of dandelion wine several years ago.  Since then I have made a couple more batches and I think I have used a different recipe each time.  There are literally dozens of recipes for making this stuff and they are all slightly different.  Making the wine generally calls for several cups of dandelion petals along with some kind of citrus fruit juice and a few other odds and ends and then some yeast and sugar.  There is a bit of a learning curve to figuring out how to separate dandelion flower petals from all the green stuff that comes with them.  Some recipes call for just petals and others use the whole flower, green stuff and all.  I think the green stuff makes the wine have a bitter flavor so I try to allow as little as possible get into my final product.

This year I wanted to try yet another recipe for dandelion wine.  This one happens to include strawberries too.  I have been wanting to try to make a batch of strawberry wine as well, but haven't had the time to start a large batch.  My compromise was to make a mixed wine.  If it turns out to be as good as my past attempts I will be happy.  The recipe can be found here at Jack Keller's Wine Making Page.  Most of the wine recipes that I use come from this page as it is a wealth of information about the wine making process.

Once I had all the dandelion petals that I could muster, I added fresh chopped strawberries to the mix along with the juice from a lemon and two oranges.  I mixed it all together with the sugar and a bit of yeast nutrient and will allow it to sit overnight before adding the pectic enzyme and finally the yeast after another brief rest.

It will go through the first stage of it's fermentation for about a week and then it will get strained and put into a secondary fermentor for several months to let the yeast do what they do best.  When it is done I am hoping for a light semi-sweet wine that tastes like spring on a sunny day.