Rural Life in the UP of Michigan Some stories about life on 160 rural acres in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Last year, wine making season started with the strawberry harvest. This year spring has been so slow in coming that I’ve been looking for something to harvest to put me in the mood for summer. Even the dandelions are behind this year, but they’ve started growing pretty well in spots. So I checked the recipe for dandelion wine, and learned I need 7 cups of petals. That didn’t sound too difficult to me, until I read the fine print, “Use only the petals. Discard green parts, as they impart bitterness to the wine.” Armed with my typical foolish optimism, I grabbed a measuring cup and walked out to the lawn after supper.

I spent about an hour getting half of the petals I’ll need for one gallon of wine. As the evening cooled off, the flowers started to close, and that seemed like a good clue for the time to stop for the night. I learned several things during my harvest.

First, choose big blossoms. The number of flowers in the big ones is high, and getting the flowers out of the center without disturbing the green on the periphery is key to success. Second, once the flower is picked, roll the base of the blossom pretty hard back and forth between thumb and forefinger. This loosens the individual flowers making them easier to pluck out. Third, get one of those ball slingshots for your dog, so you can shoot his ball far enough that he has to chase it for a while before he comes back to ask you to throw it again.

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to get the rest of the blossoms, and start the primary fermentor. It needs to sit for 24 hours before I can add the yeast. I am guessing that this wine will be a very pretty yellow color when it is done, just like the tips of my fingers.